History Quiz (American History)

Charter

A document that gives the holder the right to organize settlements in an area and a written set of rules. Each colony had a charter.

London Company

A joint-stock company chartered in 1606 and was responsible for founding the first permanent English settlement in America; Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.

Puritans

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

John Winthrop

As governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop (1588-1649) was instrumental in forming the colony's government and shaping its legislative policy. He envisioned the colony, centered in present-day Boston, as a "city upon a hill" from which Puritans would spread religious righteousness throughout the world.

Wampum

Belts or strings of polished beads of seashells that were used for trading and gift-giving by Iroquois and other Native Americans.

Peter Minuit

He settled a group of Dutch colonists at the mouth of the Hudson River after purchasing Manhattan Island in 1626 from the Indians for about twenty-four dollars worth of trinkets.

New Amsterdam

Settlement founded by the Dutch on Manhattan Island; became present-day New York City

London Company of Virginia Charter

The Charter given to the settlers of Virginia by the London Company that established their laws, goals, and right to claim land.

Dutch West Indian Company

The Dutch company was created in 1621 for the purpose of estalishing a permanent colony in the New World to trade furs. They set up the colony New Netherland. (what is now NY, New Jersey and Delaware)

Jamestown

The first successful English settlement in the Virginia colony founded in May, 1607 by the Chesapeake Bay. Harsh conditions nearly destroyed the colony but in 1610 supplies arrived with a new wave of settlers. The settlement became part of the Virginia Company of London in 1620. The population remained low due to lack of supplies until agriculture was solidly established. Jamestown grew to be a prosperous shipping port when John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a major export and cash crop.

Mayflower Compact

This document was drafted in 1620 prior to settlement by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Bay in Massachusetts. It declared that the 41 males who signed it agreed to accept majority rule and participate in a government in the best interest of all members of the colony. This agreement set the precedent for later documents outlining commonwealth rule. This document helped establish the practice of self-government.

Separatists (Saints)

Those who wanted to break all connections with the Church of England as opposed to most Puritans who believed it was possible to reform the church; the Pilgrims were Separatists.

Colony

a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country

Dutch East Indian Company

a trading company established in 1602 under government sponsorship, set up a settlement in southern Asia at the cape of good hope, which was meant to serve as a base to provide food and other provisions to Dutch ships enroute to the Spice Islands

Mayflower

famous ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from Southampton, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

Phatary

is a belief in a shared lineage between people of the same clan, often to remote, sometimes mythical, ancestor.

Separatists

sub-group of the Puritans who vowed to break completely with the Church of England

Plymouth Bay

Chosen as the settlement site by the Pilgrims; located in present-day MA

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Colony founded by non-Separatist Puritans. In 1629, King Charles gave the Puritans a right to settle and govern a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. The colony established political freedom and a representative government.

Lenape

Delaware Indians. Homeland included parts of present day PA, NY, NJ, and DE. Had three major groups: the Wiechquaeseck, the Rechgawawank, the Manahate.

Henry Hudson

English explorer (for the Dutch East Indian company) who sailed up the Hudson river in 1609 nearly reaching (present day) Albany. He claimed the Hudson River around present day New York and called it New Netherland. He also had the Hudson Bay named for him. Started the Dutch exploration of New Netherland.