The Colonial Period
New England Colonies
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
Maryland
Maine
Virginia
(Part of
Massachusetts
Before 1820)
North
Carolina
New York
Vermont
After 1791
New
Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
Connecticut



South
Carolina
New
Jersey
Georgia
Delaware
Rhode
Island
Economy: Fish, Naval Stores, trade,
subsistence farming (farming to feed
one’s family)
Geography: Rocky soil, cold climate
Plymouth & Mass. Bay Colony settled
by Puritans (Pilgrims who wanted to
purify Church of England)



Economy: The “Breadbasket”
(grains), furs, trade (esp. in New
York)
Geography: Fertile soil, temperate
climate
NY originally settled by Dutch,
Iroquois Confederacy controlled
upstate




Economy: tobacco as a cash crop
(MD, VA, NC), rice & indigo (SC)
Geography: Warm, long growing
seasons, fertile soil
First used indentured servants
(contract workers), later used African
slaves.
Jamestown, VA first permanent
English colony (1607)
Democracy & Self-Rule in the Colonies
By the 1600s, Great Britain already had a reputation as the most liberal
country in the world. It was a constitutional monarchy in which the
King or Queen ruled with the consent of Parliament (Britain’s
legislature). The Magna Carta and, after 1689, the English Bill of
Rights placed limits on the monarch’s power. For example, the king
could not raise taxes without Parliament’s approval. During the 1600s and
1700s Europe experienced the Enlightenment Period, in which thinkers
such as John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu tried to use logic and
reason to identify natural laws governing society. In his book, The Two
Treatises of Government, Locke argued at all people are born with
natural rights which are granted by God and could not be taken away.
Locke argued that life, liberty and property were three such rights. Locke
also argued that governments receive their right to rule from the “consent
of the governed.” In other words, the people are the source of
government’s power. This is also known as popular sovereignty. Locke
believed that a social contract existed between the government and the
people. He thought a government’s primary task is protect the natural
rights of the people. If the government failed to protect those rights,
Locke reasoned that the people would be justified in overthrowing the
government. In his book, The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu admired
Britain’s government, which had three branches (legislative, executive,
and judicial). This is known as separation of powers. This creates a
limited government in which no one person or group becomes too
powerful. Both Locke and Montesquieu believed in the system of checks
and balances, according to which each branch would have the ability to
block the other branches. These ideas would later influence the writing of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Examples of Colonial Democracy
 Mayflower Compact:
While acknowledging their
continued loyalty to the King of
England, the Puritans on the
Mayflower agreed to create and
obey their own government until
the King sent one of his own.
 New England Town Meetings:
All male members of the Church
had a vote on each law. This is an
example of direct democracy.
 House of Burgesses:
The first colonial legislature (a
body that makes laws) in Virginia.
It is an example of representative
democracy.
 Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut:
A constitution (plan of
government) for Connecticut.
Mercantilism
The Triangular Trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas
During the colonial period, a triangular trade existed between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Europe sold
processed goods, which were generally worth more, to Africa and the Americas. Slaves were transported from
Africa to colonies in North and South America. Raw materials and other commodities such as tobacco lumber,
and furs were shipped back to Europe. Because these items were generally worth less money, the American
colonies usually suffered a trade deficit with their mother country. This was by design. During the 1600s,
Europeans believed that colonies existed for the sole benefit of the mother country. Consequently they adopted
a policy of mercantilism in which all trade from the colonies would be funneled through the mother country.
In the mid-1600s, Great Britain passed the Navigation Acts, which required that all colonial goods be shipped
on British ships through Britain, where a tax would be paid. At the time, few in the colonies doubted that
Parliament had the authority to pass such laws. However smuggling was widespread. Britain, realizing that
strict enforcement of the Navigation Acts would be both expensive and unpopular in the colonies, decided to
adopt a policy of “salutary neglect.” This meant that the British government wouldn’t go out of its way to
enforce the laws or collect taxes. Consequently, the colonies became accustomed to governing and taxing
themselves. Since a rule that goes unenforced is no rule at all, over time the colonists assumed that only their
own legislatures with their own representatives had the right to tax them. Salutary means “healthy.” The policy
of salutary neglect turned out to be healthy indeed for the colonies. In the absence of strict regulation or high
taxes, the economies of the English colonies grew rapidly.