Period 2 APUSH

Unhealthy Chesapeake: Life Expectancy and Health

• Harsh Conditions: Early Chesapeake settlers faced malaria, dysentery, and typhoid.

• Reduced Life Expectancy: Settlers lived about 10 years less than those in England.

• High Mortality Rate: Half of the children didn’t survive past age 20. Few adults lived past their 40s or 50s.

Unhealthy Chesapeake: Population Growth and Gender Imbalance

• Slow Growth: High death rates slowed population increase.

• Gender Imbalance: More men than women; in 1650, 6 men for every woman.

• Marriage and Family: Few stable families due to high mortality; many women had babies before marriage.

Unhealthy Chesapeake: Adaptation and Growth

• Disease Resistance: Local population developed resistance to diseases over time.

• Population Increase: More women led to stable families and natural population growth.

• Statistics: By early 18th century, Virginia had ~59,000 people (most populous colony) and Maryland had ~30,000 people.

Unhealthy Chesapeake: Exploration Maps

• European Perspectives: Maps from the Library of Virginia show evolving European views of the Chesapeake.

• Accuracy Improvement: Maps became more detailed and accurate as European knowledge increased.

Tobacco Economy: Tobacco Cultivation and Land Demand

• Tobacco-Friendly Environment: Chesapeake region was ideal for growing tobacco, despite its health hazards.

• Land Exhaustion: Intensive tobacco farming quickly depleted the soil, creating a constant need for new land.

• Native American Conflicts: Settlers pushed into Native lands for more tobacco cultivation, leading to conflicts with Native Americans.

Tobacco Economy: Tobacco Production and Market Impact

• Production Growth: By the 1630s, Chesapeake Bay exported about 1.5 million pounds of tobacco annually, rising to nearly 40 million pounds by the end of the century.

• Price Depression: High production led to lower prices. Growers responded by planting even more tobacco to increase supply.

Tobacco Economy: Labor Supply for Tobacco Farming

• Labor Shortages: Increased tobacco production required more labor.

• Sources of Labor:

  • Indentured Servants: Many were displaced English workers who worked for several years in exchange for passage to America and eventual freedom dues.

  • High Mortality Rates: African slaves were less favored due to high death rates and cost concerns, so indentured servants were more common.

• Headright System: Encouraged importation of servants; landowners received 50 acres for each laborer they brought over.

Tobacco Economy: Impact of Indentured Servitude

• Land and Wealth: Landowners gained wealth and land through the headright system. Wealthy planters became dominant in agriculture and commerce.

• Servants’ Lives: Indentured servants had a hard life, with their terms of servitude sometimes extended for misbehavior. Scarcity of land made freedom dues less valuable.

• Life After Servitude: Freed servants often had to work for low wages due to the lack of land and economic opportunities.

Tobacco Economy: Early Description of Virginia

Environmental Challenges: The Virginia colony was described as having unhealthy conditions with salt marshes, bogs, and diseases similar to the worst parts of England.

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion: Discontented Freemen

• Who They Were: Mostly single, young white men, struggling to acquire land and find wives.

• Problems Faced: Broken hopes of land ownership and marriage led to frustration.

• Reaction from Planters: The growing number of these discontented men alarmed established planters and led to political action.

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion: Disfranchisement and Governor Berkeley’s Challenges

• Political Response: In 1670, Virginia’s assembly disfranchised landless men, accusing them of causing trouble and unrest.

• Berkeley’s Complaint: Governor Berkeley was frustrated by the large number of poor, indebted, and discontented people he ruled.

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion: Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

• Leaders and Causes: Led by Nathaniel Bacon, the rebellion was driven by frontiersmen angered by Governor Berkeley’s leniency toward Native Americans and the lack of protection against attacks.

• Actions Taken: Rebels attacked both friendly and hostile Native Americans, chased Berkeley from Jamestown, and burned the capital.

• Outcome: Bacon died of disease; Berkeley crushed the rebellion brutally, executing over twenty rebels.

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion: Impact of Bacon’s Rebellion

• Social Changes: The rebellion highlighted the frustrations of landless men and shook the existing social order.

• Response by Planters: To prevent future uprisings, the elite planters imposed stricter laws on African Americans and increased reliance on slave labor.

• Legal Changes: New restrictions on interracial relationships and other laws were enacted to reinforce racial and social hierarchies.

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion: Contending Voices: Berkeley vs. Bacon

• Nathaniel Bacon’s View: Criticized Berkeley for protecting Native Americans and failing to address their attacks on settlers.

• Governor William Berkeley’s View: Accused Bacon of being inexperienced and associating with the lowest of people, contrasting his own long service and dedication.

Colonial Slavery: Overview of the Atlantic Slave Trade

• Total Enslaved: About 11 million Africans were forcibly taken to the New World.

• North America’s Share: Roughly 400,000 arrived in North America, mainly after 1700.

• Other Destinations: Most Africans were sent to South America and the Caribbean.

Colonial Slavery: Conditions of the Slave Trade

Journey’s Horror: The “Middle Passage” was the horrific sea voyage from Africa to the Americas, marked by overcrowding, disease, and death.

Slave Experience: Enslaved people endured cramped conditions, disease, and brutality. Olaudah Equiano described it as “almost inconceivable horror.”

Colonial Slavery: Impact of Slavery in the Americas

• Economic Role: Slavery supported the European demand for sugar, tobacco, cotton, and other goods.

• Profits and Complicity: European traders, African warlords, and various professionals all profited from the slave trade.

Colonial Slavery: Life for Enslaved Africans

• Working Conditions: Enslaved people faced severe labor demands and degrading conditions, especially in sugar plantations.

• Legal Status: Slaves had few legal rights and were often subjected to violence and exploitation.

Colonial Slavery: The Expansion of Slavery in North America

• Pre-1700: Slavery was less prevalent in North America; indentured servants were more common.

• Post-1700: Increased slave imports as wages in England rose and mortality rates improved. By 1700, slaves began to outnumber indentured servants.

Colonial Slavery: The Middle Passage

• Definition: The transatlantic voyage bringing slaves from Africa to the Americas.

• Conditions: Slaves were tightly packed, with high mortality rates and extremely poor conditions.

Colonial Slavery: Early Abolition Efforts

Mennonite Protest (1688): The first known protest against slavery in America, highlighting the inhumanity of the slave trade.

Colonial Slavery: Legal and Racial Distinctions

• Early Laws: By 1662, laws began to distinguish sharply between slaves and servants, often based on race.

• Slave Codes: These laws made black slaves property for life and restricted their rights severely.

Colonial Slavery: Rice Cultivation in Colonial South

• Introduction of Rice: Rice growing was introduced from Africa, and enslaved Africans were crucial to its cultivation.

• Economic Impact: South Carolina became a key rice producer in the British Empire.

Colonial Slavery: The Triangle Trade

• Trade Routes: The Triangle Trade involved the exchange of goods and people between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

• Economic Impact: This trade reshaped economies and societies across the Atlantic world.