Chapter 3 Notes: The British Atlantic World, 1660–1750

  • Scope and focus

    • Chapter topic: The British Atlantic World, 1660–1750 (and into 1750s) in North America and the Atlantic world
    • Major throughlines: shifts in English imperial control, the rise of colonial self-government, the growth of the South Atlantic System (sugar, tobacco, rice), the expansion of African slavery, Native American diplomacy and warfare, and the evolving Atlantic economy and mercantilist policy.
    • Structure follows political episodes, economic systems, and imperial warfare, with maps and charts illustrating territorial changes, trade flows, and slave populations.

  • The Restoration Colonies and Imperial Expansion (1660–1685/1689)

    • Charles II’s expansion of English power in Asia and the Atlantic; strategic moves in the Americas
    • 1662: Charles II married Catherine of Braganza; dowry included Bombay (Mumbai)
    • 1663: Eight loyal nobles granted Carolina; Carolina claimed by Spain; thousands of Indians in the region
    • 1664: James, Duke of York, granted New Netherland and later New Jersey; renamed to New York, then New Jersey to proprietors
    • 1681: William Penn granted Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods)
    • Broad land grab and imperial reach: ousting the Dutch, intruding into Spain’s northern empire, claiming land in between
    • Propriety colonies (Restoration Colonies)
    • Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania as proprietorships: land held by grantees who rule—laws broadly conform to England’s
    • In New York, James II refused an elective assembly; governance by decree
    • Carolina and New England proto-feudal schemes vs actual settlement patterns
    • Carolina’s 1669 Constitutions of Carolina established Church of England and a manorial system, but reality faltered
    • Population and social composition in the early Carolina settlements
    • NC: mix of poor families, runaway servants from Virginia, and Quakers; settlers cultivated on modest family farms; Baconian influence (Bacon’s Rebellion) inspired 1677 and 1708 revolts against taxes
    • South Carolina: settlers from Barbados; aimed to recreate Barbados’ hierarchical slave society; relied on enslaved Africans and Native Americans; deer skins and Indian slave trade; around 1700 rice becomes a staple cash crop
    • Demographic shifts
    • By 1708, Carolinas relied on a few thousand slaves; African population exploded; by 1710, Blacks outnumbered whites in South Carolina; by 1740, enslaved Africans were about two-thirds of the population in certain regions

  • William Penn and Pennsylvania (1681–1683 and after)

    • Penn’s colony contrasted with the Carolinas: unity of purpose; neo-European settlement aimed to replicate familiar social/economic systems
    • Frame of Government (1681):
    • Religious freedom by prohibiting an established church
    • Political equality: all property-owning men could vote and hold office
    • Penn’s diplomacy with Native Americans
    • 1682 Delaware lands treaty with the Delaware Indians; purchase of lands for Philadelphia and surrounding settlements
    • Quaker religious ideals and ethnic openness
    • Penn’s pamphlets to attract Protestants; 1683 Germans founded a town just outside Philadelphia; later German migration; ethnic diversity and pacifism mark Pennsylvania as open and democratic among Restoration Colonies
    • Penn’s governance and foundation myths vs later political reality

  • From Mercantilism to Imperial Dominion: Navigation Acts and the mercantile state (1651–1751)

    • Navigation Acts as a tool to channel colonial trade through England and English fleets
    • 1651 Act: goods must be carried on ships owned by English or colonial merchants
    • 1660 & 1663: strengthened ban on foreign traders; enumerated goods restricted; goods to be exported/imported via England
    • 1673: Plantation Duty; revenue-raising duties on colonial exports (sugar and tobacco)
    • 1696: anti-fraud measures; creation of vice-admiralty courts
    • 1699 Woolen Act; 1732 Hat Act; 1750 Iron Act; 1751 Currency Act
    • Enforcement and limits
    • English navy and mercantile policies driven by war needs; Dutch and French shippers frequently circumvented rules; three-quarters of crew on English vessels were British (and colonial) crews
    • Economic tensions and noncompliance
    • Massachusetts Bay and New England flouted Navigation Acts by trading with Dutch/French; Massachusetts’ port tensions with Edward Randolph; opposed enforcement led to political conflicts
    • The Lords of Trade and the Dominion project
    • 1679: Lords of Trade denied Massachusetts’ claim to New Hampshire; eventually established the Dominion of New England (1686)

  • The Dominion of New England and the Glorious Revolution (1686–1689)

    • The Dominion unites CT, RI, MA, Plymouth and later adds NY and NJ; governed by Sir Edmund Andros
    • Andros’ governance: elimination of town meetings; promotion of Church of England worship; land title revocation and new deeds proposed for a fee
    • Glorious Revolution (1688–1689) and its Atlantic ripple effects
    • Protestant coup to replace James II with William III and Mary II; Declaration of Rights strengthens Parliament and the House of Commons; Locke’s Two Treatises (1690) foregrounds government as based on consent and natural rights
    • Rebellions and shifts post-Glorious Revolution
    • Protestant revolts in Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York; Andros shipped back to England; Dominion dissolved
    • 1692 Massachusetts Bay charter restored; Board of Trade established in 1696 to regulate colonial affairs; local elites retain power while imperial oversight continues

  • The Glorious Revolution in England and America: consequences for empire and governance

    • Constitutional monarchy and imperial commerce
    • William and Mary promote mercantilist framework but grant local autonomy to colonial assemblies; Board of Trade fosters ongoing oversight
    • Repercussions for Native American diplomacy and imperial border politics
    • The end of Dominion and the restoration of some colonial governance structures with new charters and powers

  • Imperial Wars and Native Peoples (late 17th–early 18th centuries)

    • The Second Hundred Years’ War (1689–1815): seven major wars between Britain and European powers; colonial theaters extend into North America and the Atlantic
    • Native American tribalization under imperial warfare
    • Diseases decimate populations; shifting political configurations create multiethnic and polyglot tribes (e.g., Catawbas, Iroquois)
    • Iroquois Covenant Chain with New York and later balancing French-English attentions
    • Key conflicts and outcomes
    • War dates and purposes (e.g., 1652–1654 African slave trade; 1664 markets; 1673 commercial markets; 1689–1697 King William’s War; 1702–1713 Queen Anne’s War; 1739–1741 War of Jenkins’ Ear; 1740–1748 War of Austrian Succession)
    • These wars expand imperial reach and force colonial mobilization and alliances with Native American groups
    • Iroquois diplomacy and the Four Indian Kings (1710–1711) in London
    • Diplomatic gifts, guns, powder, rum from British; alliance negotiations and attempts to secure Canada; neutrality complicates European rivalries but remains leverage for tribes
    • Southeast Indian alliances
    • War of Spanish Succession (1702–1713): Creeks align with English to attack Spanish Florida; Creek–Yamasee–Tuscarora dynamics reshape frontier warfare
    • The geopolitical payoff
    • Despite battlefield gains, Britain uses warfare to secure territory and access (e.g., Utrecht 1713 transfers Newfoundland, Acadia, Hudson Bay to Britain; 1704–1713 era secures strategic ports and borders)

  • The Imperial Slave Economy: The South Atlantic System (late 17th–18th centuries)

    • Core idea: a global plantation economy centered on sugar (and rice, tobacco) with slave labor
    • Geography and product focus
    • Center: Brazil and the West Indies; sugar as the primary commodity; rice and tobacco important on the mainland
    • Slavery and the Atlantic slave trade
    • Between 1520 and 1650, ~820,000 Africans transported by Portuguese; later, British involvement grows massively
    • By 1750s, Jamaica and Barbados become leading sugar economies; large slave populations dominate plantation life
    • Profits and global impact
    • Slave labor drives enormous profits for planter-merchants; sugar yields high returns; slaves transferred for major profit in the triangular trade
    • The economy of sugar links the Atlantic world through currency, credit, and exchange of goods: firearms, textiles, rum, etc.
    • The slave trade and mortality
    • The Middle Passage mortality rate around ~14% (about 1.5 million died en route out of ~11 million embarked); about 11 million Africans embarked; ~1.5 million died on the voyage; survivors labored in sugar plantations (Brazil, West Indies) or mainland colonies
    • Regional differences in slavery within British North America
    • Chesapeake (Virginia, Maryland): tobacco, mixed slave workforce; slavery institutionalized; higher life expectancy than West Indies due to climate and labor differences; by 1720 ~20% of Chesapeake population enslaved; by 1740 around 40%
    • South Carolina and Georgia: rice and later indigo; pro-slavery, hierarchical slave society; by 1710 Black majority in some areas; more brutal conditions; rice farming requires extensive slave labor and dangerous work in swamp conditions
    • Social and cultural consequences of slavery
    • Slaves from diverse West African origins; by 1730s, many communities built on kinship networks; mixing and adaptation create unique African American cultures in the Americas
    • Families form, despite high turnover and slave trading; marriages and kin networks stabilize slave communities; some runaways form Maroon communities (less common on mainland than in Jamaica)
    • Slavery, gender, and violence
    • Sexual exploitation of enslaved women by masters; legal frameworks evolving to codify slavery and punishing runaway slaves; brutality used to deter rebellion; 1739 Stono Rebellion in South Carolina demonstrates both the potential for slave resistance and the limits of resistance under plantation power

  • Slavery in the Chesapeake vs South Carolina vs West Indies

    • Chesapeake and Maryland ( tobacco )
    • Slaves integrated into farm economies; tobacco labor required steady, less extreme labor compared to rice; colonists encouraged breeding and maternal lineage; by 1720s, women comprised a significant portion of enslaved population; life expectancy and conditions somewhat better than sugar islands
    • Law and order: Virginia statute of 1669 allowed masters to kill slaves “in the process of correction” with impunity; restrictions on weapons and gatherings; runaways pursued with legal support for capture and return
    • South Carolina and rice plantations
    • Rice cultivation in inland swamps under brutal conditions; high mortality and high slave importation to sustain labor force; black majority emerges early in 1700s; 80% enslaved in rice regions by 1730s
    • West Indies and sugar islands (Barbados, Jamaica, Barbados-era economies)
    • Plantation society built on large-scale slave labor; racial hierarchy deeply entrenched; slave populations rise rapidly; costly to maintain due to high turnover and mortality; profit margins high for planters

  • The Rise of the Southern Gentry, Gentility, and Northern Maritime Economy

    • Rise of planter-merchant elites in Chesapeake and South Carolina
    • Byrd family as exemplar: social ascent from colonial status to English-style gentility; migration to London for education; return to manage plantations; marriage politics; control of local politics via patronage and wealth
    • Political control and social status: Planter elites use wealth to influence elections, maintain power in the House of Burgesses and equivalent bodies; use patronage (rum, money, offices) to secure political obedience from yeomen and tenants
    • Gentility and gender in the planters’ households
    • Planter wives emulate English upper-class culture; domestic life becomes a site of social display; education and travel to England for sons historically reinforce elite status
    • The Northern Maritime Economy
    • West Indian sugar economies rely on New England and Middle Atlantic colonies for bread, lumber, and fish; The South Atlantic System and New England trade become deeply intertwined
    • By 1750, major port cities grow significantly: Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Newport; shipbuilding thrives; river networks carry grain to the islands and manufactured goods back to the mainland
    • The urban economy grows around mercantile networks; merchants gain power; artisans, shopkeepers, and laborers form the middle and lower classes; enslaved labor and indentured servitude supplement labor force
    • The Atlantic economy’s structure and flows
    • North American mainland exports: wheat, corn, fish, timber; West Indies imports: sugar, molasses; Europe exports: textiles, iron, manufactured goods; Africa exports: slaves
    • The currency and credit system: bills of exchange move between Caribbean, North America, and Britain; currency shortages push land banks and paper money debates; Parliament responds with the Currency Act (1751) restricting colonial paper money

  • The Rise of Colonial Assemblies and Salutary Neglect (1713–1750)

    • After 1713, Britain’s colonial policy oscillates between mercantilist enforcement and salutary neglect
    • The Board of Trade oversees colonial affairs but often allows colonial legislatures to exercise substantial autonomy
    • The colonists’ assemblies grow powerful through participation and political skill; example: New Jersey’s assembly shows deep family ties to political leadership; by 1750, ~90% of assembly members had fathers or relatives in leadership roles
    • Salutary neglect and the Walpole era
    • Robert Walpole (1720–1742) uses patronage to secure support, leading to a relatively lax imperial governance in the colonies; this brings more local autonomy but fuels colonists’ expectations of self-government
    • Conflicts over money, trade, and governance
    • The Currency Act (1751) bans land banks and paper money as legal tender for private debts; Mercantilist tensions persist as colonies resist imperial control
    • The War of Jenkins’s Ear (1739–1741) and related conflicts illustrate limits of imperial authority and the complexity of colonial-war cooperation

  • The War, the Treaty, and the Emperor’s Return: 1740s–1750s

    • The war against Spain and France (War of Jenkins’s Ear, War of Austrian Succession) and its imperial dimensions
    • The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returns Louisbourg to France; demonstrates that imperial interests in Europe sometimes trump colonial desires

  • The Map and Data Visuals (as referenced in the text)

    • Map 3.1: The Dominion of New England shows the expanse of imperial rule from Maine to Pennsylvania under James II
    • Map 3.2: Sugar and slavery map; highlights sugar’s centrality to Caribbean and Atlantic economies, and the value of slave labor
    • Map 3.3: Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade (1700–1810): shows major slave-trade routes, African kingdoms involved, and slave depots
    • Map 3.4: American-controlled trade (mid-18th century): depicts the rise of American merchants and their control over trade with the West Indies

  • Key Figures and Terms to remember

    • Key people
    • Charles II, James II, William Penn, Edmund Andros, William of Orange, Mary II, John Locke, Jacob Leisler, William Byrd II, Robert Walpole, George Fox, Margaret Fell
    • Key terms
    • proprietorship, Quakers, Navigation Acts, Dominion of New England, Glorious Revolution, constitutional monarchy, Second Hundred Years’ War, tribalization, Covenant Chain, South Atlantic System, Middle Passage, Stono Rebellion, gentility, salutary neglect, patronage, land banks
    • Important figures and concepts: Penn’s Frame of Government; Covenant Chain with Iroquois; Stono Rebellion as a pivot in slave resistance; the rise of self-governing assemblies; the shift from mercantilist control to a more autonomous colonial political culture

  • Questions for analysis and thematic prompts

    • How did Charles II and James II seek to centralize control, and what did they hope to accomplish with the Dominion of New England?
    • How did imperial warfare reshape Native American alliances and territorial holdings in North America?
    • What was the South Atlantic System, and how did it shape colonial society and economies in the Atlantic world?
    • How did slavery develop differently in the Chesapeake, Carolina low country, and the West Indies, and what factors contributed to these regional variations?
    • How did the rise of colonial assemblies and the policy of salutary neglect influence the trajectory toward American independence?
    • What were the economic mechanisms that tied the Atlantic world together, including credit, currency, and trade flows, and how did these change by 1750?

  • Numerical and data highlights (with LaTeX formatting)

    • Population and slavery shares in the Carolinas
    • By 1710, the white Carolinians relied on a few thousand slaves; the African population exploded afterward; blacks outnumbered whites by 1710; by 1740, enslaved Africans constituted approximately two-thirds of the population in some areas.
    • ext{Black population share} o rac{2}{3} ext{ by } 1740
    • The Middle Passage and mortality
    • Total Africans embarked to the Americas: ext{emigrants} \approx 11{,}000{,}000
    • Africans who died on the voyage: ext{deaths} \approx 1.5{,}000{,}000
    • Death rate on the Middle Passage: ext{death rate} \approx 14\%
    • Sugar and slave productivity
    • By 1750s, Jamaica had ~105,000 slaves; Barbados had a slave population that dwarfed smallholders; sugar’s profitability drives the Atlantic economy
    • Trade and currency
    • By the mid-18th century, American and West Indian trade relied on bills of exchange and English-made currency; debates over land banks and paper money lead to the Currency Act of 1751

  • Connections to broader themes and real-world relevance

    • The chapter links political transformation (taxation, representation, and assemblies) with economic changes (the South Atlantic System, sugar, and the slave trade), showing how economic interests shaped political power and colonial governance.
    • Slavery’s regional variation demonstrates how climate, crops, and labor-intensive production shaped social structures and violence; the legal codification of slavery reflects long-term racialized hierarchies in the Atlantic world.
    • The interplay between imperial wars and Native American diplomacy reveals how tribes leveraged European conflicts to pursue their own political goals, creating a Covenant Chain and shifting alliances that affected frontier stability and trade.
    • The shift from salutary neglect to renewed imperial control foreshadows tensions that culminate in the push toward independence, illustrating a recurring pattern: prosperous and semi-autonomous colonies challenge centralized authority when it serves imperial interests but threatens local autonomy.

  • Summaries by section (quick reference)

    • Restoration Colonies: royal efforts to impose order; proprietorships grant land and local rule; social experiments (Carolina, Jersey, Pennsylvania) meet mixed success; Puritan and Quaker settlements reveal diverse religious and economic aims
    • Navigation Acts and mercantilism: keep colonial gains in English hands; enforcement fluctuates with imperial needs; Dutch and French competitors prompt stronger enforcement
    • Dominion and Glorious Revolution: centralized control briefly replaces local assemblies; revolution restores colonial self-government and introduces political theory of consent and rights; Board of Trade maintains a continuing but limited imperial oversight
    • Imperial wars and Native peoples: warfare catalyzes Native alliances; tribes adapt to new political realities; colonists gain land and security at times but pay costly tolls in lives and resources
    • South Atlantic System and slavery: global plantation economy grows; slave labor becomes central to profits; a racialized system emerges with lasting social consequences
    • Colonial autonomy and fiscal policy: assemblies grow powerful; salutary neglect allows more local governance yet seeds conflicts with imperial authorities; currency and trade policies provoke resistance and spark debates about imperial governance

  • Quick-reference glossary (selected terms)

    • Proprietorship: colonial lands held and governed by private owners under broad English legal powers
    • Covenant Chain: alliance network between the Iroquois Confederacy and English colonial authorities
    • South Atlantic System: plantation-based system producing sugar, tobacco, rice for European markets, dependent on enslaved labor
    • Middle Passage: transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans to the Americas
    • Stono Rebellion (1739): major slave uprising in South Carolina illustrating both interracial tensions and slave resistance
    • Salutary neglect: British policy of lax enforcement of imperial laws allowing colonial self-government to flourish
    • Land banks: colonial paper-credit systems used to finance land purchases and commerce; later restricted by Parliament

  • Final takeaway

    • This period laid the groundwork for a distinctly American political economy and a social order deeply intertwined with Atlantic trade, imperial wars, and the institution of slavery. By mid-18th century, colonial assemblies wielded real power, but imperial authority sought to reassert control, setting the stage for the political conflicts that culminate in the late 18th century.