Colonial America Key Terms

A French settlement consisting most of Canada and extended all the way to Ohio River Valley. The colonies had to make sure they were safe from Spanish Florida and New France, which is why they established security institutions such as the Dominion of New England. Control over the territory between Britain and France led to the French and Indian Wars.

Fleet of ships from Philip 2nd of Spain that attacked England due to the piratical tactics of Francis Drake, endorsed by Queen Elizabeth (Protestant), raiding the Spain-ships. This was the fall of Spanish dominance. England won, nationalistic feelings grew between the Catholics and the Protestants within England, and England had naval dominance.

A document issued by the government that specified the rights to an institution (the colonies). If a colony is taken away, the land becomes a royal colony. A royal charter allows for special privelges and establishes a relationship of one of three types: 1) Corporate - colony is run by joint-stock company. 2) Royal - direct rule of colony by monarch. 3) Proprietary - colony is under rule of someone chosen by monarch.

An economic arrangement by which a number of investors pool their capital for investment. Joint-stock company provided the financial means for adventurers to got out to the New World.

The legal principle that the oldest son inerits all family property or land. Only eldest sons were elligable to inherit landed estates. This caused all the younger sons and family members to find some other way to get wealth and land, which is one reason why people traveled to the New World, like Sir Walter Raleigh.

A joint-stock company that recieved a charter for the settlement in Virginia. They aimed for gold and a passage way through America to the Indies. They confirmed that all Englishmen would have the same rights in the New World as they would have back in England. Three of their ships transported the people that would found Jamestown in 1607.

A committee created to work out local issues. It was a miniature parliament in Virginia and helped the representative self-government system. This was the first form of self-government in the Americas, and King James 1st did not approve. The London Company authorized this.

The King of England that succeeded Queen of Elizabeth. He revoked the charter of Virginia. Under his rule, Protestantism gained permanent dominance in England.

The governor of Jamestown that used "Irish tactics" against the Powhatans in the four-year Anglo-Powhatan War. He was sent by the Virginia Company to force the settlers to sail back to Jamestown when they wanted to return to England.

A Puritan who opposed the strict laws and beliefs of the Puritan Church. She was banished, and traveled to Rhode Isalnd and then to New York, where she was killed. She challenged the principles of Massachusetts's religous and politcal system. Her heretical ideas were known as Antinomianism, a belief that Christains were not bound by moral law. She believed in the individual interpretation of the Bible, rather than the reliance on the preacher or clergyman. She, also, believed in predestination and how goods deeds do not necessarily affect where one will go after death.

Martin Luther nailed his protests against the Catholic doctorines to the door of Wittenberg's Cathedral. He declared that the Bible, alone, was God's word. This led to a lot of religious conflicts and changes, some of whom found America. It added the supremacy of the Catholic Church adn established Protestant churches.

Created by John Calvin of Geneva. He preached about strict moral, simple worhsip, hard work, and predestination. This swept into England, eventually creating Puritans. Calvinists wanted to practive religion, which brought wars between the Huguenots (French Calvinists) and Catholics that tore the French Kingdom apart.

European Separatists who travled to America on the Mayflower and founded Plymouth. They left Holand in 1620 and proved that people could live in the New World.

Religious reformists who wanted to "purify" the Anglican Church, although they still wanted to be part of the Church of England. Their ideas started with John Calvin and first began to leave England in 1608. Later voyages came in 1620 with the Pilgrims and in 1629, which was the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Puritans were part of the mixed population in New England.

One of the first settlements in New England. This was a major Puritan colony, formed by non-Separatist Puritans, and became the state of Massachusetts, originally where Boston is located. It was a major trading center, absorbed the Plymouth community as the most populous colony, and helped Massachusetts prosper.