Chapter 1-9: Virginia and Atlantic World - Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the notes on Bacon's Rebellion, indentured servitude, the shift to African slavery, and the Chesapeake region (Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina) including economic crops like tobacco and rice.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 Virginia uprising by frontier settlers and discontented colonists against colonial elites; its aftermath helped shift labor from indentured servitude to African slavery.

Indentured Servant

Laborer who signs a contract to work for a fixed term (often around five years) in exchange for passage to the colonies and basic sustenance.

Switch to African Slavery in Virginia

Post-rebellion shift where planters began relying on enslaved Africans for labor due to availability and the desire for lifelong, hereditary enslaved status.

Hereditary Slavery

A system in which enslaved status is passed from parent to child, creating multi-generational bondage.

Linguistic/Ethnic Separation Tactic

Policy of acquiring enslaved people from different parts of Africa to prevent unified communication and collective resistance.

Slavery Economics (Upfront Cost vs Lifetime Labor)

Enslaved Africans required a large upfront investment but provided lifelong labor, unlike temporary indentured servants.

Chesapeake

Region including Virginia and Maryland; key tobacco-producing area with shared soil/climate characteristics.

Tobacco

Main cash crop of the Chesapeake colonies; shaped plantation economies and labor needs.

Virginia

A Chesapeake colony where Bacon's Rebellion occurred and where slavery increasingly supplanted indentured servitude.

South Carolina (SC)

Carolina colony that attracted Caribbean planters; strong slave-based economy centered on rice and large enslaved populations.

Rice

Staple crop in South Carolina; its cultivation required intensive slave labor near Charleston.

SC Slave Ratio (85:15)

Demographic pattern in which enslaved Africans vastly outnumbered white residents in South Carolina, influencing security and coercive measures.

Caribbean Influence on SC

Caribbean plantation experience of settlers who moved to SC, accelerating the adoption of slave labor in the colony.

Maryland

Chesapeake colony founded under Catholic influence; distinct religious character within the region.

Lord Baltimore

Catholic proprietor of Maryland; his leadership shaped the colony’s religious arrangement.

Catholic Maryland

Maryland’s early religious identity as a Catholic-founded colony, contrasting with Anglican/Puritan neighbors.