American Colonies: The Settling of North America

A young and charismatic member of the gentry in the colony of Virginia. Bacon led the rebellion named after him in 1676-77 against Governor William Berkeley in a bid to change Virginia’s Indian-Frontier policy and gain power for himself.

Governor of the colony of Virginia from 1642-52. Berkeley allied himself with the wealthy planters and levied heavy taxes on the colonists. He opposed the genocide of the local Algonquian Indians because they were valuable trading partners.

A British general in the Seven Years’ War. Braddock remained committed to the European style of warfare and was killed in an ambush in 1755. His death allowed the young officer George Washington to take command of the army.

A Spanish explorer who was captured by the Indians and became a spiritual leader among them. After returning to Spanish society in 1536 as an ally to the Indians, his stories of wealthy cities north of Mexico led to unintended consequences: the destructive expeditions of Coronado and de Soto.

A French explorer who founded the colony of New France on the Saint Lawrence River and established Quebec in 1608. Champlain prioritized building a network of Indian allies for the New French, most notably the Huron.

King of England from 1625-49. An ally of the Catholics and Anglicans, Charles I notably dissolved Parliament in 1629 and ruled arbitrarily for the next 11 years, driving the Puritan Great Migration to the Americas.

King of England from 1660-85 and brother of James II. The son of Charles I, Charles II and his brother James were determined to reassert royal authority over the American colonies. To this end, Charles enacted the Navigation Acts and finally took New Netherland from the Dutch in 1674, solidifying English power along the Atlantic seaboard north of Florida.

A Genoese explorer and militant Catholic, Columbus intended to cross the Atlantic to find a trade route to India. In 1492 under the patronage of the Spanish Crown, he launched the first European voyages to the Americas and pioneered European colonization techniques on the Canary Islands, where he subjugated the native Taíno people.

A Spanish conquistador of the 16th century. Inspired by the tall tales of Cabeza de Vaca, he led fruitless expeditions north of Mexico and into the Great Plains in search of wealth matching the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán.

One of the first Spanish conquistadors. He gained wealth and fame by inciting the downfall of the Aztec empire and the city of Tenochtitlán in the early 16th century.

King of England from 1509-47. Denied an annulment from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII rejected Catholicism and formed the Anglican Church, also called the Church of England. This unification of religion and politics drove dissenters, the Puritans, to the New World.

King of England from 1685-88 and brother of Charles II. In an effort to reclaim royal authority over the English colonies, in 1684 James II revoked several proprietary charters and formed the hated Dominion of New England. His favoritism for Catholics caused Protestant leaders in England to invite a coup from the Dutch Prince William of Orange. James II fled to France in 1688.

King of France from 1643-1715. A bastion of Catholic power in Europe, Louis XIV kept French settlements in New France under tight royal authority. He was one of the combatants in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Called King Philip by the English, in 1675 Metacom led an Indian uprising against the Puritans in what the Europeans called “King Philip’s War.” After destroying several Puritan towns and killing many colonists, his uprising petered out after he was killed by an Indian ally of the English in 1676.

A Narragansett leader who suggested a pan-Indian alliance against the European invaders in 1642. He was captured and killed by the English and their native allies before his vision could be realized.

An English Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania in the 1680s. Envisioning a haven for religious tolerance, Penn led the colony to significant success.

The chieftain of a confederacy of Algonquians where the English established one of their first permanent settlements in the Americas, Jamestown. He captured and spared John Smith, apparently at the request of his daughter, Pocahontas. He made reluctant peace with the English after she was captured in 1613.

An English captain who commanded the colony of Jamestown. He published promotional literature about the Americas, especially New England, which inspired the Puritans to emigrate.

A young British officer who, despite an embarrassing early failure, came to relative success commanding the British army in the Seven Years’ War.

A charismatic English preacher who became a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic for his energetic, revival-style preaching. A staunch critic of Christian rationalists, he was preeminent among the “New Lights” of evangelicalism.

Prince of Orange and King of England from 1689-1702. William was invited by English Protestants to depose the Catholic James II and assume the throne of England in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. William revoked many of James II’s more unpopular colonial policies (chiefly the Dominion of New England) and was more willing to compromise than his predecessor, as he needed colonial assistance in the Nine Years’ War against France.