Colonial Developments

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

The Silk Road was a very long trade route on land that connected China to Europe. Traders used it to exchange goods like silk, spices, porcelain, and other valuable items.

Student tip
Think of the Silk Road like an ancient “super-highway” for goods and ideas, except it was dusty, dangerous, and slow. So, some countries began to invest in a water route to China and India instead of this land route.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

The printing press was a machine invented around 1436 by Johannes Gutenberg. It allowed people to make many copies of books, maps, and other texts quickly and cheaply. Before this, everything had to be copied by hand.

Student tip
Think of the printing press as the first big information “explosion.”

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

An astrolabe was a small, portable tool used by sailors to help them figure out where they were at sea. By measuring how high the sun or stars were above the horizon, sailors could find their latitude or how far north or south they were.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

A caravel was a small, lightweight, and very easy-to-move sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 1400s. It had triangular sails that allowed it to sail faster and even travel against the wind, something older ships had trouble doing.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration was a time from the 1400s to the 1600s when European sailors began exploring, mapping, and taking control of lands across the world. New inventions like the caravel and astrolabe made long ocean voyages safer and easier.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

“Gold, God, and Glory” is a phrase that historians use to explain why European nations explored and conquered lands during the Age of Exploration.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

The Northwest Passage was a hypothetical all-water route that European explorers believed might connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the northern part of North America. They hoped it would be a faster way to reach Asia for trade.

Student tip
Think of the Northwest Passage as the “shortcut that didn’t work.” Europeans thought it would be an easy water highway to Asia, but instead, they found ice, danger, and disappointment.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

Colonization is when one country moves into another land, takes control of the people and the area, and creates a colony there. The colonizing country becomes the one in power.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

A colony is a country or area where people from another nation settle and live, while still being ruled by the government of their home country. The colony does not get to make its own decisions; it follows the laws of the ruling nation.

Student tip
Colonies helped European nations grow wealthy and powerful, but often harmed Indigenous peoples through disease, war, forced labor, and loss of land.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

A mother country is the nation that creates, controls, and rules a colony far away. The mother country is in charge of laws, language, trade, and government in the colony.

● Standard 7.2a — The Age of Exploration

The Columbian Exchange was the widespread movement of foods, plants, animals, goods, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Eastern Hemisphere (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the Western Hemisphere (North and South America) after Columbus’s voyages.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

The Lost Colony at Roanoke was an English settlement of 117 men, women, and children who arrived on Roanoke Island in 1587. It was the first English attempt to start a colony in the New World, but the settlers mysteriously disappeared.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

When John White returned to Roanoke in 1590, the colony was empty. The only clue left behind was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a wooden post. This word referred to a nearby island and the Croatoan Native American tribe.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in North America. It was founded on May 13, 1607, in present-day Virginia by about 144 settlers and sailors who arrived on the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. The colony was started by the Virginia Company of London and named after King James I.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Plymouth Colony was the second permanent English colony in North America. It was established in the New England region, in present-day Massachusetts, and existed from 1620 to 1691.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Pilgrims were the passengers on the ship The Mayflower who left England in 1620 to find a place where they could practice their religion freely. They were called Pilgrims because they were taking a religious journey, or pilgrimage.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

The Mayflower Compact was an agreement signed by 41 men aboard the ship The Mayflower in 1620. It joined the Pilgrims together under a plan to make decisions as a group, using majority rule.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Puritans were a religious group in England who wanted to purify, or simplify, the practices of the Church of England. They disliked fancy ceremonies, expensive decorations, and the selling of church positions. Because of their beliefs, they were often persecuted.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Religious freedom is the belief that people should be able to practice their religion openly, follow their own beliefs, and not be punished or persecuted for worshiping differently from others.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

The New England Colonies were the northernmost group of England’s colonies in North America. They included colonies like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Gatherings in New England colonies where members of the community came together to discuss issues, create rules, & make decisions for their town.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

The Middle Colonies were a region of English colonies in North America with a warm climate, fertile soil, flat land, forests, and many rivers. These conditions made the area good for farming, raising livestock, and lumbering. Iron was also found in large amounts.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Religious toleration means accepting and respecting the beliefs, values, and religious practices of people who follow a different religion than your own. It does not mean you have to agree with them, only that you allow them to worship in their own way.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

Quakers were a religious group known for their strong beliefs in peace, equality, and fairness. They refused to fight in wars, opposed slavery, and believed that men and women were spiritual equals.

● Standard 7.2c — The Three Colonial Regions

The Southern Colonies were the English colonies located farthest south, closest to the equator. With warm weather, long growing seasons, and fertile soil, this region was ideal for farming and agriculture.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

Slavery is the condition in which a person is owned by another person and forced to work without being paid. Enslaved people are not allowed to leave, refuse work, or make their own choices. They are treated as property, not as free human beings.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

Slave codes were strict laws passed in the Southern Colonies that controlled every part of enslaved people’s lives. These laws made it illegal for enslaved people to marry, own property, earn their freedom, or make many basic decisions.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

Triangular trade was a three-part trade system between Europe, West Africa, and the Americas. It is called triangular trade because the trade routes formed a large triangle on the map. This system played a major role in spreading slavery throughout the Americas. This system helped European countries become wealthy while causing enormous suffering and injustice for millions of enslaved Africans.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

The Middle Passage refers to the deadly journey enslaved Africans were forced to take across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. It was the second leg of the triangular trade system.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

An indentured servant was a person who agreed to work for someone else for a set number of years without pay. In return, they received a free boat trip to the American colonies, along with food, shelter, and clothing during the time they worked.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

A plantation was a very large farm in the Southern Colonies where cash crops were grown to be sold for profit. Plantations relied heavily on the labor of enslaved Africans who were forced to work the land.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

A cash crop is a crop grown mainly to be sold for money, not for the farmer’s own use. These crops were planted over large areas and harvested in huge amounts to make a profit.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

An economic system used by European countries during the colonial era. It’s based on the idea that a nation’s strength came from controlling trade & collecting wealth, especially gold.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

The Navigation Acts were laws passed by England to control trade in the colonies.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

Parliament is the elected lawmaking group in the government of Great Britain. Its members debate issues, create laws, and represent the people. The prime minister, who leads the government, must be a member of Parliament.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

To import means to bring goods or services into a country from another country in order to buy or sell them. Importing usually costs a country money because it is purchasing items made somewhere else.

● Standard 7.2e — Colonial Economic Practices

To export means to send goods from your own country to another country to sell or trade. When a country exports goods, it earns money from other nations.