The beginning of the colonization of America. Chapter III
By the middle of the 16th century, Spain's dominance of the American continent was almost absolute, colonial possessions stretching from Cape Horn to New Mexico brought huge revenues to the royal treasury. Attempts by other European states to establish colonies in America were not crowned with noticeable success.
But at the same time, the balance of power in the Old World began to change: the kings spent the streams of silver and gold flowing from the colonies, and had little interest in the economy of the metropolis, which, under the weight of an inefficient, corrupt administrative apparatus, clerical dominance and lack of incentives for modernization, began to lag behind more and more. from the rapidly developing economy of England. Spain gradually lost the status of the main European superpower and mistress of the seas. The many years of war in the Netherlands, the huge funds spent on the fight against the Reformation throughout Europe, the conflict with England hastened the decline of Spain. The last straw was the death of the Invincible Armada in 1588. After the English admirals, and to a greater extent a fierce storm, defeated the most large fleet At that time, Spain fell into the shadows, never to recover from this blow.
Leadership in the "relay race" of colonization passed to England, France and Holland.
English colonies
The well-known chaplain Gakluyt acted as the ideologist of the English colonization of North America. In 1585 and 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh, on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I of England, made two attempts to establish a permanent settlement in North America. The reconnaissance expedition reached the American coast in 1584, and named the open coast of Virginia (Virginia - "Virgin") in honor of the "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth I, who never married. Both attempts ended in failure - the first colony, founded on Roanook Island off the coast of Virginia, was on the verge of collapse due to Indian attacks and lack of supplies and was evacuated by Sir Francis Drake in April 1587. In July of the same year, a second expedition of colonists landed on the island, numbering 117 people. It was planned that ships with equipment and food would arrive in the colony in the spring of 1588. However, for various reasons, the supply expedition was delayed by almost a year and a half. When she arrived at the place, all the buildings of the colonists were intact, but no traces of people, with the exception of the remains of one person, were found. The exact fate of the colonists has not been established to this day.
Settlement of Virginia. Jamestown.
At the beginning of the 17th century, private capital entered the business. In 1605, two joint-stock companies at once received licenses from King James I to establish colonies in Virginia. It should be borne in mind that at that time the term "Virginia" denoted the entire territory of the North American continent. The first of the companies "London Virginia Company" (Virginia Company of London) received the rights to the southern, the second "Plymouth Company" (Plymouth Company) to the northern part of the continent. Despite the fact that both companies officially proclaimed the spread of Christianity as the main goal, the license they received granted them the right to "search and mine gold, silver and copper by all means."
On December 20, 1606, the colonists set sail aboard three ships, and after a difficult, almost five-month voyage, during which several dozen died of starvation and disease, in May 1607 they reached the Chesapeake Bay. Over the next month, they built a wooden fort named after King Fort James ( English pronunciation named after Jacob). The fort was later renamed Jamestown, the first permanent British settlement in America.
The official historiography of the United States considers Jamestown the cradle of the country, the history of the settlement and its leader, Captain John Smith of Jamestown, is covered in many serious studies and works of art. The latter, as a rule, idealize the history of the city and the pioneers who inhabited it (for example, the popular cartoon Pocahontas). In fact, the first years of the colony were extremely difficult, in the famine winter of 1609-1610. out of 500 colonists, no more than 60 survived, and according to some accounts, the survivors were forced to resort to cannibalism in order to survive the famine.
In subsequent years, when the issue of physical survival was no longer so acute, two critical issues there were tense relations with the indigenous population and the economic feasibility of the existence of the colony. To the disappointment of the shareholders of the London Virginia Company, neither gold nor silver was found by the colonists, and the main export commodity was ship timber. Despite the fact that this product was in some demand in the metropolis, which had depleted its forests in order, the profit, as well as from other attempts economic activity, was minimal.
The situation changed in 1612, when farmer and landowner John Rolfe managed to cross a local variety of tobacco grown by Indians with varieties imported from Bermuda. The resulting hybrids were well adapted to the Virginia climate and at the same time suited the tastes of English consumers. The colony acquired a source of reliable income and for many years tobacco became the basis of the economy and exports of Virginia, and the phrases "Virginia tobacco", "Virginia blend" are used as characteristics of tobacco products to this day. Five years later, tobacco exports amounted to 20,000 pounds, a year later it was doubled, and by 1629 it reached 500,000 pounds. John Rolfe rendered another service to the colony: in 1614 he managed to negotiate peace with the local Indian chief. The peace treaty was sealed by marriage between Rolf and the leader's daughter, Pocahontas.
In 1619, two events took place that had a significant impact on the entire further history USA. This year, Governor George Yeardley decided to hand over some power to the House of Burgesses, establishing the New World's first elected legislative assembly. The first meeting of the council took place on July 30, 1619. In the same year, a small group of Africans of Angolan origin was acquired by the colonists. Although formally they were not slaves, but had long contracts without the right to terminate, it is customary to count the history of slavery in America from this event.
In 1622, almost a quarter of the population of the colony was destroyed by the rebellious Indians. In 1624, the license of the London Company, whose affairs fell into decline, was revoked, and since that time Virginia has become a royal colony. The governor was appointed by the king, but the colonial council retained significant powers.
Timeline of the founding of the English colonies :
French colonies
By 1713, New France was at its largest. It included five provinces:
Canada ( southern part modern province of Quebec), divided in turn into three "governments": Quebec, Three Rivers (fr. Trois-Rivieres), Montreal and the dependent territory of Pays d'en Haut, which included the modern Canadian and American regions of the Great Lakes, of which the ports of Pontchartrand (Detroit) (fr. Pontchartrain) and Michillimakinac (fr. Michillimakinac) were practically the only poles of French settlement after the destruction of Huronia.
Acadia (modern Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).
Hudson Bay (modern Canada).
Louisiana (the central part of the USA, from the Great Lakes to New Orleans), subdivided into two administrative regions: Lower Louisiana and Illinois (fr. le Pays des Illinois).
Dutch colonies
New Netherland, 1614-1674, a region on the east coast of North America in the 17th century that stretched in latitude from 38 to 45 degrees north, originally discovered by the Dutch East India Company from the yacht Crescent ( nid. Halve Maen) under the command of Henry Hudson in 1609 and studied by Adrian Block (Adriaen Block) and Hendrik Christians (Christiaensz) in 1611-1614. According to their map in 1614, the Estates General included this territory as New Netherland within the Dutch Republic.
By international law, claims to the territory had to be secured not only by their discovery and provision of maps, but also by their settlement. In May 1624, the Dutch completed their claim with the delivery and settlement of 30 Dutch families on Noten Eylant, present-day Governors Island. New Amsterdam served as the main city of the colony. In 1664 Governor Peter Stuyvesant ceded New Netherland to the British.
Colonies of Sweden
At the end of 1637, the company organized its first expedition to the New World. Samuel Blommart, one of the managers of the Dutch West India Company, participated in its preparation, who invited Peter Minuit, the former CEO colony of New Netherland. On the ships "Squid Nyukkel" and "Vogel Grip" on March 29, 1638, under the leadership of Admiral Claes Fleming, the expedition reached the mouth of the Delaware River. Here, on the site of modern Wilmington, Fort Christina was founded, named after Queen Christina, which later became the administrative center of the Swedish colony.
Russian colonies
Summer 1784. The expedition under the command of G. I. Shelikhov (1747-1795) landed on the Aleutian Islands. In 1799, Shelikhov and Rezanov founded the Russian-American Company, which was managed by A. A. Baranov (1746-1818). The company hunted for sea otters and traded in their fur, founded its own settlements and trading posts.
Since 1808, Novo-Arkhangelsk has become the capital of Russian America. In fact, the management of the American territories is carried out by the Russian-American company, Main Headquarters which was located in Irkutsk, officially Russian America was included first in the Siberian Governor General, later (in 1822) in the East Siberian Governor General.
The population of all Russian colonies in America reached 40,000 people, Aleuts predominated among them.
The southernmost point in America where Russian colonists settled was Fort Ross, 80 km north of San Francisco in California. Spanish and then Mexican colonists prevented further advance to the south.
In 1824, the Russian-American Convention was signed, fixing the southern border of the possessions Russian Empire in Alaska at latitude 54°40'N. The convention also confirmed the holdings of the United States and Great Britain (until 1846) in Oregon.
In 1824, the Anglo-Russian Convention was signed on the delimitation of their possessions in North America (in British Columbia). Under the terms of the Convention, a boundary line was established separating British possessions from Russian possessions on the western coast of North America, adjacent to the Alaska Peninsula, so that the border ran along the entire coastline belonging to Russia from 54 ° N. latitude. to 60° N, at a distance of 10 miles from the edge of the ocean, taking into account all the curves of the coast. Thus, the line of the Russian-British border in this place was not straight (as was the case with the border line of Alaska and British Columbia), but extremely winding.
In January 1841, Fort Ross was sold to Mexican citizen John Sutter. And in 1867, the United States bought Alaska for $7,200,000.
Spanish colonies
The Spanish colonization of the New World dates back to the discovery by the Spanish navigator Columbus of America in 1492, which Columbus himself recognized as the eastern part of Asia, the eastern coast of either China, or Japan, or India, therefore the name West Indies was assigned to these lands. The search for a new route to India is dictated by the development of society, industry and trade, the need to find large reserves of gold, for which demand has risen sharply. Then it was believed that in the "land of spices" it should be a lot. The geopolitical situation in the world has changed and the old eastern ways to India for the Europeans, who were passing through the lands now occupied by the Ottoman Empire, became more dangerous and difficult to pass, meanwhile there was a growing need for the realization of a different trade with this rich land. Then some already had the idea that the earth was round and that India could be reached from the other side of the Earth - by sailing west from the then known world. Columbus made 4 expeditions to the region: the first - 1492-1493. - the discovery of the Sargasso Sea, the Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, Tortuga, the foundation of the first village in which he left 39 of his sailors. He declared all the lands to be the possessions of Spain; the second (1493-1496) - the complete conquest of Haiti, the discovery of the Lesser Antilles, Guadeloupe, the Virgin Islands, the islands of Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Founding of Santo Domingo; the third (1498-1499) - the discovery of the island of Trinidad, the Spaniards set foot on the shore South America.
Articles from Wikipedia- free encyclopedia.
Colonization of America by Europeans (1607-1674)English colonization of North America.
Difficulties of the first settlers.
Reasons for the colonization of America by Europeans. Relocation conditions.
The first Negro slaves.
Mayflower Compact (1620).
Active expansion of European colonization.
Anglo-Dutch Confrontation in America (1648-1674).
Map of the European colonization of North America in the XVI-XVII centuries.
Map of the expeditions of the discoverers of America (1675-1800).
English colonization of North America. The first English settlement in America appeared in 1607 in Virginia and was named Jamestown. The trading post, founded by members of the crews of three English ships under the command of Captain K. Newport, served at the same time as an outpost on the path of the Spanish advance to the north of the continent. The first years of the existence of Jamestown were a time of endless disasters and hardships: diseases, famine and Indian raids took the lives of more than 4 thousand of the first English settlers of America. But already at the end of 1608, the first ship sailed to England, on board of which there was a cargo of wood and iron ore. In just a few years, Jamestown turned into a prosperous village thanks to the extensive plantations of tobacco previously cultivated only by the Indians laid there in 1609, which by 1616 became the main source of income for the inhabitants. Tobacco exports to England, which in 1618 amounted to 20 thousand pounds in monetary terms, increased by 1627 to half a million pounds, creating the necessary economic conditions for population growth. The influx of colonists was greatly facilitated by the allocation of a 50-acre plot of land to any applicant who had the financial means to pay a small rent. Already by 1620 the population of the village was approx. 1000 people, and in all of Virginia there were approx. 2 thousand people. In the 80s. 17th century exports of tobacco from two southern colonies - Virginia and Maryland (1) rose to 20 million pounds.
Difficulties of the first settlers. The virgin forests, which stretched for more than two thousand kilometers along the entire Atlantic coast, abounded with everything necessary for the construction of dwellings and ships, and the rich nature satisfied the needs of the colonists for food. The increasingly frequent calls of European ships into the natural bays of the coast provided them with goods that were not produced in the colonies. The products of their labor were exported to the Old World from the same colonies. But the rapid development of the northeastern lands, and even more so the advance into the interior of the continent, beyond the Appalachian mountains, was hampered by the lack of roads, impenetrable forests and mountains, as well as the dangerous neighborhood with Indian tribes hostile to aliens.
The fragmentation of these tribes and the complete lack of unity in their sorties against the colonists became the main reason for the displacement of the Indians from the lands they occupied and their final defeat. The temporary alliances of some Indian tribes with the French (in the north of the continent) and with the Spaniards (in the south), who were also worried about the pressure and energy of the British, Scandinavians and Germans advancing from the east coast, did not bring the desired results. The first attempts to conclude peace agreements between individual Indian tribes and the English colonists who settled in the New World turned out to be ineffective (2).
Reasons for the colonization of America by Europeans. Relocation conditions. European immigrants were attracted to America by the rich Natural resources distant continent, promising a quick provision of material prosperity, and its remoteness from the European citadels of religious dogmas and political predilections (3). Not supported by governments or official churches of any country, the exodus of Europeans to the New World was financed by private companies and individuals, driven primarily by an interest in generating income from the transportation of people and goods. Already in 1606, the London and Plymouth companies were formed in England, which actively engaged in the development of the northeast coast of America, including the delivery of English colonists to the continent. Numerous immigrants traveled to the New World with families and even entire communities at their own expense. A significant part of the new arrivals were young women, whose appearance was met with sincere enthusiasm by the single male population of the colonies, paying the cost of their "transportation" from Europe at the rate of 120 pounds of tobacco per head.
Huge, hundreds of thousands of hectares, plots of land were allocated by the British crown to the representatives of the English nobility as a gift or for a nominal fee. Interested in the development of their new property, the English aristocracy advanced large sums for the delivery of their recruited compatriots and their arrangement on the lands received. Despite the extreme attractiveness of the conditions existing in the New World for newly arriving colonists, during these years there was a clear lack of human resources, primarily for the reason that only a third of the ships and people embarking on a dangerous journey - two a third died on the way. The new land was not distinguished by hospitality either, meeting the colonists with unusual frosts for Europeans, harsh natural conditions and, as a rule, the hostile attitude of the Indian population.
The first Negro slaves. At the end of August 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in Virginia, bringing the first black Africans to America, twenty of whom were immediately bought by the colonists as servants. Negroes began to turn into lifelong slaves, and in the 60s. 17th century slave status in Virginia and Maryland became hereditary. The slave trade became a regular feature of commercial transactions between East Africa and the American colonies. African chieftains readily traded their men for textiles, household items, gunpowder, and weapons imported from New England (4) and the American South.
Mayflower Compact (1620). In December 1620, an event took place that went down in American history as the beginning of the purposeful colonization of the continent by the British - the Mayflower ship arrived on the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts with 102 Calvinist Puritans, who were rejected by the traditional Anglican Church and did not later find sympathy in Holland. These people, who called themselves Pilgrims (5), considered the only way to preserve their religion to move to America. While still aboard a ship crossing the ocean, they entered into an agreement between themselves, called the Mayflower Compact. It reflected in the most general form the ideas of the first American colonists about democracy, self-government and civil liberties. These notions were developed later in similar agreements reached by the colonists of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and in later documents of American history, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Having lost half the members of their community, but surviving in a land they had not yet explored in the harsh conditions of the first American winter and the crop failure that followed, the colonists set an example for their compatriots and other Europeans, who arrived in the New World already prepared for the hardships that awaited them.
Active expansion of European colonization. After 1630, at least a dozen small towns arose in Plymouth Colony, the first New England colony that later became the colony of Massachusetts Bay, in which the newly arrived English Puritans settled. Immigration wave 1630-1643 Delivered to New England approx. 20 thousand people, at least 45 thousand more, chose the colonies of the American South or the islands of Central America for their residence.
Over the course of 75 years after the appearance in 1607 on the territory of the modern United States of the first English colony of Virginia, 12 more colonies arose - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Northern Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The credit for founding them did not always belong to subjects of the British crown. In 1624, on the island of Manhattan in Hudson Bay [named after the English captain G. Hudson (Hudson), who discovered it in 1609, was in the Dutch service], Dutch fur traders founded a province called New Netherland, with the main city of New Amsterdam. The land on which this city developed was bought in 1626 by a Dutch colonist from the Indians for $24. The Dutch never managed to achieve any significant socio-economic development of their only colony in the New World.
Anglo-Dutch Confrontation in America (1648-1674). After 1648 and up to 1674, England and Holland fought three times, and during these 25 years, in addition to hostilities, there was a continuous and fierce economic struggle between them. In 1664, New Amsterdam was captured by the British under the command of the king's brother Duke of York, who renamed the city New York. During the Anglo-Dutch War of 1673-1674. The Netherlands managed to restore their power in this territory for a short time, but after the defeat of the Dutch in the war, the British again took possession of it. From then until the end of the American Revolution in 1783 from r. Kennebec to Florida, from New England to the Lower South, the Union Jack flew over the entire northeast coast of the continent.
(1) The new British colony was named by King Charles I in honor of his wife Henrietta Maria (Mary), sister of Louis XIII of France.
(2) The first of these treaties was concluded only in 1621 between the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Wampanoag Indian tribe.
(3) Unlike most Englishmen, Irishmen, Frenchmen and even Germans, who were forced to move to the New World primarily by political and religious oppression in their homeland, Scandinavian settlers were attracted to North America, first of all, all unlimited economic opportunities.
(4) This region of the northeastern part of the continent was first mapped in 1614 by Captain J. Smith, who gave it the name "New England."
(5) From Italian. peltegrino- literal, foreigner. Wandering pilgrim, pilgrim, wanderer.
Sources.
Ivanyan E.A. History of the USA. M., 2006.
After the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, Europeans began to actively conquer new and uncharted lands. This was not always pleasing to the local population, but their opinion was not taken into account. Streams of colonists rushed in search of happiness and a new life.
In the middle of the 16th century, almost the entire territory belonged to Spanish crown. The huge incomes received from trade and lease of land did not allow competitors in the face of other countries to enter new lands. In this regard, the dominance of the Spaniards was observed in America.
The kings and their entourage, pumping huge wealth from the colony, did not pay attention to its needs. The position of Spain on the world stage began to gradually weaken. The last blow was dealt to her in 1588, when the Invincible Armada was destroyed. With the death of the fleet, a crisis began in the country, from which it was never able to recover.
In this difficult period for Spain, England, as well as France and Holland, begin to take the first place in world politics.
The emergence of English colonies
The British - this is the second stage of the conquest of the new continent and the redistribution of property. The first British reconnaissance expedition went to the new continent and arrived there in 1584. open lands named Virginia. But two groups of colonists could not take root on them, one of which was expelled by the Indians, and the second disappeared without a trace.
The beginning of the 17th century is marked by the entry of two private companies into the process of colonization. By order of the king, the northern territories were assigned to the Plymouth Company, and the southern lands to the London Virginia Company. The proclaimed goal was to spread Christianity among the local population, and the true goal was to extract as much gold, copper and silver as possible, with which the Indians are rich.
In 1607, three ships moored ashore in the Chesapeake Bay area. The colonists within a month erected the walls of the fortification, which later received the name Jamestown. In the history of America - this settlement is idealized, but its existence was not cloudless. Hunger, cold and Indian attacks led to the death of a huge number of pioneers, out of 500, 60 of them remained. In the winter, cases of cannibalism were witnessed.
Precious metals were not found, but Virginia became the main supplier of high quality tobacco. Native Americans in this region peacefully coexisted with the colonists and even became related to them.
In 1619, the decision was made to purchase the first group of black slaves, which marked the beginning of a long period of slavery in the country.
If in the 30s of the 17th century two colonies appeared in North America: Massachusetts and New York, then in the 40s there were already five of them: Maryland, Roll Island, Connecticut, Delaware and New Hampshire. In 1653, a new settlement of North Carolina appears, and 10 years later - South Carolina. New Jersey was founded in the mid-1970s. In 1682, Pennsylvania appeared, and already in 1732, the last colony, Georgia, was founded.
French colonization of North America
In the development of new lands, France did not lag behind the British. By the beginning of the 18th century, five large provinces had formed. This period of time is considered the heyday of French colonization. Canada, Acadia, Hudson Bay, Novaya Zemlya and Louisiana belonged to the second most powerful world power.
Colonies of the Netherlands
Other European countries did not remain aloof from the race for new territories. From the east, the ships of the Netherlands Flotilla approached the shores of North America. Already in 1614, new lands appeared on the map called New Netherland, and ten years later the first settlers appeared. The main place of their deployment was the Governor's Island, on which the city of New Amsterdam later grew. In the second half of the 17th century, it was transferred under the auspices of the British crown.
Swedish colonies
The beginning of the Swedish conquest of new lands is considered to be 1638, when two ships went on an expedition. The long journey and torment along the way were made up for by the opening of the free coast, where Fort Kristina was founded, securing the right to own territories for Sweden. Wilmington will later appear on this site.
The appearance of Russians in North America
The Russian Empire could not remain aloof from the mass campaign of Europeans to unexplored lands. In 1784, a large fleet landed in the Aleutian Islands. A little more than ten years later, a Russian-American company appears, mining and selling expensive fur. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, the region had a capital - Novo-Arkhangelsk, and it itself passed into the department of the East Siberian Governor General. The basis of the colonists was the local tribes of the Aleuts.
Only 80 kilometers separated Russian lands from American California. This caused concern on the part of England and America, so in 1824 two Conventions were signed at once, which fixed clear boundaries between Russia and these two powers. In 1841, the southernmost settlement of Fort Ross was sold to one of the wealthy Mexican settlers. For Alaska, the United States had to pay 7 million 200 thousand dollars. Since 1867, this section of the Russian colonies has gone to the buyer.
The relationship between the settlers and the Indians
From the colonization of the new continent, the Indians suffered the most. tribes of america. With the arrival of more and more new settlers, their usual way of life is radically changed. Many colonists believed that they had more rights to use this land and showed obvious aggression. The standard of living of the Indians was much lower than the European one, so no one listened to their opinion, and the lands were indiscriminately taken away. Due to diseases brought by Europeans, constant clashes and real extermination, the number of Indians was inexorably declining.
One of the most warlike tribes in North America was the Iroquois. They constantly attacked the settlements of the colonists. In civilian life, the Iroquois were farmers, and also engaged in hunting and fishing. All the settlements of this tribe were surrounded by a high palisade, which created an obstacle to their capture. The Iroquois were called "scalp hunters". It is still not known where the colonists from the second expedition to Virginia went.
The Apache tribes were considered the most cunning and insidious. They very quickly mastered riding horses when this noble animal was introduced by the Spaniards. The Apaches robbed not only the white colonists, but also their relatives, not disdaining the loot
Among the natives there were tribes who not only provided assistance to the settlers, but also sought to learn everything new from them. These included the Seminole and Cherokee, the Creek and Choctaw, and the Chickasaw. Among the Indians of these tribes, there are many actors, writers, military men, and so on.
Despite the fact that part of the natives of America accepted European culture and adapted to the conditions of life, this process was very painful. A five dollar reward was paid for the head of a killed Indian, and the resettlement of entire tribes was carried out by force. All these measures led to the partial assimilation of the natives and to their mass extermination.
Almost half of the Viceroyalty of New Spain founded by them was located where the states of Texas, California, New Mexico and others are located today. North America. The colony of New Netherland arose in the valley of the Hudson River; further south, in the valley of the Delaware River, is New Sweden. Louisiana, which occupied vast territories in the basin largest river continent of Mississippi, was the possession of France. In the XVIII century. the northwestern part of the continent, modern Alaska, began to be developed by Russian industrialists. But the most impressive success in the colonization of North America was achieved by the British.
For immigrants from the British Isles and from other countries of Europe across the ocean, wide material opportunities opened up, here they were attracted by the hope of free labor and personal enrichment. America also attracted with its religious freedom. Many Englishmen moved to America during the period of revolutionary upheavals in the middle of the 17th century. Religious sectarians, bankrupt peasants, and the urban poor left for the colonies. All sorts of adventurers and adventurers also rushed across the ocean; cited by criminals. The Irish and Scots fled here when life in their homeland became completely unbearable.
The south of North America is washed by the waters Gulf of Mexico. Floating on it, the Spaniards discovered the peninsula Florida, covered with dense forests and swamps. Now it is a famous resort and a place to launch American spaceships. The Spaniards came to the mouth of the largest river in North America - Mississippi falling into Gulf of Mexico. In Indian Mississippi - "big river", "father of the waters." Its waters were muddy, uprooted trees floated along the river. To the west of the Mississippi, wetlands gradually gave way to drier steppes - prairies where herds of bison roamed like bulls. The prairie stretched all the way to the foot of rocky mountains stretching from north to south throughout the North American continent. The Rocky Mountains are part of a huge mountainous country of Cordillera. Cordillera go to Pacific Ocean.
On the Pacific coast, the Spaniards discovered peninsula california and gulf of california. Falls into it colorado river- "red". The depth of her valley in the Cordillera amazed the Spaniards. Under their feet was a cliff 1800 m deep, at the bottom of which a river flowed like a barely noticeable silvery snake. For three days people walked along the edge of the valley grand canyon, looking for a descent down and could not find.
The northern half of North America was mastered by the British and French. In the middle of the 16th century, the French pirate Cartier discovered bay and St. Lavrentie river In Canada. The Indian word "Canada" - a settlement - became the name of a huge country. Moving up the St. Lawrence River, the French reached Great lakes. Among them is the world's largest fresh lake - Upper. On the Niagara River, which flows between the Great Lakes, a very powerful and beautiful Niagara Falls.
Natives of the Netherlands founded the city of New Amsterdam. Now it is called New York and is largest city United States of America.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the first British colonies appeared on the Atlantic coast of North America - settlements whose inhabitants grew tobacco in the south, grain and vegetables in the north.
Thirteen (13) colonies
Systematic colonization of North America began after the approval of the Stuart dynasty on the English throne. The first British colony, Jamestown, was founded in 1607 in Virginia.Then, as a result of the mass migration of the English Puritans overseas, the development of New England.First Puritan colony in what is now the state Massachusetts appeared in 1620. In subsequent years, immigrants from Massachusetts, dissatisfied with the religious intolerance that reigned there, founded colonies Connecticut and Rhode Island. Massachusetts seceded from Massachusetts after the Glorious Revolution New Hampshire.
On the lands north of Virginia, granted by Charles I to Lord Baltimore, a colony was founded in 1632 Maryland.On the lands located between Virginia and New England, the Dutch and Swedish colonists were the first to appear, but in 1664 they were captured by the British. New Netherland was renamed a colony New York, and to the south of it a colony arose New Jersey. In 1681, W. Penn received a royal charter for the lands north of Maryland. In honor of his father, the illustrious admiral, the new colony was named Pennsylvania. Throughout the XVIII century. separated from her Delaware. In 1663, the settlement of the territory south of Virginia began, where colonies later appeared. North Carolina and South Carolina. In 1732, King George (George) II allowed the development of land between South Carolina and Spanish Florida, which were named in his honor Georgia.
Five more British colonies were founded on the territory of modern Canada.
In all the colonies there were various forms of representative government, but the majority of the population was deprived of the right to vote.
Economy of the colonies
The colonies differed greatly in types of economic activity. In the north, where small-scale farming prevailed, household crafts associated with it developed, foreign trade, shipping and sea crafts were widely developed. Large agricultural plantations dominated in the south, where tobacco, cotton, and rice were grown.
Slavery in the colonies
Growing production required workers. The presence of undeveloped territories to the west of the borders of the colonies doomed to failure any attempts to turn the poor whites into wage labor, since there was always an opportunity for them to go to free lands. The Indians could not be forced to work for the white masters. Those of them who were tried to be made slaves quickly died in captivity, and the merciless war waged by the settlers against the Indians led to the mass extermination of the red-skinned natives of America. The problem with the labor force was solved by the massive importation of slaves from Africa, who were called blacks in America. The slave trade became the most important factor in the development of the colonies, especially the southern ones. Already by the end of the XVII century. Negroes became the predominant labor force and, in fact, the basis of the plantation economy in the south. material from the site
The Europeans were looking for a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Englishman Henry Hudson tried to sail along the northern American coast between the mainland and the islands lying to the north. Canadian arctic archipelago. The attempt failed, but the Hudson opened a huge Hudson Bay- a real "ice bag", on which ice floes float in the summer.
In the spruce and pine forests of Canada, the French and the British hunted fur-bearing animals, bartered their skins from the Indians. V mid-seventeenth century arose English company Hudson's Bay, which bought furs. The company's agents penetrated deep into the mainland, bringing information about new rivers, mountains, lakes. V late XVIII century Alexander Mackenzie and his companions on canoes made of birch bark made a trip along the rivers and lakes of northern Canada. They hoped that the cold river, later named after Mackenzie will lead to the Pacific Ocean. The traveler himself called it the "river of disappointment", realizing that it flows into the Arctic Ocean. Mackenzie went to his homeland, to Scotland, a country in the north of the British Isles, to study geography. Returning, he climbed the river valleys and crossed over the Rocky Mountains. Having passed the mountain passes of the Cordillera, Mackenzie began to descend along the rivers flowing to the west, and in 1793 he was the first to reach the Pacific coast.
In the early years of the 17th century began the great migration of Europeans to North America. A weak brook of several hundred English colonists in a little over three centuries turned into a full-flowing stream of millions of immigrants. Due to various circumstances, they left to create a new civilization on a sparsely populated continent.
The first immigrants from England, who settled in what is now the United States, crossed Atlantic Ocean much later than the formation of prosperous Spanish colonies in Mexico, the West Indies and South America. Like everyone who moved then to the New World, they arrived in small, overcrowded ships. The journey took 6 to 12 weeks, food was scarce, and many settlers died of disease. Storms and storms often hit ships, people died at sea.
Most European immigrants left their homeland for greater economic opportunities, often coupled with a desire for religious freedom or a determination to escape political pressure. In 1620-1635. economic turmoil swept the whole of England. Many people lost their jobs, even skilled artisans barely made ends meet. These troubles were exacerbated by crop failures. In addition, the cloth industry that was developing in England required an increase in the supply of wool, and so that the looms would not stop, the sheep began to graze on communal lands taken from the peasants. The impoverished peasants were forced to seek their fortune overseas.
On the new land, the colonists encountered, first of all, dense forests. Indian tribes lived there, many of which were at enmity with white newcomers. However, the latter could hardly have survived without friendly Indians, from whom they learned to grow local varieties of vegetables - pumpkin, squash, beans and corn. Virgin forests, stretching for almost 2 thousand km along the eastern coast of the North American continent, provided them with an abundance of game and fuel. They also provided material for the construction of houses, ships, the manufacture of household utensils, as well as valuable raw materials for export.
The first permanent English settlement in America was the fort and settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, founded in 1607. The area soon became prosperous thanks to the cultivation of tobacco, which the colonists sold in London. Although the new continent had enormous natural wealth, trade with Europe was vital, since the colonists could not yet produce many goods themselves.
Gradually, the colonies became self-supporting societies with their own outlets to the sea. Each of them has become a separate, independent organism. But, despite this, the problems of trade, navigation, industrial production and finance went beyond the boundaries of individual colonies and required a joint settlement, which subsequently led to the federal structure of the American state.
Settlement of the colonies in the XVII century. required careful planning and management, and was also very costly and risky business. The settlers had to be transported by sea over a distance of almost 5 thousand km, supplied with household items, clothing, seeds, tools, building materials, livestock, weapons and ammunition. In contrast to the policy of colonization that was pursued by other states, emigration from England was not in charge of the government, but of private individuals whose main motive was to make a profit.
Two colonies - Virginia and Massachusetts - founded privileged companies: the "Massachusetts Bay Company" and the "London Company of Virginia". Their funds, created by contributors, were used to supply and transport the colonists. Wealthy immigrants who arrived in the New Haven colony (later part of Connecticut) paid their own way, supported their families and servants. New Hampshire, Maine, Maryland, North and South Carolina, New Jersey and Pennsylvania originally belonged to the owners of the English nobility (gentry), who populated the land granted to them by the king with tenants and servants.
The first 13 colonies that would become the United States were (from north to south): New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia .
Georgia was founded by a group of people led by James Edward Oglethorpe. They planned to send debtors from English prisons to America to create a border colony that would block the way for the Spaniards in the south of the continent. Meanwhile, the colony of New Netherland, founded in 1621 by the Dutch, in 1664 went to England and was renamed New York.
Many moved to America for political reasons. In the 1630s the despotic rule of Charles I gave impetus to migration to the New World. Then the revolution in England and the victory of the opponents of Charles I, led by Oliver Cromwell in the 1640s. forced many cavaliers - "the king's people" - to try their luck in Virginia. The despotism of the petty German princes, especially in matters of faith, and the numerous wars that took place in their possessions, contributed to the intensification of German immigration to America in the late 17th and 18th centuries.
Men and women, even if not too interested in a new life on American soil, often succumbed to the persuasion of recruiters. William Penn circulated in the press about the opportunities and benefits that awaited those wishing to move to Pennsylvania. Judges and jailers were persuaded to give the prisoners a chance to move to America instead of carrying out the sentence.
Only a few colonists could go overseas with their families at their own expense to start there. new life. Ship captains received a large reward for selling contracts but hiring the poor to work in America. In order to take more passengers on board, they did not disdain anything - from the most unusual promises and promises to kidnapping. In other cases, the costs of transporting and maintaining settlers were borne by colonization agencies such as the London Company of Virginia and the Massachusetts Bay Company. Settlers who signed a contract with the company were obliged to work for it as a laborer or contracted servant (servant) for a certain period - usually from four to seven years. At the end of the term, the servants could receive a small piece of land. Many of those who arrived in the New World on such terms soon found that, while remaining servants or tenants, they did not begin to live better than in their homeland.
Historians have estimated that about half of the colonists who lived south of New England came to America on the basis of a contract. Although the majority honestly fulfilled their obligations, some fled from the owners. Many fugitive servants, however, managed to get land and to acquire a farm - in the colony where they settled, or in neighboring ones. Bonded service was not considered shameful, and the families that began their lives in America from this half-slavish position did not sully their reputation. Even among the leaders of the colonies there were people who were servants in the past.
There was, however, a very important exception to this rule - the African slave trade. The first blacks were brought to Virginia in 1619, seven years after Jamestown was founded. In the beginning, many "black" settlers were considered indentured servants who could "earn" their freedom. However, by the 1960s In the 17th century, as the demand for workers on the plantations increased, slavery began to take hold. Blacks began to be brought from Africa in shackles - already as life-long slaves.
Most of the colonists in the XVII century. were English, but there were a small number of Dutch, Swedes and Germans in the mid-Atlantic colonies. In South Carolina and other colonies, there were French Huguenots, as well as Spaniards, Italians, and Portuguese. After 1680 England ceased to be the main source of immigration. Thousands of people fled from war-torn Europe. Many left their homeland to get rid of the poverty generated by the pressure of the authorities and large landlords who owned estates. By 1690, the American population reached 1/4 million people. Since then, it has doubled every 25 years, until it exceeded 2.5 million people in 1775.
American settlements were grouped into geographical "sections", depending on natural conditions.
New England on northeast(Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine) was an agriculturally secondary area: thin soil, poor vegetation, mountainous, uneven terrain, short summers and long winters. Therefore, its inhabitants solved other problems - they used the power of water and built mills and sawmills. The presence of timber contributed to the development of shipbuilding, convenient bays favored trade, and the sea served as a source of enrichment. In Massachusetts, the cod fishery alone immediately began to bring high profits. The Massachusetts Bay settlement played an important role in the religious development of all of New England. The 25 colonists who founded it had a royal charter and were determined to succeed. During the first 10 years of the existence of the colony, 65 Puritan priests arrived there, and due to the religious convictions of the leaders of the colonists and with their support, the power of the church was strengthened there. Formally, the churchmen did not have secular power, but in fact they led the colony.
In the south, with its warm climate and fertile soil, a largely agrarian society developed. V mid-Atlantic colonies Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York - nature was more diverse: forests, valleys suitable for Agriculture, bays where such large port cities as Philadelphia and New York grew up.
Society in the mid-Atlantic colonies was much more diverse and religiously tolerant than in New England. Pennsylvania and Delaware owe their success to the Quakers, who set out to attract settlers of many faiths and nationalities. Quakers dominated Philadelphia, and there were other sects in other parts of the colony. Immigrants from Germany proved to be the most skilled farmers, they also knew weaving, shoemaking, carpentry and other crafts. Through Pennsylvania, the bulk of Scottish and Irish immigrants arrived in the New World. Equally mixed was the population of the colonies of New York, which perfectly demonstrates the multilingualism of America. By 1646 along the river. The Hudson was settled by the Dutch, French, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, British, Scots, Irish, Germans, Poles, immigrants from Bohemia, Portugal, Italy. But these are only the forerunners of millions of future immigrants.
Eastern states- Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Georgia - differed greatly from New England and the mid-Atlantic colonies in their predominantly rural character. The first surviving English settlement in the New World was Jamestown, Virginia.
A distinctive feature of the first stages of colonial history was the absence of strict control from the British authorities. While the colonies were being formed, they were actually left to their own devices. The British government was not directly involved in their founding (with the exception of Georgia), and the political leadership of the colonies, it began gradually and not immediately.
Since 1651, the British government has from time to time passed regulations regulating certain aspects of the economic life of the colonies, which in most cases benefited only England, but the colonists simply ignored the laws that harmed them. Sometimes the British administration tried to force their implementation, but these attempts quickly failed.
The relative political independence of the colonies was largely due to their remoteness from England. They became more and more "American" rather than "English". This trend was reinforced by the mixing of different national groups and cultures - a process that has been going on all the time in America.
