John Smith

John Smith was an English explorer and leader who helped establish the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1607. His strong leadership and interactions with local Native Americans helped the struggling colony survive its early years.

John Rolfe

John Rolfe was a Jamestown colonist who introduced tobacco as a successful cash crop, which helped the colony grow economically. He is also known for marrying Pocahontas, helping to create a temporary peace between the English and Powhatan tribes.

Pocahontas

Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan chief Wahunsenacawh and is known for helping the English settlers at Jamestown. She later married John Rolfe and traveled to England, becoming a symbol of early Native American and English relations.

Christopher Newport

Christopher Newport was an English sea captain who led the voyage that established the Jamestown settlement in 1607. He made several trips between England and Virginia, bringing supplies and new settlers to support the colony.

Indentured Servants/Enslaved People

Enslaved people and indentured servants played a crucial role in the economy of the 13 Colonies, providing labor on farms, plantations, and in households. While indentured servants worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage to America, enslaved Africans were forced to work for life with no freedom or rights.

The Powhatans

The Powhatan people were a powerful Native American confederacy in eastern Virginia at the time of English colonization. They had a complex society with strong leadership and initially interacted with the settlers of Jamestown through trade, conflict, and negotiation.

The Puritans

The Puritans were a religious group from England who settled in New England to practice their faith freely and build a community based on their strict religious beliefs. They played a major role in shaping the social, political, and educational foundations of the New England Colonies.

Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather was a prominent Puritan minister and author in colonial Massachusetts, known for his influence during the Salem Witch Trials. He also supported science and public health, including promoting smallpox inoculation.

Thomas Hooker

Thomas Hooker was a Puritan minister who founded the Connecticut Colony after leaving Massachusetts due to disagreements about church leadership and voting rights. He helped write the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, one of the first written constitutions in America.

Roger Williams

Roger Williams was a Puritan minister who was banished from Massachusetts for his views on religious freedom and separation of church and state. He founded Rhode Island, where people of all faiths could worship freely.

Lord Baltimore

Lord Baltimore (George Calvert) was the founder of the Maryland Colony, which he intended as a refuge for English Catholics facing persecution. His son, Cecil Calvert, carried out the colony’s establishment and promoted religious tolerance through the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649.

William Penn

William Penn was a Quaker who founded Pennsylvania as a place of religious freedom, fair treatment of Native Americans, and democratic government. His “Holy Experiment” made Pennsylvania one of the most diverse and tolerant colonies.

The Quakers

The Quakers, also known as the Religious Society of Friends, were a Christian group that believed in equality, nonviolence, and direct communication with God without formal clergy. They played a key role in founding Pennsylvania and were known for their tolerance and opposition to slavery.

The Puritans vs the Pilgrims

The Puritans and Pilgrims were both English Protestants who sought religious freedom, but they had different goals. The Pilgrims wanted to completely separate from the Church of England, while the Puritans wanted to reform it from within.

James Oglethorpe

James Oglethorpe was the founder of the Georgia Colony and envisioned it as a place where debtors and the poor could start anew. He also aimed to create a buffer colony to protect South Carolina from Spanish Florida.

The Lords Proprietors

The Lords Proprietors were eight English noblemen granted control of the Carolina Colony by King Charles II in 1663. They governed the land as a private venture and were responsible for attracting settlers and establishing laws and order in the colony.