Who's Who: Colonial Settlers in the United States Quiz

Answer: John Smith

John Smith was in a bit of trouble - charged with mutiny - by the time the Susan Constant, the boat he was on, made it to Virginia in 1607. In fact, the captain of the ship had planned to execute him; when the orders of the Virginia Company were opened, however, it was revealed that Smith had been chosen to be one of the leaders of their new colony! His actions of demanding that everyone had to work and creating peaceful relations with the Native Americans in the area led to the establishment of the first successful English colony in North America.

Answer: Miles Standish

Miles Standish was part of a group of English Separatists who had traveled to Leiden in the Netherlands looking for a new way of life and religious freedom. As an experienced soldier who fought in the Eighty Years' War, he was asked by some of the members of the community to travel to America in 1620 and provide protection.

There he was part of the group that signed the Mayflower Compact; he also served the Plymouth Colony as Assistant Governor and Treasurer. Although a good soldier, his tough approach did not always work well in dealing with Native Americans; however, he is credited with teaching the colonists how to protect themselves.

Answer: Roger Williams

Roger Williams was a Puritan who left England looking for religious freedom. He originally settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony, however, after his arrival he found that he was more of a Separatist than a Puritan. While Puritans wanted to "purify" the Church of England of any practices that were considered too much like the Roman Catholic Church, Separatists wanted to totally break away from the Church of England and form their own churches. Williams was in a bit of trouble in Massachusetts Bay for speaking against the King of England and making public his belief that everyone should have religious freedom.

His settlement of Providence founded in 1636, ruled by a majority of the people with separation of church and state, quickly filled with people from Massachusetts Bay.

Answer: Peter Stuyvesant

Before he was Governor of New Netherland, Stuyvesant was a member of the Dutch West India Company and served in the Caribbean. He famously wore a peg leg due to the fact that he had lost part of his limb to a cannonball during a battle with the Portuguese there.

The period of his rule was marked by growth. He is credited with building the wall on Wall Street and the canal which became Broad Street and Broadway. The colony was taken by the English in 1664 after Charles II ceded the land to his brother, James. New Netherland became known as New York.

Answer: William Penn

William Penn was given a large land grant in modern-day Pennsylvania and Delaware because King Charles II of England owed a debt to his father. He arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682, intending to make his property grant into an area where Quakers could live in religious freedom.

They had suffered religious persecution in England, and while many had already emigrated to New England, they didn't get along with the Puritans who had already settled there. Penn helped to lay out the plan for Philadelphia, which today is known as the City of Brotherly Love.

Answer: Virginia Dare

Virginia Dare was born in August 1587, in the English Roanoke colony in present-day North Carolina. She was the granddaughter of John White, who escaped the mysterious fate of the other settlers of Roanoke because he had returned to England to gather more supplies for the group.

It took White three years to return due to war with Spain, and when he did he found the colony deserted. What happened to Virginia and all the people? White could never find any trace of evidence that suggested what their fate had been.

Answer: Pedro Menendez de Aviles

Considered to be one of Spain's most experienced admirals of the time, Pedro Menendez de Aviles named his settlement, founded on September 8, 1565, "St. Agustin" because the land was first sighted on the feast day of St. Augustine. His goal was actually to explore the area and search for his son who had been shipwrecked in Florida in 1561.

Instead, he founded the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the continental United States.

Answer: Peter Minuit

A broker during an economic decline, Peter Minuit joined the Dutch West India Company and made his way to New Netherland in North America. He was really there to seek items that could be used in trade, however, after being appointed the new Director of the colony, one of his notable accomplishments was the purchase of Manhattan Island for 60 guilders in 1626. Over the centuries, historians have tried to put a modern price on this acquisition - and that is very difficult to do.

In 2015 it was estimated that the cost would have been $1050 US dollars - still a great price! Minuit was dismissed during a scandal regarding illegal trading - one with which he was probably not involved - but gained permission from Sweden to establish a new colony in America.

He died before his plan could become a reality.

Answer: George Calvert

Although he was interested in establishing a colony for trade, George Calvert also wanted to establish a haven for Roman Catholics in North America. A member of Parliament and the Privy Council, as well as Secretary of State for James I, Calvert eventually resigned his positions and made his conversion to the Roman Catholic religion a public fact.

The first charter Calvert obtained was to settle in the area of Newfoundland; after visiting with his wife and children, Calvert requested a charter to settle further south, looking for an area with a more pleasant climate.

He died before seeing his vision fulfilled, however, one of his sons, Cecilius, oversaw the actual colonization of Maryland in 1632.

Answer: William Bradford

William Bradford was a member of the group of Separatists who came to North America on board the Mayflower in 1620. He was one of the signers of the famous Mayflower Compact, which was the first self-government established in the Americas; in addition, he was a member of the group that searched for a good location for the new colony and decided on Plymouth Harbor. Serving as Governor of Plymouth Colony off and on for a total of thirty years, William Bradford ensured that all settlers would have farmland, and was careful to keep peace with the Native Americans.

It is believed that he was present at the first Thanksgiving in 1621. His book, "Of Plymouth Plantation" is a journal of the colony's early years, considered to be the most accurate account of the settlement of Plymouth Colony.