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The Protestant Reformation. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had been very powerful. In fact, the Church was Europe’s wealthiest institution and largest landowner. One reason for this success was a practice known as the sale of indulgences. People would actually donate land and money to the Church in return for being told that after death, they would have to spend less time in Purgatory before going to Heaven. These and other practices led to corruption and abuse, and many people began to criticize the Church. In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther began what is known as the Protestant Reformation. He called for an end to the sale of indulgences and other abuses. Soon, much of Germany was divided between those who agreed with Luther (who would be called Protestants or Lutherans) and those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church. The Reformation also spread to places like France and the Netherlands. Some people in England also agreed with Luther, but for the most part the English remained Catholic. England’s king at the time was Henry VIII. He initially had no quarrel with the Pope or the Catholic Church. However, in 1527 Henry VIII sought a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she was not bearing him a male child to inherit the throne. The Pope refused to grant Henry’s divorce, since Catherine was a member of the Spanish royal family and Spain was a big supporter of the Church. Henry eventually decided to break away from the Catholic Church. In 1534 his Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which made him the head of a new church, the Church of England (also called the Anglican Church). So the Reformation in England was more for political reasons than religious ones. Nevertheless, when England broke away from the Catholic Church, it opened the door for many people to embrace the new, more radical religions that were taking hold in some other parts of Europe. One such religion was Calvinism, which stressed God’s power over man. In England, followers of Calvinism became known as Puritans. They felt that the Anglican Church had not gone far enough in separating itself from Catholic religious practices, and wanted a more sweeping Reformation. Henry VIII finally had a son, but the son died after having been king for only 6 years. After that, Henry’s first daughter, Mary I became Queen. Mary was a Catholic, and during her 5-year reign (1553-1558) she tried to restore the Catholic Church in England. She was particularly brutal to Protestants who refused to switch (see p. 24), and many were executed. Although "Bloody" Mary died in 1558, English Protestants never quite got over this period. Even when she was succeeded by Elizabeth I, many felt they would be better off going somewhere else. It is during Elizabeth’s reign (1558-1603) that things calm down and England begins to prosper. As a Protestant, Elizabeth restores the Church of England, but retains most Catholic rituals and sacraments. This compromise is known as the Elizabethan Settlement. Elizabeth also starts building an English navy, which in 1588 defeats the much larger Spanish Armada in a famous sea battle. By 1600, England will be Spain’s chief rival, and the English were now ready to colonize North America. Elizabeth also renewed her father's attempt to colonize Ireland, whose Catholic population presented a threat to English Protestantism. Indeed, the brutal Irish campaigns of the 1560's presented a model for future English colonization of the Americas. Elizabeth I died in 1603, without a direct heir to the throne. She wanted her cousin, King James VI of Scotland, to succeed her. So in 1603, he became King James I of England as well. It's during James' reign (1603-1625) that the first successful English colonies would be established in North America (Jamestown, 1607; Plymouth, 1620). But the English had been interested in North America since the 1490's; in 1497 King Henry VII sent explorer John Cabot (an Italian) to explore Eastern Canada. But at that time (before Elizabeth), England was still a relatively poor country, and there wasn't enough money to follow up on Cabot's voyage. Finally, in 1585, Elizabeth I authorized Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a settlement off the Carolina coast, which was named Roanoke. However, this attempt failed; the English, disappointed in not finding gold, returned to England after the harsh winter of 1586. A second settlement at Roanoke was established in 1587, but those settlers mysteriously disappeared. But the English had not lost interest in America. For one thing, English Protestants saw colonization of the New World as a necessary step to curb the power of Catholic Spain. Moreover, by the time James I came to the throne (1603), there were enough willing investors in joint stock companies to underwrite risky voyages and corporate colonies. Many of these investors were excited by the tales of fantastic mineral and natural wealth told by promoters such as Richard Hakluyt. When he became King, James I continued Elizabeth's attempts to establish an English presence in the New World. The first successful English settlement would be in Virginia (named after Elizabeth, the "virgin queen"), at Jamestown in 1607. Jamestown was chartered by a joint stock company, the London Company, which was later renamed the Virginia Company. Its sole purpose was to return a profit to investors. In 1607, three ships carrying 104 men (no women) arrived at the Chesapeake Bay and sailed 50 miles up the James River (named after King James). However, as we will see next time, Jamestown's early years were disastrous. For one thing, the men immediately began searching for gold, instead of the harder work of planting crops. Second, the swampy area around the settlement bred malaria, which would continue to take a toll on the Chesapeake population throughout the 17th century. Discipline was also a major problem, especially in the absence of family structure. Finally, the settlers were engaged in intermittent warfare with the Powhatan Indians (1607-14). The English who settled Jamestown were part of something called the London Company, which was later renamed to the Virginia Company. Perhaps naïvely, they thought they would find huge quantities of gold in Virginia, like the Spanish had found in South America. The first years for the English in Jamestown were terrible. Many died of malnutrition and disease, and many more were killed during conflicts with the Powhatan Indians, the main Native American tribe in the area. Discipline was a major problem: the Jamestown settlers, mostly young males, preferred to go off looking for gold than guarding their settlement or growing crops. The colony might not have survived the harsh winter of 1608-09 had it not been for John Smith, who seized control of the settlement's ruling council and imposed a harsh military discipline. Smith also traded with local Indians for food, and required that all men work, regardless of social status or privilege. Even with the military discipline, the settlement's survival was precarious. Of the 500 people who arrived in the fall of 1609, only 60 lived to see the following spring. Smith himself was forced to leave the colony after a gunpowder accident in 1609, but subsequent leaders emulated his approach. I read briefly from laws of Virginia (1610-11), noting the severity of punishments (most often death) for a variety of offenses. GO TO EXCERPT But such strictness, and the harsh conditions faced by the settlers, discouraged others from leaving England for Jamestown. So to encourage further settlement, the London Company began awarding small plots of land to men once they had finished their duty to the company. Eventually (1616), the company instituted a headright system. This gave 50 acres of land to anyone who could pay his own way to Virginia, plus an additional 50 acres for each person (or head) he brought with him. In the long run, the incentive of land ownership would help sustain population growth in the colony, but it would also lead to the emergence of an elite planter class, which owned all the best acreage for farming. Besides the establishment of martial law, and the creation of landownership incentives, a couple of other things began to work in the settlement's favor. In 1614, John Rolfe, a prominent colonist, married Matoaka (better known as Pocahontas), daughter of the Powhatan chief. This created a fragile (and temporary) peace between English and Native American, giving the colony a little "breathing" time. (Pocahontas was converted to Christianity, renamed "Rebecca", and taken to England, where she died in 1617; I made the point that she serves as an early example of the Anglo-American view that native populations should be Christianized and assimilated into white culture.) Besides the temporary peace (Pocahontas' father died in 1618, and was succeeded by a brother who renewed hostilities with the English), the other thing to save the Jamestown settlement was the cultivation of tobacco. I read from some excerpts suggesting that tobacco had become known to the Europeans as early as Columbus' first voyage to the New World, and certainly by the late 16th century tobacco grown in the Caribbean was bringing in handsome profits. King James I (r. 1603-1625) initially opposed the practice of smoking, but the English king soon saw the benefits of taxing the new habit rather than suppressing it. Jamestown settlers had been growing tobacco since 1610, but found the native Virginia leaves of poor quality. John Rolfe had begun experimenting with seeds from Trinidad, and these proved more suited to European tastes. The first cargo of Virginian-grown tobacco was sold in England in 1617, and almost immediately Jamestown settlers dived into tobacco production. But there were three important problems with tobacco. First, Virginians put all their eggs in one basket (failed to diversify), beginning a long history in the American south of dangerous reliance on a single "cash crop" -- first tobacco, then cotton. Second, tobacco cultivation causes exhaustion of the soil, and thus a constant need for clearing new land. This meant nearly incessant warfare with native populations, and favored the colony's wealthy. Third, tobacco cultivation was labor intensive. Tobacco required attention 9 months out of the year. Virginia planters relied initially on indentured servitude, "purchasing" able-bodied makes from England. But this greatly skewed the colony's sex ratio, with men outnumbering women 6:1 during the 17th century. This meant that social instability, lawlessness, would persist in the Chesapeake area throughout the century. There are three critical events in Jamestown during the year 1619. First, in 1619 the Virginia Company began transporting women to the colony to become wives for planters. Second, this is the year when the House of Burgesses meets for the first time. The House of Burgesses was a legislative body that would make local laws in the Virginia colony. In other words, it represents the beginning of self-government in colonial America. Over time, colonial assemblies in each of the English colonies will become extremely important in preparing America for independence. The third major event of 1619 in Jamestown is the first recorded sale of slaves in the English colonies. Although the African slave trade had been started during the late 1490’s by the Portuguese, most Africans ended up in places like the Caribbean or Brazil. The importation of slaves to Virginia (because cheap labor was needed to keep up with the demand for tobacco) would obviously have a dramatic effect on subsequent colonial history, and on the history of the United States after independence. However, at this time (1619), slavery was not at all established in Virginia, and throughout the 17th century the status of Africans in the colony would be ambiguous. However, during the 18th century slavery would become a much more well-defined institution, as the inefficient system of indentured servitude gave way to one based on the forced labor of blacks.
Next time: Puritan Separatists establish a colony at Plymouth; the other English colonies are settled.
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