A History of the United States: Chapter 3: Colonial America

Bad weather kept White from investigating. The Roanoke colonists were never seen again.

Several merchants pressed him for a charter—a document that granted the right to form a colony.

The Virginia Company was a joint-stock company, in which investors bought shares, or part ownership.

The colony of Virginia began to expand.

In 1619 land-owning male colonists cast ballots for burgesses, or representatives.

Not everyone in England was happy with the new church. Many people dissented, disagreeing with Anglican beliefs or practices.

The Separatists were persecuted—mistreated because of their beliefs—in England.

At the same time, they themselves had little tolerance for different beliefs. They criticized or persecuted people who did not agree with their views.

They strictly enforced their own religious rules. This lack of tolerance led people to form new colonies.

With its policy of religious toleration, Rhode Island became a safe place for dissenters.

There were people of many different racial, religious, and national backgrounds—that is, many different ethnic groups.

Quakers were also pacifists, or people who refuse to use force or fight in wars.

Penn allowed these southern counties to form their own legislature. The counties then functioned, or worked, as a separate colony known as Delaware.

Many people also came to the colonies as indentured servants. To pay for their passage to America, they agreed to work without pay for a certain length of time.

Cecilius gave large estates to English aristocrats. He also granted smaller pieces of land to other settlers.

Nathaniel Bacon was a young planter in western Virginia. He opposed the colonial government because it was dominated by easterners.

John Locke, an English philosopher, wrote a constitution, a plan that outlined the jobs and powers of the colony's government.

Another important crop was indigo. A young English woman named Eliza Lucas developed this crop in the 1740s. Indigo, a blue flowering plant, was used to dye cloth.

In Britain, debtors—those who had debts—could be imprisoned if they were unable to pay what they owed.