English Colonization of America

Sir Walter Raleigh

Before his appearance at court Raleigh had gone on voyages of discovery with his half brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Up to that time the English had made no permanent settlements in America. Raleigh's position at court gave him an opportunity to press for this project, though the queen would not let him lead any of his colonizing expeditions in person.

Tireless in his efforts to establish an English colony in America, Sir Walter Raleigh sent out expedition after expedition. The name Virginia in honor of the Virgin Queen, as Elizabeth was called was given to the area explored in 1584 by one of these expeditions. Three settlements were made on islands off the North Carolina coast, but none survived.

The Englishmen explored the coast between Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. The next year, (1585) Raleigh sent over the first party of colonists who settled on Roanoke Island, (an island 12 mi by 3 mi, off the north east coast of current day North Carolina).

In 1587 Raleigh sent a party under John White as governor. White's granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was born here on Aug. 18, 1587 the first child born of English parents in America. After three years' absence in England to obtain supplies, Governor White returned to Roanoke Island in 1591. He found the area mysteriously deserted. The fate of this Lost Colony of early settlers has never been learned. The only trace of the colonists that was left behind was the word Croatoan carved on a tree.

Raleigh's pioneer work paved the way for later settlements in the New World. When some of his followers returned to England, they brought back tobacco from America. By popularizing its use Raleigh created a demand for the tobacco leaf, which became a profitable crop in the colonies.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America was organized by the London (later called Virginia) Company. On May 14, 1607, a group of 105 colonists landed in Virginia and established Jamestown. Here they built huts for homes, a storehouse, a church, and a fort. The strong leadership of Capt. John Smith protected the colony from starvation and unfriendly Indians. One of Virginia's chief sources of wealth was the growing of tobacco.

Jamestown was the first successful English settlement in North America. Most of the early settlers were businessmen. They were interested in trading English goods for Indian furs and gold. The settlement depended on food from England, and it barely survived its first years. Jamestown began to grow and prosper only after the colony's owners in England gave land to farmers who were willing to settle in Virginia.

John Rolfe, the English colonist who married the Indian girl Pocahontas, was the first colonist to grow tobacco, a plant native to North America. Virginia exported a great amount of tobacco to other countries.

In 1619 the English stockholders in the Virginia Company decided that they could earn more money if settlers would move to Virginia. They also believed that more settlers would move to Virginia if they could govern themselves.

As a result of this decision, representatives were elected from each settled district in Virginia, and they met to make decisions about the laws governing their people. Each representative was called a burgess because that was the term used in England to identify representatives of burgs, or towns.

The House of Burgesses was the first governing group to meet in America in which settlers had their own representatives. It brought to the English colonies the belief held by the English people in the right of self-government. However, only white male property owners could be elected burgesses.

The first blacks arrived in Jamestown on a Dutch ship and became indentured servants, as did many English people who could not pay their way to Virginia. Indentured servants had to work under contract to another person for up to seven years until their debts were paid. Then they became free people.

The first blacks to arrive in America eventually became free persons. By 1650, however, blacks were being brought to the English colonies as slaves, and slaves were not allowed to gain freedom. Black slaves provided the labor that made farming profitable in the southern colonies.

King Charles I granted a charter for the territory south of Virginia in about 1629, and it was named in his honor. (Carolina means the "Land of Charles.") The first permanent settlement was made by Virginians in the Albemarle region in about 1653. In 1663 Charles II granted the Carolina region to eight lords proprietors. The colony prospered, but the settlers became discontented over feudal laws and neglect by the owners. Finally in 1712 North Carolina and South Carolina became separate provinces.

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Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1754-63). The struggle between France and England for North America was finally ended by the French and Indian War. Three earlier wars King William's War, from 1689 to 1697; Queen Anne's War, from 1702 to 1713; and King George's War, from 1744 to 1748 had failed to bring a settlement of the bitter contest.

In 1754 the French began building a chain of forts from the St. Lawrence River to the Mississippi. This land was claimed by Virginia under its "sea-to-sea" grant from England. Virginia sent a small force under young George Washington to capture Fort Duquesne, a French post located on the present site of Pittsburgh, Pa., but he was defeated.

The next year, 1755, was still more disastrous for the British. Advancing on Fort Duquesne, Gen. Edward Braddock was defeated and his army almost destroyed. He had ignored the warnings of Washington, who knew how the French and Indians fought together behind trees and rocks. Braddock marched with drums beating and banners flying and was killed. Only Washington's skillful tactics saved the army from being wiped out.

By then the struggle in America had become part of a larger conflict, called in Europe the Seven Years' War (see Seven Years' War). Frederick the Great of Prussia, with England's aid, fought Austria. Austria's ally was France. France and England were struggling for sea power and colonial rule. They fought in India, in Europe, and on the sea, as well as in North America. The British won, due largely to the planning of the prime minister, William Pitt the Elder.

In America, during the two years following Braddock's defeat, the English colonies were hard pressed. The British offensive had failed. The Indian allies of the French plundered settlements along the border. The fall of Fort William Henry and Oswego on the New York frontier left that colony open to the ravages of the French. In 1758, however, the tide turned. Pitt sent out a well-equipped army and fleet assisted by colonial troops. They captured Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario, and Fort Duquesne. The French line of forts was now broken. The next year Fort Niagara, Fort Carillon (later Ticonderoga), Crown Point, and Quebec fell to the victorious British.

The most spectacular and most important victory in North America was the capture of Quebec in 1759. This practically ended France's power in America, though a treaty was not signed until 1763.

In 1762 France gave New Orleans and territory west of the Mississippi to Spain. England gained a vast area east of the Mississippi, Canada from France, and Florida from Spain. (England restored Florida to Spain in 1783.) Thus, the British flag flew over all the land east of the Mississippi and over Canada. In addition, French rivalry with the British in India was ended. For the future United States, the English victory insured English speech and institutions, a Protestant majority in religion, and self-government.

( Source: Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved)

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