Lesson 1: Founding of the Colonies
Wrapping Up
Conclusion
This lesson has given you a brief overview of the founding of the British colonies in North America. In the next two lessons, you'll take a more detailed look at the history and culture of individual colonies, learn more about why their residents decided to settle there, and discover the ways that they interacted with the native people of each region and people brought from other faraway lands to work in the colonies.
Questions to Discuss
- What were some of the reasons why people migrated from Europe to North America? (Your child may mention the desire for wealth -- or at least the hope of escaping poverty -- the desire to practice a religion not permitted in their home country, or avoiding imprisonment.)
- How were the colonies governed early on? (Your child should understand that the colonies were either ruled by the men who owned the land -- in proprietary colonies -- or were managed by governors. Self-government became an important feature of colonial governance, but the king wanted to change that as the colonies became more economically successful and he wished to have more control over them.)
- What did you like about the film that you watched today? Was there anything that you didn't like about it?
Things to Review
- Review your child's map of the thirteen British colonies.