Unit 2

1607-1754

3 Ps

power, partnership, partitioning

power

Spanish. main goal = extract wealth.

extract wealth

minerals (silver and gold), cash crops with enslaved labor

Encomienda System

A labor system instituted by the Spanish crown in the Americas, allowing colonists to demand labor from indigenous peoples in exchange for protection and Christian teaching.

New Laws of 1542

enacted by the Spanish crown to curb encomendero’s power and mitigate harsh treatment

Hacienda

became main Spanish labor system after the passage of the New Laws. encomenderos owned tracts of land. indigenous laborers weren’t technically enslaved. laborers tied to land in debt-repayment system

Don Juan de Onate

subdued Pueblo peoples. established Santa Fe capital. missionaries came behind him to set up the mission system. attempted to redefine their entire culture

Pueblo Revolt

uprising against Spanish rule in 1680, led by Pueblo leaders to reclaim indigenous rights and autonomy. Spanish eventually returned to reassert dominance.

Caste System

a hierarchical categorization of mixed-race individuals in Spanish colonies, determining social status, economic opportunities, and legal rights based on amount of “white blood”

French/Dutch

partnership. no permanent settlements. trade partnerships w/ indigenous groups, especially fur trade

De Champlain

negotiated an alliance with the Huron people of the St. Lawrence River Valley against the Iroquois

French/Dutch missionaries

not many conversions, didn’t use force

New Amsterdam

Dutch colonial settlement that later became New York City, known for trade and acting as a major port.

British

partition. separated themselves from native Americans.

Jamestown

mostly populated by single young men looking for gold. British did their best to separate themselves from native peoples

social mobility

people had limited upward mobility in Britain

Primogenture Laws

only the oldest son could legally inherit land. younger brothers looked to the New World for land and better social standing

Puritans and Separatists

had a lot in common, both Calvinist Protestant

Puritans

believed that the church could be reformed from the inside, remaining a part of it.

Separatists

believed that the church was hopeless and therefore the true Protestant church could only be formed from the outside, by separating from it

Pilgrims

migrated as family groups to Plymouth. goal: establish a God-centered society where they could worship freely. accepted indigenous help at first but eventually attempted to live separately

enclosure laws

passed by Parliament, allowed landlord to claim public land for livestock

Commons

vital resource to poor citizens who had no land of their own. many relied on it to feed their livestock. landless poor migrated to the New World for better standard of living

Plymouth Settlement

Mayflower Compact. adopted agriculture to establish society, exported lumber, beaver fur, and fish

Mayflower Compact

The agreement made by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620, which established a framework for self-government in the Plymouth Colony. Only elite adult males could participate in society

Massachusetts Bay Colony

settled by family groups, organized government and society according to bible. all free, property-owning men could vote on policy (larger proportion than in England)

John Winthrop

Leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a prominent Puritan figure, he envisioned the colony as a "city upon a hill" and played a key role in establishing its government.

Roger Williams

Puritan minister, did not support merging church and state. religious toleration. banished from massachusetts and founded RI colony

Anne Hutchinson

society declared men spiritually superior. she believed everyone had access to holy spirit inspiration. banished, joined Williams in RI

New England

Plymouth settlement, Mass. Bay Colony. deeply religious. rocky soil/harsh winters = limited agriculture. church-centered communities. exported fish and lumber

Middle Colonies

NY, NJ, PA. good soil = booming agriculture. diverse population due to religious tolerance/economic opportunity. less participatory than NE, more participatory than the south

New York

thriving trade colony, abundance of rivers and sea ports. river valleys + rich soil = valuable grain exports. diverse population of European immigrants

New Jersey

royal colony

royal colony

colony in which the governor and the council are appointed directly by the monarch

Pennsylvania

founded by William Penn, Quaker. refuge for Quakers and religious dissenters. pacifists. treated indigenous populations with dignity. guaranteed freedom of worship. democratic, policy decisions made by elected representative assembly. economic sector grew rapidly, exported grain and other crops

Quakers

emphasized individual religious experience, pacifists (no military), refused to support clergy with taxes. anti-slavery.

Chesapeake and North Carolina

Jamestown, warm weather = sprawling plantations. main export = tobacco. expanded westward and clashed with indigenous peoples. House of Burgesses = step toward democracy. politics ruled by small elite of planters. dominant source of labor = enslaved Africans.

Jamestown

not interested in making a society. many first settlers starved to death.

John Rolfe

led colonists to plant and harvest tobacco, creating an insatiable demand in GB. tobacco led to plantation-style plots. more agricultural than northern neighbors

African slavery

replaced indentured servitude as main labor system

House of Burgesses

acted as a representative government. inspired later forms of self-government. limited to white, propertied men

South and British West Indies

highest concentration of enslaved labor. South Carolina. rigid social hierarchy. large, plantation-style agriculture with enslaved Africans. politics restricted to a small group of elite planters

enslaved labor in the BWI

geography defined by large plantations. increased demand for sugar = more laborers. enslaved Africans outnumbered white colonists 4:1.

Barbados Slave Codes

series of laws that stripped all rights from black workers. granted white workers complete power over laborers.

South Carolina

royal colony, mirrors BWI. focused on growing rice and indigo

Vodun

a religion that originated in West Africa, characterized by the worship of spirits and ancestors, often practiced in the Caribbean and associated with enslaved Africans. slaves syncretized this with Christianity

rigid social hierarchy

Top: wealthy planters

Middle: common white planters

Bottom: dominant black population

triangular trade

economic interdependence between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, involving the exchange of goods, enslaved people, and raw materials.

trans-atlantic trade economic effects

colonial economies focused on producing high-demand commodities, increased demand for enslaved labor, mercantilism

colonial economies focused on producing high-demand commodities

often focused nearly entire economy on these exports. sugarcane introduced to Caribbean

sugarcane

good soil and warm climate in Caribbean facilitated long growing seasons. began to dominate colonial economies in Barbados and Jamaica

Mercantilism

an economic theory that emphasizes the role of government in managing trade and accumulating wealth through a favorable balance of exports over imports. wealth measured in gold and silver.

Navigation Acts

imported goods had to be taxed through English ports. traded goods had to be transported on English ships. highly valuable goods could only be transported to England

salutary neglect

a British colonial policy that allowed the American colonies considerable freedom to govern themselves, fostering a sense of independence and economic growth. This period was characterized by limited enforcement of trade regulations.

dominion of New England

supercolony. king-appointed governor was above colonial elected assemblies. governor appointed officials to replace elected officials. Glorious Revolution.

Glorious Revolution

installed new monarchs, William and Mary, who agreed to rule with the increased power of Parliament. rebellions broke out in colonies upon hearing of the revolution. dominion of NE collapsed. elected colonial assemblies returned

effects on American Indians

colonists introduced European goods and diseases. increased dependence on European goods.

European goods

metal tools, firearms, horses

American Indians vs. Europeans

during this period, all major European imperial powers allied with Native Americans, and armed them, and used those alliances to fight each other

Beaver Wars

intermittent conflicts throughout the 17th century between Native American tribes and European settlers over fur trade and territory. Iroquois Confederacy won. reshaped power dynamics in Great Lakes region. displaced several indigenous peoples in the area, moved south and west.

War of Spanish Succession

who would control Spain’s kingdom and colonial empire. Spain allied with France to oppose GB. also relied on alliances with indigenous groups. Though the relationships were fraught, alliances formed between Europeans and American Indians in which each sought to use the other for their own advantage

Metacom’s (King Philip’s) War

NE settlers pushed west. Wampanoag eventually retaliated. Wampanoag tried coexisting bc Metacom is son of Massasoit. indigenous groups banded together and temporarily slowed colonial expansion.

Massasoit

father of Metacom. helped Plymouth colonists avoid starvation

Pueblo Revolt

Spanish expanded and strengthened empire via mission system. Catholic missionaries tried to convert natives to Christianity. Pueblo continued to practice indigenous belief systems. resentment grew bc of the encomienda system and population loss. led by Popé. destroyed Catholic churches, killed priests and settlers. drove spanish out of pueblo land

Popé

medicine man who led Pueblo Revolt. believed driving out the Spanish and returning to tradition would bring peace and prosperity

Spanish accomodations

offered land grants to Pueblo. appointed representative to uphold Pueblo rights and interests. priests allowed Pueblo to practice traditional belief system

New England slavery

small family farms, rocky soil and harsh winters. imported very few slaves

Middle slavery

slightly more than NE. concentrated in port cities. worked in docks, households, and on grain plantations

Chesapeake and NC slavery

number of slaves increased rapidly. warmer climate, longer growing seasons. large-scale plantations. high-demand crops like tobacco

Southern and BWI slavery

largest concentration of slaves. reliance on sugar cultivation. black population outnumbered white population 4:1

Chattel Slavery

chattel = property. enslaved people now considered permanent property of slaveholders.

indentured servant

a person contracted to work to pay off debt. indenture = contract. at first, they did the bulk of the work

John Punch

black indentured servant who ran away with two white indentured servants. white men = added 4 years to indenture. he was condemned to lifelong slavery. signaled shift toward race-based slavery in the colonies

Bacon’s Rebellion

felt Governor Berkley favored VA elite. wanted to help on frontier to attack indigenous people for land. prior to rebellion, most work in Chesapeake region carried out by indentured servants. both free white workers and enslaved black workers participated (no “color line”).

Covert Resistance

refers to subtle forms of defiance by enslaved people, rather than open rebellion. maintained family structures (under constant threat of separation if planter decided to sell a member of the family), worked slower/broke tools, maintained cultural elements (gender roles, religious beliefs, traditional languages, musical instruments, created syncretic cultures)

Overt Resistance

refers to open, active forms of rebellion by enslaved people against their oppressors, often involving organized insurrections, escape attempts, and confrontations. Jamaica, Stono Rebellion, New York Slave Rebellion of 1741. effects: drove fear into hearts of southern planters that their slaves would revolt

NY Slave Rebellion of 1741

was an uprising of enslaved Africans and poor whites in New York City, marked by widespread panic and resulting in significant punishments, including executions and deportations.

Jamaica

resistance led by fugitive slaves living in maroon communities. waged war against British planters for over 10 years. British finally signed treaty recognizing their freedom in 1740

Stono Rebellion

SC, 1939. rebels killed any white people they encountered, burned houses and barns. SC militia eventually defeated the rebels. SC slave codes made even more severe in an attempt to suppress future rebellion

German

6% of population, many escaped religious persecution and economic oppression

Scots-Irish

7% of population, many settled on Appalachian frontier, brought Presbyterian Christianity

other European immigrants

5% of population

Africans

20% of population, mostly in the South (forced migration)

Free Blacks

5% of black population, mostly concentrated in Upper South or urban areas

Anglicization

The process by which colonists in America adopted British customs and practices, influencing their culture and identity.

NE/Middle merchant class

resembled GB’s nobility in customs and social dominance

Southern Elite Planters

wealthy, owned many slaves. allowed them to dominate local politics

Consumer Revolution

A period in the late 17th to 18th centuries where an increase in consumer goods availability led to a rise in consumption among colonists, significantly affecting economic and social structures. increasing wealth led to increasing demand for British goods

social status basis changes

birth and family history < financial success. as land grew scarce, society’s lowest grew landless and poor

colonies shared government structure

included a governor and bicameral legislature, same as England

Enlightenment

European intellectual movement. applied scientific and philosophical reasoning to society and politics. emphasized rational thought and rejected authority structures, most notably religious authority

Great Awakening context

1730s-1740s, religion on the decline. Halfway Covenant relaxed criteria for church membership, after Glorious Revolution, colonies forced to accept religious tolerance

Halfway Covenant

a Puritan church policy allowing partial church membership for the unconverted, aiming to increase church participation and boost declining religious fervor.

Great Awakening

began in Massachusetts with Jonathan Edwards. George Whitefield followed suit. swept through the colonies, becoming the first mass movement in the colonies

Jonathan Edwards

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. congregants responded to sermons with highly emotional outbursts. became part of the American religious identity. religious revival: emotional response to word of God resulting in many conversions

George Whitefield

an English Anglican cleric known for his powerful preaching and role in the Great Awakening, traveling extensively across the American colonies to promote religious revival and emotional engagement with faith.

New Light Clergy

emotionalism and personal experience

Old Light Clergy

traditional, rationalist approach to faith, emphasizing reason and established doctrine over emotional experiences in religious practice.

Anglicization results

movements made colonists proud to be British subjects, but also sowed seeds that would grow into challenging British authority. Revivalism began in England under John Wesley

territorial settlements in Ohio River Valley

colonial population increased (natural reproduction, immigration). land became scarce. colonists pushed into the Ohio River Valley. These territorial settlements led to conflicts with Indigenous peoples and increased tensions between colonial settlers and the British government.