Significant individuals and groups of the 13 colonies

John Rolfe

A planter at the Jamestown settlement who experimented with tobacco and grew a type of tobacco that people in England wanted. Tobacco became the first cash crop for the Virginia colony. Rolfe married Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan. Rolfe eventually became a member of the House of Burgesses.

Thomas Hooker

Established Connecticut because he disagreed with Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop about political rights. Winthrop believed that only members of the Puritan church should be allowed to be a part of the government. Hooker believed that any male landowner should be allowed to be a part of it. Hooker left Massachusetts and founded the Connecticut colony.

Quakers

Founded in 1647 in England by George Fox, the Society of Friends, or Quakers, were a Protestant group emphasizing a direct relationship with God.This group did not believe in established churches and refused to fight in wars.The Quakers were often treated badly in England because of their beliefs.

Pilgrims

In 1620, the Mayflower crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed at Plymouth Rock in what is now Massachusetts. This group of people started the Plymouth colony which became the first permanent English settlement in New England.Many of the people on the Mayflower had strong religious beliefs and wanted to separate from the Church of England. These people were known as the Pilgrims. Their governing document was called the Mayflower Compact and was written and signed by William Bradford.

Lord Baltimore

In 1632, George Calvert he received a charter from King Charles I to start the colony of Maryland. Calvert was Catholic, and he wanted a place in America where Catholics could practice their religion freely.

James Ogelthorpe

In 1732, he obtained a royal charter from George II to start the colony of Georgia. Oglethorpe wanted a place where debtors and poor people could live. He founded Savannah in 1733.

Puritans

Many of the settlers of New England were Puritans. The Puritans wanted to purify the Church of England. In 1630, John Winthrop, who had been chosen to govern the Massachusetts Bay Colony, led a group of about 700 Puritans from England to Massachusetts. They founded Boston and other nearby towns.

Roger Williams

Puritan minister who arrived in Massachusetts in 1631. He wanted the church and state to be separate, and he thought people should be free to practice religion as they chose. His disagreements with the leaders of Massachusetts led them to kick him out of the colony in 1635. Roger Williams fled to what is now Rhode Island where he started the settlement called Providence.

William Penn

a Quaker and wanted a place in North America where Quakers and members of other faiths could worship freely. In 1681, King Charles II gave Penn a charter to start the colony of Pennsylvania.

George Whitefield

a minister well-known for his role in the First Great Awakening. The First Great Awakening was a religious movement that occurred in the mid 1700s. During this time, new religious groups were formed that inspired a new interest in religion among many different colonists. George Whitefield was a preacher who gave emotional speeches that got people excited about religion. During the Great Awakening, people began to value a more personal relationship with God rather than the established order of traditional churches. Also during this time, the ideas of religious freedom and religious tolerance became more accepted.

Anne Hutchinson

believed that faith was more important than religious action. She lived among the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and led Bible study groups for women in Boston. Her cleverness and charm earned her a great following. The Puritan religious leaders did not approve of her because they viewed her as a threat to their faith and authority. They believed that people needed to follow strict rules to go to heaven. Eventually, Hutchinson was brought to trial and forced out of the colony in 1637. She moved to Rhode Island and started the settlement of Portsmouth, just south of Providence.

Nathaniel Bacon

led a rebellion known as Bacon's Rebellion.Bacon did not like the policies that the governor of the Virginia Colony had towards Native Americans. The governor wanted to make peace with the Native Americans, while Bacon wanted to force the Native Americans off their land. When the governor refused to give Bacon permission to move the tribes, Bacon started an uprising in protest. The rebellion ended when Nathaniel Bacon died of illness only a short time after it began.

Peter Stuyvesant

the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam. He had a long career with the Dutch West India Company and was eventually given control of all the land claimed by the Dutch in North America and the Caribbean. In 1664, Stuyvesant gave up control of New Amsterdam to the English, who then renamed the colony New York.

John Smith

worked for the Virginia Company, which was given a charter by King James I to start a colony in North America. He helped establish Jamestown in 1607. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America. Smith was a part of the seven-member council that led the colony. He led explorations along the coast. He made friends with Pocahontas, who saved his life from her father, Chief Powhatan.