Colonial Regions / Puritans Quiz Review Guide

Covenant

(Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return. Puritans believed they had one.

Cash Crops

A crop that is not edible. It is sold for other needs. Some examples include cotton and tobacco.

General Assembly

A group of colony members who were elected (chosen by voters) to make the laws. The general assembly's laws were primarily made by elected colonial representatives.

Governor

A leader of a colony. Governs that colony. Is appointed (chosen) by the King. Can overrule laws passed by the General assembly. NON-DEMOCRATIC.

Puritan

A religious group who wanted to purify the Church of England. They came to America for religious freedom and settled Massachusetts Bay.

Tituba

An old, poor servant who told girls of witchcraft, the devil, and voodoo. She taught girls to grunt like hogs, mew like cats, and bark like dogs. She was the first to be accused of witchcraft in Salem. At first she said she was innocent but then "admitted" that she could fly through the air on a broomstick.

Massasoit

Chief of the Wampanoag tribe who helped the Pilgrims survive.

New England Colonies

Contained Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. In this region people could become shipbuilders or merchants to make money. Colonial New England, settled mostly by Puritans, was cold, rocky, and hard to farm. However, people worked hard on small farm and also became shipbuilders, lumberjacks, fishermen, or tradesmen. The coast had a lot of seafood, too.

Puritan Community

Each family had several acres of farmland in small settlements. They were close together and they helped each other. There were schools on most settlements. They built meetinghouses which was the largest and most important building that acted as a gathering place for religious services, celebrations, and news. There was also a common where townspeople could bring their livestock to graze. It was open to anybody. Growing community, many Puritan settlers. There were strict laws; had to go to church and their behavior was controlled. If you didn't obey there would be harsh punishment. They judged eachother. "City on a hill."

Democratic

Eligible citizens vote for a leader. The general assembly is an example of this. The governor was NOT democratically approved. The King of England chose the governor.

Metacom / King Philip

He was Massasoit's son. When Massasoit died, Philip took his place as chief of the Wampanoag. King Philip was slowly watching his home and tribe diminish. Out of revenge he started a war against the English (King Philip's War). King Philip was eventually killed and decapitated. His head was placed on a fort for 25 years.

John Winthrop

In 1629 he became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, from 1630-1649. He was a Puritan with strong religious beliefs. He was the one who said that the colony should be a "city on a hill".

Southern Colonies

Included Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This region was distinctive because the plantations grew cash crops. The climate made it perfect for growing cash crops like tobacco or rice. Southerners created plantations or large farms to grow lots of these crops for sale, mostly in Europe.

Middle Colonies

Included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. This region was unique because they had many different types of cultures settled there, often looking for complete religious freedom. This colony attracted many settlers because of their wonderful farmlands and nearly complete religious tolerance. Many types of Europeans came to settle there.

King Philip's War

It lasted two years (1675-1676). The Wampanoag lost the war killing 600 English settlers but losing 3,000 men in the process. The tribe burned 50 of the 90 villages. The land was destroyed.The Native American survivors were then sold as slaves, killed, or exiled.

City On A Hill

It meant that Massachusetts Bay Colony would be a great example of how to act and what God wanted people to do. They acted like the world was watching. They knew what to do from the rules of the Bible.

Afflicted Girls

Some girls would make animal sounds. Also, a few would have fits and spasms. They would shout out in church saying things such as "There is a yellow bird on the minister's head!" The girls accused people such as Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osburn.

Salem, MA

Th location of The Salem Witch Trials. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony everyone was pressured to be perfect. They believed they needed to follow every rule of the Bible for God. If they weren't perfect they would be severely punished. This led the Puritans to be very suspicious of each other. In these times people believed in witches. If the slightest wrong happened they thought it to be witchcraft. In Salem, they took it to an extreme in punishment.

Religious Tolerance

The Middle Colonies had the most religious tolerance. People specifically went to that section because of the diversity and religious freedom. The New England Colonies were not good in the 1600's. Everyone had to strictly follow the rules of the Bible. If they didn't they were normally accused of witchcraft.

Puritan Beliefs

They believed that the church was wrong to insist that Puritans ministers follow the same rulings of the bishops. The Puritans believed in Congregationalism. Most people in the community believed that the rules in the Bible, that became the laws, would let them lead perfect lives. They believed that if they broke their covenant with God they would be punished, go to hell, or He would destroy the community.