Settling of America (1620's -1670's)

Christopher Columbus discovered the America’s for Spain in 1492.   The explorers and settlers that settled in Central and South America were mostly Spanish and Portuguese. The English took notice of the Spanish success in the America’s, so they decided to explore the upper part of the America’s, North America, in the late 1500’s.

Virginia was the first settled in the Chesapeake region in about 1607, and then later settlers went north to places like Massachusetts in the New England region in about 1629. Though both areas were settled by the English, they developed two different societies.

While Captain John Smith was in Virginia in 1624, the men on the ship waited for the large ship to leave and ‘those of us that had money, spare clothes, credit to give bills of payment, gold rings, fur, or any such commodities, were ever welcome to [purchase supplies. The rest of us patiently obeyed our] vile commanders and [bought] our provisions at fifteen times the value’ (Doc. F). While other men were searching for gold ‘with their golden promises, made all men their slaves in hope of recompense.’

A Puritan lawyer, John Winthrop, immigrated to New England because his views on religion were different from those in England. Even though Puritans are Protestants, Puritans tried to purify the English Church. In 1630 on board of the Arabella on the Atlantic Ocean on way to Massachusetts, he wrote “A Model of Christian Charity” which gave his views on what a society should be. ‘…the condition of mankind, [that] in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity, other mean and in subjection….[Yet] we must knit together in this work as one man.’ (Doc. A). In this he is saying that men may be different but to make a new world work, they must work together. All through his speech he mentions God. For example, he opens his sermon with ‘God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence…’. This shows that in New England, the people...