Chapter 4: Creating the Culture of British North America (Notes)

Flashcards cover key events, people, and concepts from the notes on Glorious Revolution, slave society formation, labor, urban growth, religion, wars, mercantilism, and colonial society.

What event in 1689 shifted political power from the English monarch to Parliament and installed William and Mary as rulers?

The Glorious Revolution; James II was replaced by William and Mary, making Parliament the central authority and affirming the rights of Englishmen.

Which philosopher defended the rights of revolution and natural rights during the Glorious Revolution?

John Locke.

How did the Glorious Revolution affect North American New England's religious tolerance and governance?

Protestants gained freedom to worship; Catholics lost rights; taxes funded Congregationalists; colonial elites became entrenched, and the colonies prospered.

What was Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) and its consequence for labor systems in the South?

An uprising of indentured servants against planter elites; its suppression contributed to shifting labor toward enslaved Africans and the rise of a slave society.

By the 1700s, who predominantly performed tobacco and rice labor in Virginia and the Carolinas?

African slaves; by 1700 nearly all workers in tobacco and rice were Africans.

What was the Middle Passage?

The transatlantic voyage that forcibly brought Africans to the Americas as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Name three West African states that emerged along the coast and were involved in the slave trade.

Asante, Dahomey, and Oyo.

What were some brutal realities of the slave trade and the Middle Passage?

Branding, torture, whipping; high mortality on voyages (roughly 25% died).

What was the Stono Rebellion (1739) and why is it significant?

A major slave uprising in South Carolina where enslaved people attempted to reach Spanish Florida; led to harsher slave laws and tightened control.

What did Spain offer to fugitive slaves by the 1700s, and who were the typical runaways?

Freedom to fugitives who converted to Catholicism; many runaways were Africans who had converted, increasing numbers seeking freedom.

Who was Francisco Menéndez and what did he do?

A Black military leader who defended St. Augustine for Spain; earned a special recommendation from Spain in 1728 and later escaped after capture.

What happened to Mose after 1763?

Approximately 3,000 escaped slaves (Mose) were moved to Cuba when Florida was ceded by Spain to Britain.

What happened in New York City in 1741 regarding slave tensions?

Slaves faced brutal conditions; fires led authorities to fear a slave uprising; several Africans were executed as suspects.

What was the Act of Union and when was it enacted?

1706–1707 union of England and Scotland to form Great Britain, creating a single monarchy and greater political stability.

What was the Salem Witch Trials, and what caused them?

A mass hysteria in 1692–1693 in colonial Massachusetts where people were accused of witchcraft amid border conflicts; many accused and some executed; ended with apologies and compensation.

How did women's roles look in colonial society?

Women had fewer public opportunities; domestic roles dominated (childrearing, nursing, chores); some served as pharmacists/physicians using manuals like Aristotle’s Complete Masterpiece.

Who was Eliza Lucas Pinckney and what was her contribution?

A Charleston planter’s daughter who helped develop indigo cultivation in South Carolina, contributing to wealth from dye production.

Which four cities were the major urban centers in British North America by 1775, and how did their populations change from 1700 to 1775?

Boston: 8,000→17,500; Philadelphia: 2,000→31,000; New York: 6,000→21,500; Charleston: 2,000→11,000.

What change occurred in Virginia’s capital in the 1690s and what did the new Capitol include?

Moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg; the new Capitol had two wings: one for the House of Burgesses and one for the royally appointed council.

What is mercantilism and what were the Navigation Acts?

Mercantilism is a closed economic system favoring the mother country; Navigation Acts required colonial trade to be conducted on English ships, with colonies supplying raw materials and buying English-made goods.

What is the Triangle Trade?

A 1700s pattern where enslaved Africans were shipped to the West Indies and mainland North America while goods moved between the West Indies, North America, and Britain.

What shift did capitalism bring to trade in the late colonial period?

A move toward capitalism, viewing trade as wealth generation (exports) rather than just exchange of goods; emphasis on accumulation of wealth through trade.

What was the Albany Plan of Union and who proposed it?

A 1754 proposal by Franklin, Shirley, and other colonial leaders to create an intercolonial union to manage defense and Indian affairs; colonists would retain their governments under a crown-appointed president-general; it failed.

What role did George Whitefield play in the Great Awakening?

A British evangelical minister whose transatlantic preaching tours helped ignite and spread the Great Awakening in both Britain and the American colonies.

What were New Light and Old Light Presbyterians?

New Light supported the Great Awakening; Old Light opposed it; leaders like Timothy Cutler and early Yale/Harvard figures debated the movement.