Tolerance And Equality In 17th Century America

For a long time, Jamestown, VA took in many indentured servants—a worker who is under contract of an employer for up to seven years in exchange for transportation and many necessities (clothing, food, drink, and lodging)—in order to fulfill the duties that the owners couldn’t. Though employers made Jamestown seem like a loving and welcoming place, it was just the opposite. These indentured servants were treated equally to slaves, but many were willing to risk their lives in order to gain their own land. Once they obtained land of their own, they could grow their own tobacco and become extremely wealthy.

In a time when numerous countries were beginning to explore the new and exciting land of North America during the Age of Exploration, and groups of people from England and Spain were fleeing their home countries either for religious freedom or wealth, vast and civilized colonies began to form all throughout the New World. It is in this context that the colonies founded by the English and the Spanish began to develop and grow. There was a significant difference between the Spanish and New England colonies between 1492 and 1700 in terms of the treatment of indigenous people, and there were some immense similarities between the two colonies in terms of the role of religion in their society and the

Compare the ways in which religion shaped the development of colonial society (to 1740) in TWO of the following regions: New England

Contrary to the pilgrims of New England, those who settled in the Chesapeake area colonized the region for more economic purposes. Many people who settled in the Chesapeake were down-on-their-luck English citizens living in swamps and slums hoping to stake it out in the New World, because it couldn’t be much worse than the conditions they faced back in England. Most received their tickets to America through indentured servitude, paying for their trip with a few years of free labor for a wealthy master. Document C is a roster of indentured servants bound for Virginia who are all set to work for the same master. Indentured servitude had long lasting effects on the colonies, the most impactful being Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 (Document H). This uprising was caused former indentured servants who had no land or property of their own once their work contracts expired. Because the land westward was populated by Natives and therefore almost impossible to acquire, the dissenters focused against the rich and powerful members of the colonies. The successful uprising led to reforms such as work regulations explained in Document E, as well a shift away from indentured servitude and towards slavery of blacks. Other settlers besides indentured servants were aspiring traders and gold-hunters mentioned in Document F. While traders had little success early on and treasure hunters definitely didn’t find their fields of

In New England Puritan ideas of gender dictated acts of gender for women in terms of behavior, demeanor, and speech at home and church, in public and private. Gender roles were clearly defined and categorized women as the weaker, vulnerable sex; physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally, subordinate to men in every instance and venue. Men were the heads of the household and of the church. They ruled what were deemed the important aspects of life. Women's role in society was that of domestic; they owned no property, made no significant wage and were entirely dependent on men for their subsistence. While the primary tenants underlying the American Puritan doctrine of the 17th century stated that women were no more susceptible to

In 17th century Euro-America Puritan society believed that men played a patriarchal role upon women, and that this role was instituted by God and nature. The seniority of men over women lay within both the household and the public sphere. The household, immediate family living in the same dwelling was subject to the male as head figure of the house. The public sphere also known as the social life within the Puritan community consisted of two echelons. These echelons consisted of formal and informal public. The formal public consisted of woman and indentured servants. Women were to stay within the informal public and stay in the shadows of the men. The government held large ties with the church in the 17th century. Though women were

The decline of indentured servitude and the rise of chattel slavery were caused by economic factors of the English settlers in the late 17th century. Colonists continually tried to allure laborers to the colony. The head right system was to give the indentured servant a method of becoming independent after a number of years of service. Colonists chiefly relied on Indentured Servitude, in order to facilitate their need for labor. The decreasing population combined with a need for a labor force, led colonists to believe that African slaves were the most efficient way to acquire a labor force that would satisfy their needs.

For men, and those who were not indentured servants, were provided more opportunities in the European colonies than they did at home, for the colonists, freedom meant owning land. Some people such as, Johannes Hänner, didn’t even require land to feel free in the New World, it was simply a matter of being able to live comfortably with family and friends. However, this positive outlook was not widely shared among all colonists, in Virginia for example, while

The Puritans raised their families to be very reliable on themselves instead of others. As Puritan children got older throughout their life they got taught to be dependable and to take care of themselves to prepare them for their future of being responsible adults. Throughout the young puritan boys’ and girls’ lives, they were expected to take on many hardworking tasks to help their parents and other family members in and outside the house. Puritan women were in charge of the household but were thought of as irrational because they were emotional, but men were thought of as sane and reasonable (Dunklee et al.). Men may have had a lot of power, but “Women exercised considerable power within their families, including the authority to divorce their husbands by setting their belongings outside the longhouse entrance” (Lapsansky). The Puritan boys were accompanied to do outside chores such as hunting, crafting, and also learning carpentry. The girls were to do inside the house chores such as cleaning, cooking, and helping their mothers in the house. The Puritan parents held their children to high standards to prepare them to be proper husbands and

While the Chesapeake and New England colonies were similarly the earliest successful English colonies in North America, the colonies developed quite independently of each other. When looking at the differences and similarities in the development of these colonies, it seems as though the differences far outweigh the similarities. These colonies varied in regards to their religious beliefs, their societal organization, culture, economy, and relationships with local American Indians. The differences and similarities between the colonies can be further understood by analyzing the individual colonies’ geography, economy, religious beliefs, and cultural practices.

The decline of indentured servitude and the rise of chattel slavery were caused by economic factors of the English settlers in the late 17th century. Colonists continually tried to allure laborers to the colony. The head right system was to give the indentured servant a method of becoming independent after a number of years of service. Colonists chiefly relied on Indentured Servitude, in order to facilitate their need for labor. The decreasing population combined with a need for a labor force, led colonists to believe that African slaves were the most efficient way to acquire a labor force that would satisfy their needs.

returned with a group of hired soldiers from Virginia and restored order. Governor Calvert died soon after in 1647. From his death bed, Calvert appointed Thomas Greene to replace him as governor and Margaret Brent the executor of his estate.

           Chesapeake and the other Southern colonies were agrarian societies. The main crop in Chesapeake and North Virginia was tobacco, while in the Deep South, mainly in Georgia and South Carolina, the main crops were rice and cotton. The expansion of these crops led to an increased demand of a large force labor. At the first they hired indentured servants. These were young people who paid for their passage to the American Colonies by working for an employer from five to seven years. Unlike slaves, Indentured servants could look forward to receiving payment known as "freedom dues" upon their release (Foner 2005). These freedom dues included things like new clothes and perhaps a bit of land. However, many died before the end of the.ir terms, and freedom dues were so meager that did not enable recipients to acquire land (Ibid.). Despite the hard conditions of work, a high death rate and

Many servants who had come to Virginia in the 17th century buy could not afford to come to America first sign indentured contracts, so they became indentured servants. These contracts were non-negotiable once signed by both the servant and master. Due to this, servants had to make sure the contract had a type of freedom due included in it after the years of service was completed. Once established, servants would be able to serve often five to seven years in exchange for goods, land or freedom; “And the said Master during the said Term shall by the best Means or Method that he can, Teach or cause the said Apprentice to be Taught the Art and Mystery of a Merchant [sic] And shall find a provide unto the said Apprentice sufficient meat Drink and Lodging” ("Indenture agreement, 1742" 2012). Reid was to be taught Art and Mystery of a Merchant and given sufficient meat drink and lodging as his freedom dues. Being taught literature was considered a freedom due because for the most part they wanted these servants to stay unknowledgeable. Indeed, Reid was granted these freedom dues from Livingston after his five years. If for whatsoever reason Livingston failed to grant Reid, his dues this would-be evidence and the master could be taken to court. This contract was a reassurance to the indentured servant that his term of service was not just put to waste. Unlike slaves who worked in horrible conditions for nothing at all. In terms of freedom dues as a

Puritanism was a religious movement that began in the late sixteenth century. The puritans were a group of reformed protestants who sought to “purify” the Church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, puritanism was not just a historical movement, it was a lifestyle that the puritans brought to New England. Puritanism can be defined by predestination, calling, covenant, Protestant ethic, and conversion.