3 regions, 13 Colonies, slave trade, etc.

Mercantilism

The economic system where colonies exist to provide raw materials to the colonizer (England) and all trade is intended to benefit the mother country.

The Navigation Acts (1651)

Laws requiring all colonial trade to be on English ships, and goods from colonies to Europe to pass through English ports to pay taxes.

Tobacco, sugar, and cotton

Key raw materials from the colonies that, under the Navigation Acts, could only be sold to England.

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial policy during most of the 1700s where the Navigation Acts were the law but were not strictly enforced by England.

Seven Years’ War

A global conflict from 1756-1763 involving Britain and Prussia against France, Austria, and Russia; it was expensive and resulted in huge debt for Britain.

World War Zero

A term used to describe the Seven Years’ War as the first major global conflict.

French and Indian War

The name for the Seven Years’ War specifically as it was fought in the Americas.

1763

The year the Seven Years’ War ended, marking the point when Britain began collecting taxes and ended the policy of Salutary Neglect.

Mother Country

The term used in mercantilism to describe the colonizer, such as England, who receives raw materials from its colonies.

Virginia Company

An organization that established the Jamestown colony and gave away land in Virginia to individuals who paid for the passage of indentured servants to America.

Indentured servants

People whose passage to America was paid for by others in exchange for labor, helping the Virginia Company increase tobacco production and profit.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

A trafficking system involving approximately $35,000$ ships that transported $12.5$ million Africans to the Americas between $1650$ and $1860$.

Regulation Act of 1788

A law that set specific space rules for slaves on ships, such as allowing $6$ feet $1$ inch by $1$ foot $4$ inches for each man, and reducing allowed capacity on ships like the Brookes.

Middle Passage

Also known as the Triangular Trade, the leg of the journey from Africa to the Americas where nearly $2$ million Africans died.

Southern Colonies Labor

Enslaved people worked on large farms (plantations) growing cash crops such as tobacco in Virginia, rice and indigo in the Carolinas, and cotton in Georgia.

Mid-Atlantic Colonies Labor

Enslaved people performed mining, farm work, butchering, tanning, leatherwork, carpentry, and blacksmithing.

New England Colonies Labor

Enslaved people were utilized for farm work, logging, and ship building.

Triangular Trade

A trade system where raw materials were sent to England, weapons and alcohol were sent to Africa, and people were trafficked from Africa to the Americas.

Mercantilism

An economic theory where colonies exist to enrich the mother country (England) by providing gold, silver, foodstuffs, and raw materials while purchasing manufactured goods.

Navigation Acts

A series of laws passed by England to control trade, requiring all trade to be on English ships and all raw materials to be sold only to England.

New England Colonies

The region consisting of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.

New England Geography

Characterized by a cold climate, harsh winters, a short growing season, rocky soil, dense forests, and many rivers and natural harbors.

Puritans

A religious group that moved to Massachusetts Bay in $1630$ to practice their religion more fully, famously described by John Winthrop as a “city upon a hill.”

Roger Williams

An individual banished from Massachusetts who helped establish Rhode Island, a colony known for greater religious freedom and fair purchase of Indigenous land.

New England Economy

A diverse economy consisting of fishing, whaling, shipbuilding, lumber, and trade due to poor conditions for large-scale farming.

Mid-Atlantic Colonies

The region consisting of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

“The Breadbasket of the Colonies”

A nickname for the Mid-Atlantic region because its fertile soil and moderate climate allowed for high production of wheat and other grains.

William Penn

A Quaker who received Pennsylvania from the English king in $1681$ and encouraged people from diverse backgrounds to settle there.

New Netherland

A Dutch commercial colony with its main settlement on Manhattan Island (New Amsterdam) that was taken over by England in $1664$ and renamed New York.

Southern Colonies

The region consisting of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Cash Crop

A crop grown mainly to sell for profit rather than for personal consumption, such as tobacco, rice, and indigo.

Joint-stock company

A business venture, like the Virginia Company, where investors buy stock and provide money to establish a colony in exchange for a share of profits.

Jamestown

The settlement established in Virginia in $1607$ that eventually became successful through the cultivation of tobacco.

Proprietary colony

A colony such as Carolina where the land was given to specific noblemen, known as proprietors, by the British monarch.

Georgia

A colony founded in $1732$ that served as a buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida and originally outlawed slavery until $1751$.

Indentured servants

Laborers who worked for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to North America.

The Fall Line

A geographic boundary where rivers change elevation between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, separating smaller family farms from larger commercial plantations.

New England Indigenous Nations

Native nations including the Wampanoag, Pequot, Narragansett, and Mohegan who interacted with colonists through trade, diplomacy, and conflicts like the Pequot War.

13 colonies

The regions of the Americas controlled by the British from the 1600s until the 1770s (the American Revolution).

Southern Colonies

Colonies that developed large plantation economies due to differences in geography, climate, and available resources.

New England

Colonies that developed economies based more on fishing, trade, and small farms.

Silk Roads

Trade routes used by Europeans for more than 1000 years to trade with Asia before being cut off by the Ottoman Empire.

Drake

A British privateer who captured a Spanish treasure ship in 1579, taking 26 tons of raw silver and other treasures worth over 200 million $$ today.

1588

The year England defeated Spain’s navy using "fire ships" as weapons, causing Spain to lose almost 100 ships.

Jamestown, Virginia

The 1st permanent English colony in North America, established in 1607.

The Virginia Company

The business that established Jamestown with the goal to MAKE $$, eventually receiving a monopoly on tobacco imports from King James I.

Indentured Servants

Mostly white, very poor, and often illiterate individuals from England who "chose" to come to America for a better life and were granted freedom after 7 years.

Enslaved People

Black individuals from Africa who were kidnapped, trafficked to America, and forced into permanent labor with no choice.

The Starving Time

A period from 1609-1610 where Jamestown settlers suffered extreme hunger, eating horses, vermin, and in some cases, human corpses.

Tobacco

The colony's primary "Cash Crop"; by 1640, London was importing 1.5 millions pounds of it every year.

Powhatan

Native Americans who provided Jamestown with help, including food and farming knowledge.

John Smith

A leader of Jamestown who helped the colony endure by enforcing discipline and requiring colonists to work.

Virginia Company

An organization that established the Jamestown colony and gave away land in Virginia to individuals who paid for the passage of indentured servants to America.

Indentured servants

People whose passage to America was paid for by others in exchange for labor, helping the Virginia Company increase tobacco production and profit.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

A trafficking system involving approximately $35,000$ ships that transported $12.5$ million Africans to the Americas between $1650$ and $1860$.

Vicissitudes

A work by Jason deCaires Taylor related to the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

The Brookes

A British slave ship that, after the Regulation Act of $1788$, was authorized to carry $454$ slaves but had previously carried as many as $609$ people.

Regulation Act of 1788

A law that set specific space rules for slaves on ships, such as allowing $6$ feet $1$ inch by $1$ foot $4$ inches for each man, and reducing allowed capacity on ships like the Brookes.

Middle Passage

Also known as the Triangular Trade, the leg of the journey from Africa to the Americas where nearly $2$ million Africans died.

Southern Colonies Labor

Enslaved people worked on large farms (plantations) growing cash crops such as tobacco in Virginia, rice and indigo in the Carolinas, and cotton in Georgia.

Mid-Atlantic Colonies Labor

Enslaved people performed mining, farm work, butchering, tanning, leatherwork, carpentry, and blacksmithing.

New England Colonies Labor

Enslaved people were utilized for farm work, logging, and ship building.

Triangular Trade

A trade system where raw materials were sent to England, weapons and alcohol were sent to Africa, and people were trafficked from Africa to the Americas.

Mercantilism

An economic theory where colonies exist to enrich the mother country (England) by providing gold, silver, foodstuffs, and raw materials while purchasing manufactured goods.

Navigation Acts

A series of laws passed by England to control trade, requiring all trade to be on English ships and all raw materials to be sold only to England.

Southern region main 2 things

Plantations & Cash Crops

Mid-Atlantic region 2 main things

Breadbasket & Diversity

New England region 2 main things

Ships & Religion

New England region states

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire

Southern region states

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland

Mid-Atlantic region states

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware

New England region geography

• Cold climate

• Harsh winters

• Short growing season

• Rocky soil

• Dense forests

• Many rivers and natural harbors

• Poor conditions for large-scale farming

Why did people settle in New England region?

Main reason = RELIGION

• Many settlers were Puritans

• Puritans wanted to practice their religion more fully.

• In 1630, thousands of Puritans moved to Massachusetts Bay.

• John Winthrop described their colony as a “city upon a hill.”

⚠ Important: They wanted religious freedom for themselves, but Massachusetts Bay was NOT very religiously tolerant.

Roger Williams

• Challenged Massachusetts’ religious rules.

• Believed:

  • Government shouldn’t control religion.

  • Indigenous land should be fairly purchased.

• He was banished from Massachusetts.

• Helped establish Rhode Island.

• Rhode Island became known for greater religious freedom.

New England region economy

Because the soil and climate weren’t good for plantations, New England developed a diverse economy.

Important industries:

• 🎣 Fishing

• 🐳 Whaling

• 🚢 Shipbuilding

• 🌲 Lumber

• 🛒 Trade

• Small-scale farming

Families usually had small farms where they grew:

• Corn

• Wheat

• Vegetables

• Livestock

Why was trade in New England region so important?

Natural harbors gave New England access to the Atlantic Ocean.

Boston became an important port.

New england society

• Settlements were organized into towns.

• Families lived relatively close together.

• Towns could establish:

  • Churches

  • Schools

  • Local governments

• Puritans valued literacy because people were expected to read the Bible.

New england indigenous people

Native nations already lived there, including:

• Wampanoag

• Pequot

• Narragansett

• Mohegan

Relations included:

• Trade

• Cooperation

• Diplomacy

• Conflict

Important conflicts:

• Pequot War

• King Philip’s War

As colonists expanded, they took more Indigenous land, increasing conflict.

Mid Atlantic region geography

• Fertile soil

• Moderate seasons

• Navigable rivers

• Natural harbors

• Good farmland

• Hudson and Delaware Rivers

This geography was excellent for both farming AND trade.

Mid Atlantic economy

The Mid-Atlantic had a mixed economy.

Farming

Farmers grew:

• Wheat

• Other grains

• Food for families and communities

• Crops to sell

Because the region produced so much grain, it became known as:

“The Breadbasket of the Colonies”

Unlike the South, most farms were small or medium-sized, rather than huge plantations.

🚢 Trade

The rivers acted like transportation highways.

Goods could travel:

Interior → Rivers → Ports → Atlantic Ocean

Major cities:

• New York City

• Philadelphia

These became major port cities and commercial centers.

Mid Atlantic region diversity

The Mid-Atlantic became the most culturally diverse colonial region.

People came from different:

• European countries

• Languages

• Religious backgrounds

Why?

The region offered:

• Economic opportunities

• Land

• Some religious freedom

William Penn

• Quaker

• Received Pennsylvania from the English king in 1681

• Pennsylvania means “Penn’s Woods”

• Wanted it to be a place where Quakers could practice their religion with greater freedom.

• Encouraged people from different European backgrounds to settle there.

Mid Atlantic dutch influence

The Mid-Atlantic wasn’t originally entirely English.

The Dutch established:

New Netherland

• Commercial/trading colony

• Main settlement = New Amsterdam

• Located on Manhattan Island

• Used the Hudson River to access trade.

The Dutch traded with Indigenous peoples for valuable resources, especially furs.

1664

Weapons were made England took control.

New Amsterdam → New York

Southern region geography

• Warm climate

• Fertile soil

• Long growing season

• Broad coastal plains

• Major rivers

This geography was perfect for large-scale agriculture.

Southern region economy

Cash crops + plantations

Important cash crops:

• Tobacco

• Rice

• Indigo

What is a cash crop?

A crop grown mainly to sell for profit, rather than to eat.

The Southern Colonies became heavily dependent on plantation agriculture.

Southern region Virginia & Jamestown

1607

The Virginia Company established Jamestown.

It was a business venture.

The Virginia Company was a:

Joint-stock company

Investors bought stock and provided money to establish the colony.

In return, they expected to share in profits.

Jamestown had a very difficult beginning, with a very high death rate.

Tobacco changed Virginia

Virginia eventually became economically successful when colonists began growing tobacco for European markets.

Southern region Maryland

Maryland was established partly as a place where English Catholics could have greater religious freedom.

However, its fertile land also made:

Tobacco → major part of Maryland’s economy

Southern region Carolina

Carolina was a proprietary colony.

Its land was given to 8 British noblemen called proprietors.

Carolina became especially profitable through:

• 🍚 Rice

• 🌱 Indigo

Enslaved Africans brought important agricultural knowledge and skills, including knowledge used in growing rice and indigo.

Southern region Georgia

Georgia was founded in 1732.

It had several purposes:

1. Defense

It acted as a buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida.

2. Labor

It originally relied heavily on indentured servants, including people from London’s debtor’s prisons.

3. Slavery

Slavery was originally outlawed in Georgia.

But wealthy landowners wanted plantation profits.

1751 → slavery was allowed, and plantation agriculture expanded.

South region labor

At first, many colonists relied on:

Indentured servants

People who worked for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to North America.

Over time, Southern plantations increasingly relied on:

Enslaved Africans

Forced labor became closely connected to plantation agriculture and cash crops.

Important: Enslaved Africans were not simply laborers. They also brought:

• Agricultural knowledge

• Technologies

• Food traditions

• Cultural traditions

These strongly influenced Southern colonial culture.

Southern region The Fall Line

The Fall Line was an important geographic boundary where rivers changed elevation between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.

North of the Fall Line:

• Smaller farms

• Families produced much of what they needed

• Some crops were sold/traded

South of the Fall Line:

• Better conditions for commercial agriculture

• Larger plantations

• Cash crops

• More demand for labor