APUSH Period 2 (1607-1754)

Goals of French colonization

French colonization aimed to establish trade networks (especially fur trade with Native Americans), spread Catholicism through missions, and create strategic outposts (e.g., Quebec, Louisiana) to counter rival European powers, with less focus on large-scale settlement.

Goals of Dutch colonization

Dutch colonization focused on trade and commerce, particularly fur and other goods, through strategic trading posts (e.g., New Netherland). They sought profit via the Dutch West India Company, with minimal emphasis on permanent settlement or religious missions.

Colony created by the Dutch

The Dutch created New Netherland, centered around the Hudson River Valley, with New Amsterdam (modern-day New York City) as its main settlement.

Motives of British colonization

British colonization was driven by economic opportunity (land, resources, trade), religious freedom (e.g., Puritans in New England), and mercantilist goals to enrich England through colonies. Some sought social mobility or to escape overcrowding in England.

Economic state of Britain during colonization era

Britain's economy was transitioning to mercantilism, seeking wealth through trade and colonies. It faced domestic challenges like population growth and land scarcity, encouraging colonization to secure resources and markets while competing with European rivals.

Chesapeake colonies

Chesapeake colonies (Virginia, Maryland) were characterized by tobacco-based economies, plantation systems, and reliance on indentured servants (later African slaves). They had dispersed settlements, high mortality rates, and a male-dominated society with limited urban development.

Reason for Jamestown development

Jamestown (1607) was developed by the Virginia Company, a joint-stock company, to generate profit through trade, resources (e.g., gold), and agriculture, serving as England's first permanent colony in North America.

Struggles faced by Jamestown

Jamestown faced starvation (the "Starving Time"), disease (malaria), conflicts with Powhatan Indians, poor leadership, and unrealistic expectations of quick wealth, nearly leading to its collapse in the early years.

What saved Jamestown

Tobacco, introduced by John Rolfe, saved Jamestown by becoming a profitable cash crop, attracting settlers and investment. Strong leadership (e.g., John Smith) and alliances with Powhatans also stabilized the colony.

Indentured servants

Indentured servants were laborers (often poor Europeans) who signed contracts to work for 4-7 years in exchange for passage to the colonies, room, and board. They were common in the Chesapeake before widespread African slavery.

Causes and effects of Bacon's Rebellion

Causes: Tensions over land access, high taxes, and Governor Berkeley's refusal to protect frontier settlers from Native attacks led Nathaniel Bacon to rebel in 1676. Effects: Exposed class tensions, accelerated shift to African slavery, and prompted tighter colonial control by England.

Connection of Bacon's Rebellion to African slavery

Bacon's Rebellion showed the dangers of relying on indentured servants, who could rebel after gaining freedom. Planters shifted to African slavery, seen as a more controllable and permanent labor force, reducing reliance on volatile European servants.

New England colonies

religious focus, particularly Puritanism, and their economic activities in shipbuilding and fishing

New England colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom, characterized by family-based communities, mixed economies (farming, fishing, trade), and strong religious and educational institutions (e.g., Harvard).

Pilgrims

Separatist Puritans who sought religious freedom and established Plymouth Colony (1620), signing the Mayflower Compact, a self-governing agreement, and relying on Native assistance (e.g., Squanto) to survive.

Southern colonies

Virginia, Maryland, Carolinas, Georgia that relied on plantation agriculture (tobacco, rice, indigo), using indentured servants and African slaves, characterized by hierarchical societies, few towns, and economies tied to export crops.

Sugar cane

A cash crop grown in the Caribbean and parts of the Southern colonies, requiring intensive labor, with high profitability driving demand for enslaved African labor in the Americas.

Demand for African slaves

Sugar cane cultivation was labor-intensive, requiring large workforces; high mortality rates and harsh conditions on sugar plantations increased demand for African slaves, seen as a resilient and exploitable labor source.

Middle colonies

New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware characterized by ethnic diversity, economies based on farming (wheat, grains), trade, and small-scale manufacturing, with religious tolerance and thriving port cities (e.g., Philadelphia, New York).

Economy of the Middle colonies

Diverse economy centered on agriculture (wheat, oats, dubbed the 'breadbasket'), trade through port cities, and small-scale industries (e.g., milling, ironworks), supporting a growing merchant class.

Pennsylvania

Founded by William Penn, a Quaker, in 1681 as a haven for religious freedom and a 'holy experiment' promoting tolerance, fair governance, and peaceful relations with Native Americans.

Contrast of Pennsylvania with other colonial regions

Pennsylvania emphasized religious tolerance, ethnic diversity, and fair treatment of Natives, unlike the religiously rigid New England or plantation-based Southern colonies, with a diverse economy and more inclusive government.

Self-democratic governments in colonies

Developed through assemblies and charters (e.g., Virginia House of Burgesses, Mayflower Compact), dominated by wealthy male landowners and elites, limiting participation to property-owning white men.

Triangular trade

A transatlantic trade network where New England sent rum to Africa for slaves, slaves were shipped to the Americas (Middle Passage), and the Americas sent sugar, tobacco, and cotton to Europe, enriching colonial economies.

Mercantilism

An economic system where colonies enrich the mother country through resource extraction and trade monopolies, leading to global competition, colonial rivalries, and wars (e.g., Anglo-Dutch Wars) as nations vied for economic dominance.

Navigation Acts

British laws (1650s-1670s) restricting colonial trade to English ships and markets.

Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the brutal transatlantic journey of enslaved Africans to the Americas, marked by overcrowding, disease, and high mortality rates. It was a key leg of the triangular trade, supplying labor for plantations.

New England slavery

New England slavery was smaller-scale, often domestic or artisanal, with slaves integrated into households.

Southern slavery

Southern slavery was plantation-based, large-scale, and tied to cash crops (tobacco, rice), with harsher conditions and stricter racial hierarchies.

Chattel slavery

Chattel slavery is a system where enslaved people are treated as personal property, bought, sold, and owned for life, with their status inherited by their children.

Resistance to slavery

Africans resisted through rebellions (e.g., Stono Rebellion, 1739), running away, forming maroon communities, subtle sabotage (e.g., breaking tools), and preserving cultural practices (e.g., music, religion) to maintain identity and agency.

Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights, originating in Europe (17th-18th centuries) with thinkers like Locke and Montesquieu.

Colonial dissent

Enlightenment ideas (e.g., natural rights, social contract) inspired colonists to question British authority, demand representation, and challenge monarchical rule, laying ideological groundwork for resistance and eventual revolution.

First Great Awakening

The First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) was a religious revival movement emphasizing personal faith, emotional preaching, and salvation, challenging traditional church authority and fostering a sense of shared American identity.

Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards was known for fiery sermons like 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.'

George Whitefield

George Whitefield was a charismatic preacher who drew massive crowds, spreading revivalism across colonies.

Political and social effects of the First Great Awakening

It encouraged questioning of authority (religious and political), promoted egalitarianism, and fostered intercolonial unity. Socially, it empowered ordinary people, increased church membership, and supported education (e.g., Princeton).

Comparison of Enlightenment and First Great Awakening

Similarities: Both challenged traditional authority, encouraged individual empowerment, and shaped colonial identity. Differences: Enlightenment was rational, secular, focused on governance (Locke); Great Awakening was emotional, religious, focused on salvation (Edwards). Enlightenment appealed to elites; Awakening reached broader masses.

Anglicization

Anglicization was the process of American colonies adopting British culture, law, and institutions.

Impressment

Impressment was the British practice of forcibly recruiting American sailors into the Royal Navy, which angered colonists, violated their rights, and strained Britain-America relations, contributing to tensions leading to the Revolution.

Bacon's Rebellion

Bacon's Rebellion was a 1676-1677 armed uprising in colonial Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley. The rebellion saw Bacon's forces burning Jamestown and forcing Berkeley to flee, ultimately leading to the collapse of the rebellion after Bacon's death.