13 Colonies Report Essays

13 Colonies Report Essays 13 Colonies Report Essay 13 Colonies Report Essay This is a report about the 13 colonies. First I will be talking about all the 13 colonies. Then I will be talking about one specific colony, Virginia. When I talk about Virginia, I will tell you about their migration, reason for migration, Native Americans, and more. So get ready for a report about the 13 colonies. 13 COLONIES There are 3 sets of England colonies with 13 colonies in them. The first colony is the New England colony which consists of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The second colony is the middle colonies which consist of New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The final colony is the southern colony which consists of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. These colonies are located along the eastern coast next to the Atlantic Ocean. VIRGINIA’S MIGRATION AND REASON FOR MIGRATION Virginias earliest European immigrants were English- only a few hundred at first, but 4,000 between 1619 and 1624, of whom fewer than 1,200 survived epidemics and Indian attacks. Despite such setbacks, Virginias population increased, mostly by means of immigration, from about 5,000 in 1634 to more than 15,000 in 1642, including 300 blacks. Within 30 years, the population had risen to more than 40,000, including 2,000 blacks. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, immigrants came not only from England but also from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Poland. In 1701, about 500 French Huguenots fled Catholic France to settle near the present site of Richmond, and beginning in 1714, many Germans and Scotch-Irish moved from Pennsylvania into the Valley of Virginia. VIRGINIA’S CLOTHING The clothing illustrated in this article was worn by living people who had much in common with us. Not only did people then respond to fashion, they also varied their garments based on the activity and the formality of the occasion. The eighteenth-century words dress and undress had meanings quite different from the way we use the words today, though the basic concepts are still viable. Dress clothing meant formal clothing with a different set of conventions and accessories from undress, or informal clothing. In 1775, for example, a woman could still wear a pair of side hoops, or panniers, to support her wide skirt for a dress occasion, while her undress clothing ;although it would appear quite formal to our eyes, had a more modest skirt size that may not have needed hoops at all. Similarly, the clothes in which a wealthy planter conducted his daily business differed significantly from what he wore to a ball at the Governors Palace. The garments worn by a blacksmith or dairymaid for daily work were different from their best outfits, reserved for Sundays at church and infrequent special occasions. VIRGINIA’S HOME LIFE Within a few decades of Jamestown, Virginia was a society with slaves, but it was not yet a slave society. As late as 1640 there were more Africans in New England than Virginia. Only after the supply of European indentured servants declined in the late 1600s the tobacco planters turn increasingly to enslave Africans. In the mid-1600s, before social and racial hierarchies hardened, the slave Anthony Johnson- the black patriarch of Pungoteague Creek on the Eastern Shore- could gain his freedom, acquire a farm, and own a slave himself. But, by the late 1600s, Virginia began passing laws that made hereditary slavery binding on Africans, mulattoes, and some Indians. Virginia slaves came from many different parts of Africa, where they spoke different languages. Once in the colony, they had to learn English to communicate with each other. But they developed a distinct dialect that became the vehicle of a unique culture. By 1776, Virginians from Africa were 40 percent of the population. Various African cultural traditions, including food and cooking preferences, music, dance, vocabulary, religious and healing practices, and folklore mixed to form a new culture that strongly affected white culture as well. VIRGINIA’S RULES AND LAWS Virginia in the 1600s and through most of the 1700s was an extremely in egalitarian society like the Stuart England that produced it. This was the result of conscious choice, largely the vision of one man- Sir William Berkeley- royal governor from 1642 to 1652 and from 1660 to 1677. When he ssumed authority in Virginia, the colony was a society in flux in many ways. Sir Williams ideal society was authoritarian, like the one he had known at home. It would have a few ruling gentry families, a small class of yeomen farmers, a larger group of white tenant farmers, and at the bottom, numerous indentured servants (and eventually enslaved Africans). Social mobility would be at a minimum, and everyone would know his place. These plans were hindered by the staggering death rate in early Virginia, which made for a highly fluid, unstable society. But as death rates dropped in the late 1600s, and slaves replaced troublesome indentured servants, Berkeleys goal was largely achieved. Thereafter, the colony was run by and for a small governing elite. This class ruled Virginia until after the American Revolution. Ironically, many scions of these dynasties would be the leaders in the rebellion against King George III. VIRGINIA’S NATIVE AMERICANS All of the Commonwealth of Virginia used to be Virginia Indian territory, an area estimated to have been occupied by indigenous peoples for more than 12,000 years. Their population has been estimated to have been about 50,000 at the time of European colonization. The various peoples belonged to three major language families. The Algonquian who were on the coast, and Siouan and Iroquoian who were in the interior. In addition, about 30 Algonquian tribes were allied in the powerful Powhatan Confederacy. VIRGINIA’S REASON FOR SETTLEMENT The Jamestown Settlement Colony was the first successful English settlement on the mainland of North America. Named for King James I of England, Jamestown was founded in the Colony of Virginia on May 14, 1607. In modern times, Jamestown Settlement is also a promotional name used by the Commonwealth of Virginias portion of the historical attractions at Jamestown. It is adjacent and complementary to the Historic Jamestown on Jamestown Island which is the actual historic site where the first settlers landed and lived that is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia. Jamestown was founded for the purposes of a quick profit from gold mining for its investors while also establishing a permanent foothold in North America for England. Jamestown followed no fewer than eighteen earlier ailed attempts at European colonization of the North American mainland, including the famous Lost Colony â€Å"at Roanoke Island in what is now Dare County, North Carolina. Other successful colonies in North America were in Spanish dominions such as New Spain, New Mexico, and Spanish Florida. VIRGINIA’S LAND When Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of what Europeans called the New World , or, more precisely, the West Indies, he believed he had found a new trade route to Asia. The first English colonists arrived in North America in 1584 at Roanoke Island, in what is now North Carolina. The next year, a group of these settlers explored southeastern Virginia. The first English colony in North America that managed to survive began at Jamestown in 1607. Although this settlement also ran out of supplies and nearly abandoned in 1610, it later grew as increasing numbers of colonists arrived. Led by Captain John Smith, the settlers immediately explored the surrounding country, traveling up the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac Rivers as far as the fall line. They observed and wrote about the many villages and natives they met. Smith published an accurate map of the Coastal Plain of Virginia, marking the villages the scouting party discovered. CONCUSION This was a report on the 13 colonies that focused on Virginia’s rules and laws, Native Americans, land, and more. I used several resources, internet based as well as books to find my information. In this process I learned how the Virginia colony was formed and about the original settlers. I chose Virginia because of the Jamestown settlement and how the colony mysteriously disappeared. This was my report about the 13 colonies and I hope you liked it.