Colonial Period

Front 1

Themes

Back 1

1. mercantilism: the universal economic theory
2. rivalry of three major nations – England, France and Spain
3. English colonies the least tightly controlled
4. geography and native population affects each colony profoundly

Front 2

Spain

Back 2

1. South America, Central America, American Southwest
2. King the source of all authority
3. emphasis on gold, huge haciendas
4. cruel to Indian workers
5. strongly Catholic
6. mercantilist

Front 3

French

Back 3

1. Canada for fur trade – St. Lawrence and Mississippi River systems
2. West Indies for sugar
3. Friendly with Indians – coureurs de bois
4. Mercantilism – Colbert and Joint stock companies
5. Strongly Catholic – no Huguenots allowed
6. Never many colonists

Front 4

Dutch

Back 4

1. Established trading centers in Hudson River Valley at Albany (Fort Orange) and New Amsterdam
2. Good relations with Native American trading partners.
3. Purely economic in nature – not interested in territory.

Front 5

England

Back 5

1. established by joint stock companies and proprietors on Eastern seaboard
2. spread inland along the rivers
3. Capture New Amsterdam in 1664 (renamed New York)

Front 6

Southern Colonies

Back 6

1. Virginia – Jamestown – John Smith – the first settlement
2. tidewater plantations – rice, tobacco, slavery
3. local self government – House of Burgesses in Va. Counties in the
Piedmont
4. mixed populations, small farmers, indentured servants inland in the
Piedmont
5. Oglethorpe – Georgia – the last colony founded

Front 7

Middle Colonies

Back 7

1. Penn and Quakers the dominant colony
2. agriculture, iron and merchants
3. mixed population, government and religion

Front 8

New England

Back 8

1. Massachusetts dominant – colonized Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
2. Puritans – Bradford, Winthrop
3. town government – General Court
4. farming, whaling, merchants