"Settling" America

• European's poured into America in the 1650s

• ​French were in Canada and along the Mississippi River

• Spanish in Florida and along Rio Grande

• Dutch negotiated for Manhattan Island

• English on the East Coast

"Settling" America

​To Earn a Living

• Europe was overcrowded

  • Americas were thought to be wide open.

• Those who could afford it paid for travel and bought farms.

• Those without money became indentured servants.

  • Signed contracts with captains for safe passage, then contract was sold to colonists.

  • Worked off debt over 4-7 years.

    • Most died before

  • Could not vote, marry, have children, leave the land

For Religion

• Protestant Reformation sparked many "new" religions in Europe

• Countries sometimes claimed 1 official religion

  • Dissenters could be persecuted, imprisoned, executed.

  • America offered an opportunity for freedom.

• Groups like Puritans wanted the chance to create their version of a proper life/government.

They Were Forced

• Enslaved people made up as much as 40% of population in Southern colonies.

• Encouraged by Headright system.

  • Carolina Colony specifically gave 50-150 acres per person brought to America

    • includes indentured servants and enslaved peoples.