The Middle and Southern Colonies

Lesson Answer Key

The Middle and Southern Colonies

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Maryland

1. Maryland, and some of the other Restoration Colonies, were not commercial ventures like the Virginia Company or the New England Company. Instead, the king gave a grant to a single person or group. This grant set up the colony, where the person or group owned the land and had power over its government. What is the name for this type of colony?

• proprietary colony

1. Name the person Charles I gave the grant to that established the colony of Maryland, and tell why he gave this grant to a Catholic.

• Cecilius Calvert; Charles I gave Calvert, a Catholic, the grant because he wanted to help Catholics who had supported his marriage to Henrietta Maria.

1. Briefly describe the extent of religious freedom in Maryland in 1650.

• The Maryland legislature passed a law widely known as the Act of Toleration. This law said that all
• Christians in Maryland could freely practice their faith. Among Christians, there was a large degree of religious freedom. Maryland did not, however, allow non-Christians to practice their faiths.

1. Label the colony of Maryland on the map on the last page. Write the name of the colony’s founder (from question 2) and the reason for its founding.

Virginia

1. In 1624, King James I dissolved the Virginia Company and took over the colony’s affairs. It became the first - royal colony in North America.
2. What was Virginia’s assembly called? Briefly describe its attitude toward King James I and England.

• Virginia’s assembly was called the House of Burgesses. Its attitude toward King James I and England was that it tended to not pay much attention to them.

1. Who left England and settled in Virginia during the English Civil War and Cromwell’s eleven year rule? What did they intend to do in Virginia?

• Loyal supporters of King Charles I, known as Cavaliers, left England during the English Civil War and Cromwell’s rule. They intended to recreate the aristocracy of old England on plantations.

1. Bacon’s Rebellion

• Causes: Freemen wanted to settle on land that Virginia’s royal governor had promised the Indians would not be taken. Freemen were angry that the House of Burgesses levied taxes on their meager landholdings.
• Results: The king took more of an interest in the colony. Members of the House of Burgesses learned that frontiersmen and small landholders could not be ignored. The House of Burgesses negotiated a new treaty with the Indians, opening up more land to colonial settlement.

1. Find the colony of Virginia on the map and label it. Briefly explain the reasons behind its founding.

New York and New Jersey

1.  New York was originally a Dutch colony. In 1664, it surrendered to England, and Charles II handed over the colony to the Duke of York.
2. The Duke of York created New Jersey from land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. He gave it away to two English noblemen who sold it to English Quakers and Scots proprietors. It was divided into two separate colonies. In 1702, they were recombined into one royal colony.

1. Find the colonies of New York and New Jersey on the map and label them. For New York, include the name of its founder.

Carolina

1. Charles II gave a group of English landholders a large area that includes modern-day North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The proprietors of this new colony—Carolina—owned plantations in the West Indies. How did this fact shape the growing population of the new colony?

• The proprietors of Carolina used many slaves and indentured servants on their plantations in the West Indies. They shipped both to Carolina to work in the tar industry and to work on the rice plantations. The growing population included many slaves and indentured servants.

1. Label the colony of Carolina on the map.

Pennsylvania and Delaware

1. Pennsylvania was founded when King Charles II awarded a land grant to William Penn and named him proprietor of the new colony. The colony’s founder intended it to be a safe haven for Quakers and other religious dissenters.
2. How was the colony of Delaware founded?

• Delaware was founded when the Duke of York gave William Penn some land. This land later became the colony of Delaware.

1. Circle each of the following groups that were welcome to settle in Pennsylvania.

• All of the groups listed were welcome to settle in Pennsylvania.

1. Label the colonies of Pennsylvania and Delaware on the map. For Pennsylvania, write the name of its founder and the reason behind its founding.

Comparing the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Complete the following table. For each category, include as much information as possible.

Map

[pic 1]

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