English And Dutch Colonization In The New World (1980)

the eastern coast of the United States big cities busy Harbors millions of people but think back in time first think back about 200 years on the same eastern coast small villages now think back even further another 200 years it is four centuries ago and the story of the courageous people who came here and settled is about to [Music] begin England the year is 1585 the country is enjoying a period of prosperity and power under the reign of Queen Elizabeth her Court of Statesmen soldiers and adventurers includes explorers who have claimed the east coast of America for England and English financiers are ready to invest money in the risky business of colonization Sir Walter Ry one of the Queens favorites organizes a colonizing expedition in this year of 1585 he sends a 100 men to America to the area he has named Virginia they land on Rowan Oak Island and build a fort ill prepared as colonists they give up a year later and sail back to England in 1587 Ry tries again he organizes more colums including women and children this time once again they leav England they sailed to Virginia to reestablish The Colony on Rowan Oak Island the colony is settled under the leadership of John White who then returns to England for additional settlers but waram sea between England and Spain interrupts English colonization it isn't until 1590 that John White returns to ran o but the settlement is gone no trace of the Lost Colony will ever never be found yet drawings and descriptions of Virginia by John White and others continue to excite the [Music] English Indian Villages are described their towns are but small some containing but 10 or 12 houses their houses are made of small poles made fast the tops covered with bark and in some with mats made of long rushes the Indians are trade these people are exceeding courteous gentle of disposition and well conditioned I think they Excel all the people of America of stature much higher than we they eyebrows and hair black which they wear long this book by Richard hecko becomes a leading source of inducement for more voyages to the New World by English expansionists Merchants businessmen financiers are all eager to invest money in stock companies that will establish colonies in 1603 two such companies are created by King James of England the Virginia Company of London and the Plymouth Company will recruit colonists and pay for the equipment they need [Music] in 16006 the Virginia Company of London enlists more than a 100 settlers but most of them are soldiers and gentlemen adventurers not workers they are going as Sir Walter Ry has written to seek new worlds for gold for praise for Glory in 1607 three ships sail for Virginia among the colonists recruited by the Virginia Company is Captain John Smith a colorful Soldier and adventurer after 3 and A2 months at Sea they reached Virginia Captain Smith describes it all overgrown with trees and weeds being a plain Wilderness as God made it they land in 1607 on the bank of the river they called the James they Nam their settlement jamest town as Smith explains in honor of the king's most excellent Majesty by June as one of the leaders reports we had built and finished our Fort which was triangle wise having three bwars and four or five pieces of artillery mounted on them another writer describes the area chosen for the colony it is low Ground full of marshes and swamps which makes the air especially in the summer unhealthy the climate takes its toll of the inexperienced and ill-prepared colonists the Jamestown settlers suffer through a devastating winter of disease starvation and death but in Spring more settlers arrive Jamestown [Music] endures in 1612 an important event occurs in the colony John Ral grows tobacco a crop that will change the economy of Virginia a settler describes its importance the valuable commodity of tobacco of such a steam in England which every man May plant and with the least part of his labor will return him both clothes and other [Music] necessaries tobacco provides a profitable return for the investors in the Virginia colony small tobacco Farms begin expanding into large plantations after 1619 when the arrival of the first black Africans at Jamestown provides a source of cheap hand labor barrels of tobacco shipped to England bring wealth to the colonists and profit to the merchants in England who sponsored the first successful colony and now more colonies will follow in England captain John Smith had reported not only on Jamestown but also on his exploration of the northern coast to which he gave the name New England of this region Smith wrote could I have but means to transport a colony I would rather live here than anywhere and English colonists go there they would plant colonies at Plymouth and Salem not for gold and Glory as Walter Ry had said but for freedom to worship in their own way in 17th century England people were required to accept the established church of England this Anglican Church maintained symbols and rituals to which some church members objected people who wanted to simplify the church purify it were called Puritans Puritans believed that every person had the right to interpret the Bible another group of denters who lived in the village of scrubby in England gave up hope of purifying the church and decided to withdraw from it they were called separatists the separatists who were later known as the pilgrims left England to seek religious freedom in the tolerant country of the Netherlands after 12 years there they left again to start a new life in America the pilgrims sailed aboard the Mayflower in 1620 with permission from the Virginia Company of London to settle in Virginia they reached New England in November and although it was far north of their Virginia destination they decided to settle there before leaving their ship the pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact a plan for self-government that would help shape American democracy in the years to come unlike the gentleman adventurers at Jamestown the determined Pilgrim set to work at once they measured out plots of ground cut timber and built houses for the settlement they called Plymouth in the spring of 1621 after a terrible winter they made a treaty of peace with the Indians this Alliance was a major reason for for the survival of the Plymouth Colony soon other colonies were being organized by the English in 1628 the New England company sent colonists to a settlement at Salem North of Plymouth the small crude Colony at Salem was the first of many colonies incorporated into the Massachusetts Bay Colony most of the people in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were Puritans starting in 1630 they were joined by many thousands more from England in what was called The Great Migration the colonies were expanding into many communities each had a town meeting house that was a Center of self-government the English colonists were in North America to stay but they were not the only settlers on the east coast along the Mohawk and Hudson valleys in the middle of the English claims Dutch colonists were living in their colony of New Netherland its largest settlement was New Amsterdam the Dutch claimed New Netherland on the basis of Henry Hudson's explorations in 1909 Hudson's fur trade with the Indians appealed to Dutch merchants in the Netherlands as the English had done the Dutch financiers formed a trading company to obtain the valuable products of the new land Dutch settlers were recruited for the colony in America and Dutch ships brought them to the new world the Dutch established Farms along the Mohawk and Hudson valleys in their colony of New Netherland the Village of New Amsterdam was growing into a small City but the English felt that the Dutch colonizers were trespassing on English territory In 1664 an English Fleet anchored off New Amsterdam and called for its surrender Peter stent the Dutch governor was Furious but without the support of his people who were tired of his repressive government he reluctantly surrendered and so without Bloodshed the Dutch colony of New Netherland became the English colony of New York by 1664 the English were in possession of the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida in the southern colonies there were large plantations in the Northern and middle colonies Farms were smaller many towns were developing with various kinds of local industries from the first Gathering of council members in Jamestown in 1619 representative government flourished as the colonies grew using concepts of law justice and human rights inherited from England under English rule each colony had made a beginning towards self-government and so the brave men and women who had come to settle in the colonies on the eastern coast of America had brought forth upon the continent the beginnings of a new nation