West African and Early American History Notes

Flashcards covering diverse aspects of West African culture, the transatlantic slave trade, early British colonies, Puritan society, the Enlightenment, and the American Revolution, suitable for vocabulary review.

West African Diversity

Diverse by language, culture, religion, social organization, and politics.

West African Women's Responsibilities

Care for children, preparing food, managing household, and helping on farms when needed.

Plural Marriage (Polygamy)

The practice of having multiple wives, limited by wealth.

West African Governmental Structures

Kinship units sometimes grew into large empires with centralized governments and organized economies.

West African Livelihood

Farming, fishing, local trade, agriculture, and herding.

Traditional West African Religion

Animism, ancestor worship, and rituals led by spiritual leaders.

Animism

The belief that spirits exist in natural objects and forces of nature.

West African Oral Traditions

Depended on oral traditions for literature and history due to lack of widespread writing systems, passed through stories, songs, and proverbs.

European View of West Africans

Europeans considered them barbarians, judging them by European standards and assuming they were uncivilized and inferior.

Traditional West African Slavery Cause

Punishment for crimes and failure to pay debts.

European Slave Trade Originator

The Portuguese.

16th Century Slave Trade Expansion

Europeans expanded slave trade to the Americas; Africans captured and marched slaves from interior to coast for sale.

Payment for Slave Catchers

Guns, clothes, iron tools, alcohol.

Barracoon

An enclosure where slaves stayed temporarily before transport.

Middle Passage

A crossroads and marketplace of the seas, referring to the transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans.

Middle Passage Duration

Approximately fifty days.

Tight Packing vs. Loose Packing

Tight packing crammed as many enslaved Africans as possible into one ship; loose packing had fewer enslaved Africans with more space for survival.

Dancing the Slaves

Forcing enslaved Africans to move up and down on deck during Middle Passage to keep them off the seas.

Fixed Melancholy

Deep depression among enslaved Africans which led them to refuse food and die.

Speculum Auris

A tool used by slavers to open mouths and force-feed enslaved Africans.

Slave Ship Revolt Challenge

Slaves usually were not able to navigate the ship or escape once control was gained.

Most Successful Naval Slave Revolt

The 1839 Amistad Uprising, where Africans gained control of the ship and eventually freedom.

Most Feared Middle Passage Disease

Smallpox.

First Slaves in British Colonies

Arrived in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia.

Necessity of Slavery in Southern Colonies

Colonists in Southern colonies felt slavery was necessary to provide labor for cash crops like tobacco and rice.

Slavery in Northern Colonies

Fewer slaves due to smaller farms; worked as household servants, carpenters, general laborers; laws were less harsh due to less fear of rebellion.

Slave Family as Survival Mechanism

Provided love, support, helped cope with suffering, and maintained self-esteem.

Slave Owner Support for Marriage

Believed married slaves with families were less likely to rebel.

Undermining Black Husband/Father Status

Sexual exploitation of black women by white men weakened family bonds and disrespected black husbands.

Age for Slave Child Fieldwork

Age 12.

Dark to Dark

Worked from sunrise to sunset with hardly ever rest.

Domestic Slave Life (Pros & Cons)

Advantages: lighter labor, better food/clothing. Disadvantages: lack of privacy, greater exposure to abuse, isolated from larger slave communities.

Slave Music as Communication

Communicated feelings, stories, and secrets.

African Diaspora Pastimes

Storytelling, music, dancing, religious practices.

Masters' Opposition to Slave Bible Learning

Feared stories of freedom/justice would inspire slaves to question slavery and encourage rebellion.

Biblical Support for Slavery (Purported)

Servants, to be obedient to them that are your masters.

Reciprocal Duties (Slavery)

Slaves expected masters to respect duties; slaves owed duties to masters, and masters owed duties to slaves.

Reasons for Retaining Slavery in America

Race (disciplining with impunity), inexhaustible supply (initially), fear (blacks as fearsome), perceived benefit to slaves, wealth for many, and established tradition.

Physical Reward of Slave Ownership

Owning slaves made white people feel powerful and important, giving them status and reinforcing perceived superiority.

Puritan Community

Founded on strict religious beliefs, moral purity, and a covenant with God. Challenged by dissenters, harsh living conditions, and strict rules; led to new colonies, weakened religious uniformity, but influenced American culture.

Bible Commonwealth

A society or government based on the laws and values of the Bible.

Spiritual Home (Middle Ages Western Europe)

The Roman Catholic Church.

Religion in Corporate Society

Seen as a shared public responsibility; everyone expected to follow same faith to keep community strong and orderly.

Martin Luther's Fear

Feared churches and sacraments would not be good enough to be saved.

Luther's Path to Salvation

Only through individual faith in God.

Predestination (Calvinism)

Salvation is determined beforehand, so concern should focus on this world (living a godly life as evidence).

John Calvin's Goal for Christians

To glorify God and live a life reflecting His will, showing faith through obedience, good works, and active engagement in the world.

Puritans vs. Separatists

Puritans sought to purify the Anglican Church from within; Separatists believed it was beyond reform and sought complete separation to form independent godly congregations.

Congregational Church Structure

No bishops; each local church governed itself independently.

Society of Friends (Quakers)

No clergy or formal services, emphasizing direct personal experience of God.

Calvinist Principles

Predestination, the elect, and focus on living a good life in this world as evidence of salvation.

Robert Browne and Brownists

In 1583, Robert Browne called for separation and immediate reformation of the church; Brownists rejected practices seen as Roman Catholic remnants (e.g., surplice, hierarchical structure).

Pilgrims' Leading Religious Group

Separatist Puritans.

Reasons for Pilgrims Leaving Holland

Children becoming Dutch, poor jobs, Spain threatening to conquer Holland and crush Protestantism, fear of Dutch religious diversity.

Pilgrim Landing and Compact

Landed in Massachusetts (Plymouth) in 1620; 41 men signed the Mayflower Compact to create a government and obey laws for the common good.

Native American Helper (Pilgrims)

Squanto.

John Winthrop's Puritan Migration

Led Puritans on the Arbella to New England to escape religious persecution and build a model Christian society, 'a city upon a hill'.

Winthrop's Puritan Government

A theocratic government where religious leaders influenced laws, governed according to Puritan beliefs and moral codes.

Puritan Religious Freedom Goal

No, they wanted to practice their own strict Puritan beliefs without interference and expected everyone in the colony to follow their rules; dissenters were often banished.

Community Covenant (Puritan)

An agreement among members of a community to live according to shared religious and moral rules, support one another, and work together for an orderly society.

Covenant of Works (Puritan)

The belief that people can demonstrate their faith and God's favor through good deeds, hard work, and fulfilling their duty.

Town Meeting

A meeting involving all qualified voters to determine community policies.

First English Colony vs. Massachusetts Bay

Jamestown (1607), founded for profit; Massachusetts Bay founded by Puritans for religion.

Winthrop's 'City upon a Hill' Legacy

The idea that America should be a godly model for others to follow, influencing American exceptionalism and purpose.

US Secular Government (Enlightenment)

Many Protestant denominations existed, leading to the First Amendment, which ensured religious freedom and no established church.

English Colonial Policy Theory

Mercantilism.

Mercantilism

Theory that colonies existed to enrich the mother country (power measured by wealth in gold/silver), supplying raw materials and buying its goods.

Colonial System Control

Centralized economic planning, mainly through mercantilist and trade regulations like Navigation Acts.

Favorable Balance of Trade

A nation exports more than it imports, bringing it wealth; achieved by using colonies for raw materials and markets while excluding foreign merchants.

Purpose of Navigation Acts

To enforce mercantilism by making colonists trade mainly with England for the mother country's benefit.

Salutary Neglect

Britain's policy of not strictly enforcing trade laws in American colonies, allowing them more economic and political freedom as long as it still benefited England.

Challenges to Mercantilism Enforcement

Colonies were far away, communication/travel slow, colonists resisted/evaded laws, local authorities sometimes ignored them.

Colonial 'Little Parliaments'

Colonists considered colonial assemblies 'little parliaments' as they made local laws, controlled taxes, and represented the people.

Prime Minister of Salutary Neglect

Robert Walpole.

Treaty of Paris (1763) Impact

Made Great Britain the dominant colonial power in North America by ending the French and Indian War, gaining Canada and French lands East of the Mississippi River.

Factors for American Independence

Knowledge of the land, high motivation, foreign aid, and Britain being stretched thin and far away.

Influences on Declaration of Independence

John Locke and Enlightenment ideas (natural rights, government by consent).

Significance of Declaration of Independence

Guarantees freedom and equality, reminds citizens of duty to define rights and participate in government.

Isaac Newton's View of Natural World

A machine operating on natural laws expressed mathematically.

Hobbes description of human life before social contracts

Nasty, brutish, and short; a state of constant conflict and selfish competition.

Locke vs. Hobbes (Government)

Locke believed government should protect natural rights and people could rebel if it failed, unlike Hobbes who supported absolute monarchy.

Locke's Justification for Rebellion

When the government violates or fails to protect people's natural rights (life, liberty, property), breaking the social contract.

Goal of Enlightenment

To use reason to understand and improve human society.

Olive Branch Petition Goal

To appeal to King George III for peace and protection of colonial rights, avoiding full-scale war with Britain.

Jefferson thinks when is Right to Rebel

When the government fails to protect people's natural rights.

Jefferson thinks what on Purpose of Government

To secure and protect their natural rights.

Mr. Wagy's Life Purpose Suggestion

To consider that 'we are part of a social experiment'.

Forbidden in Corporate Community

Individualism, because people had duties to follow.

Catholic Church's

Provided corporate structure for Western Europe.

Crusades' Exposure to New Ideas

Perfumes, fabric, spices, and other goods/ideas.

Secularism

Principle of separate religion and government.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Renaissance thinker