Rapid Review Notes

Casta System

  • Spanish colonization had a hierarchical structure.

  • Mestizos: Spanish-Indian offspring.

  • Mulatos: Spanish-African offspring.

Spanish Colonization

  • Focused on religious missions to spread Christianity.

Other European Powers

  • French: Fur trade, alliances with natives, intermarriage.

  • Dutch: New Amsterdam (New York City), focused on commerce and trade with natives.

British Colonization

  • 1607: Jamestown, the first permanent English colony.

  • Failed attempt: Roanoke.

Four Sets of Colonies

  • Chesapeake (Maryland & Virginia): Tobacco-focused, plantation economy. John Rolfe brought tobacco and saved Jamestown.

  • Southern Colonies (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia): Slavery-based, diversified crops (rice, indigo, cotton).

  • Middle Colonies (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware): Diverse, religiously tolerant (Quakers, Jews, Catholics, Protestants).

  • New England Colonies: Small towns, family-focused, religiously motivated (Puritans), more indentured servants than slaves. Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams founded Rhode Island after being kicked out of Massachusetts.

    • Salem Witch Trials: Reflected Puritan intolerance.

Labor Systems

  • Indentured Servitude: Primarily in Middle and Northeastern Colonies.

  • Slavery: Increased after Bacon's Rebellion (1676), prevalent in Chesapeake and Southern Colonies.

    • Triangular Trade: Middle Passage involved enslaved people from Africa to the Caribbean.

Colonial Society and Politics

  • 1619: House of Burgesses (first self-government in Virginia).

  • Mayflower Compact: Agreement for self-rule in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

  • Salutary Neglect: British policy of non-interference, fostering colonial self-rule.

Religion and Culture

  • Puritans: "City Upon a Hill" mentality, aiming to be an example.

  • First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s): Spiritual revival, new denominations, challenged authority.

    • Significance: Shaped American/colonial identity, led to questioning authority.

Conflict with Natives

  • 1680: Pueblo Revolt - Pueblos temporarily expelled Spanish from present-day New Mexico/Arizona.

  • King Philip's War (1675-1676): War between New England colonies and natives.

    • European expansion led to increased native resistance.