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AP US History Period 2 (1607-1754) Flashcards

Important vocabulary of the colonization of North America in the 17th century.

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4887859390Jamestown1st permanent English settlement in North America in 1607.0
4887859391John SmithA captain famous for world travel. As a young man, he took control in Jamestown. He organized the colony and saved many people from death the next winter and coined the phrase "he who shall not work, shall not eat". He also initiated attacks on Natives.1
4887859392John RolfeHe was one of the English settlers at Jamestown (and he married Pocahontas). He discovered how to successfully grow tobacco in Virginia and cure it for export, which made Virginia an economically successful colony. Eventually, he was killed in a Pequot attack.2
4887859393PocohontasAn American Indian princess who saved the life of John Smith and helped form more peaceful relations with the Powhatan when she married John Rolfe but died of smallpox in England on a visit to Rolfe's family. Her remains are still there as the English government refuses to send her remains back to North America.3
4887859394Mayflower Compact1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony4
4887859395John WinthropAs governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop (1588-1649) was instrumental in forming the colony's government and shaping its legislative policy. He envisioned the colony, centered in present-day Boston, as a "city upon a hill" from which Puritans would spread religious righteousness throughout the world.5
4887859396PuritansA religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England. They came to America for religious freedom and settled Massachusetts Bay.6
4887859397PilgrimsEnglish Puritans who founded Plymouth colony in 16207
4887859398Massachusetts CharterAllowed Puritans to take a charter with them and establish their own government in the New World.8
4887859399Loss of Massachusetts CharterRevoking of Mass. Charter by King George II due to the colonists refusal to obey by the Navigation Acts leading to anti-British feeling in the New England region.9
4887859400New AmsterdamA settlement established by the Dutch near the mouth of Hudson River and the southern end of Manhattan Island as a trade port for the Dutch trade empire.10
4887859401Great Migration of Puritans1630s- 70,000 refugees left England for New World increasing population of New England.11
4887859402New YorkIt was founded by the Dutch for trade and furs and became an English Colony in 1664, when the English were determined to end Dutch trade dominance, and took over the colony by invading New Amsterdam without having to fire a shot.12
4887859403Peter StuyvesantThe governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, hated by the colonists. They surrendered the colony to the English on Sept. 8, 1664.13
4887859404House of Burgesses1619 - The Virginia House of Burgesses formed, the first legislative body in colonial America. It was made up of two representatives from teach town voted on by men who owned property. Later other colonies would adopt the Houses of Burgesses concept creating self-governing bodies in the colonies.14
4887859405Headright systemHeadrights were parcels of land consisting of about 50 acres which were given to colonists who brought indentured servants into America. They were used by the Virginia Company to attract more colonists.15
4887859406Indentured servantsColonists who received free passage to North America in exchange for working without pay for a certain number of years16
4887859407Bacon's Rebellion1676 - Nathaniel Bacon and other western Virginia settlers were angry at Virginia Governor Berkley for trying to appease the Doeg Indians after the Doegs attacked the western settlements. The frontiersmen formed an army, with Bacon as its leader, which defeated the Indians and then marched on Jamestown and burned the city. The rebellion ended suddenly when Bacon died of an illness.17
4887859408King Phillip's WarUnder the leadership of Metacom, or King Phillip, the Wampanoag destroyed colonial towns, the colonists destroyed native farms, leading to the most deadly of Indian Wars. The war was disastrous for the natives leading to few surviving the war, and those that did left New England.18
4887859409royal colonyA colony ruled by governors appointed by a king19
4887859410proprietary colonyEnglish colony in which the king gave land to proprietors in exchange for a yearly payment20
4887859411town meetingsA purely democratic form of government common in the colonies, and the most prevalent form of local government in New England. In general, the town's voting population would meet once a year to elect officers, levy taxes, and pass laws.21
4887859412Salem Witch Trials1629 outbreak of witchcraft accusations in a Puritan village marked by an atmosphere of fear, hysteria, and unfounded accusations in courts with Puritan ministers who served as judges. 19 women were executed.22
4887859413Roger WilliamsA dissenter who clashed with the Massachusetts Puritans over separation of church and state and was banished in 1636, after which he founded the colony of Rhode Island to the south.23
4887859414IntolerantNot willing to accept ways of thinking different from one's own. The expansion of colonies in New England was a direct result of Puritan intolerance as dissenters were exiled and created new settlements.24

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