Summary
Highlights
Contrary to popular belief, not all early English settlers came for religious freedom. The first successful English colony, Jamestown, Virginia, founded in 1607, was established by the Virginia Company with the primary goal of finding gold and getting rich, much like the Spanish in South America. Despite early struggles with high mortality rates (the 'Starving Time') and the lack of gold, the colony eventually found success through tobacco cultivation. The headright system offered land to attract new settlers, leading to large plantations worked by indentured servants and, ominously, the arrival of the first African slaves in 1619.
Tobacco became immensely profitable, transforming Virginia into a society of large plantations with little infrastructure or town development. This created a social hierarchy mirroring England, with a small class of wealthy landowners and a large working class, mostly indentured servants. The society was overwhelmingly male, with women being a rare and valuable commodity. Maryland, founded in 1632 as a proprietorship by Cecilius Calvert, aimed to be a feudal kingdom and offered a welcome refuge for Catholics, a stark contrast to other colonies.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony, settled by Pilgrims and Puritans, is more widely known for its religious motivations. Pilgrims, more extreme Separatists, fled to the Netherlands before founding Plymouth in Massachusetts in 1620. They drafted the Mayflower Compact, a foundational document for self-government. Despite severe hardships and a harsh first winter, they were saved by local Native Americans, led by Squanto and Chief Massasoit, who taught them agricultural techniques, leading to the first Thanksgiving. The larger Massachusetts Bay Colony, chartered in 1629, had a greater degree of autonomy due to its board of directors relocating to America. Their Puritan religious mission emphasized social unity and the common good over individual rights.
The Puritans, represented by John Winthrop's famous 'City Upon a Hill' sermon, believed in a collective effort and that their society should serve as a model for the world. While New England towns were democratically governed, power was limited to male church members who were 'visible saints,' ensuring that the church elite maintained control. Inequality was seen as God's will, with separate rights for different social groups, and slavery also existed in Massachusetts. Despite promoting literacy to allow everyone to read the Bible, dissenters like Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, who challenged religious and social norms, were banished from the colony, highlighting the strict conformity enforced by the Puritans.