Unit 2: Period 2: 1607 - 1754

Contextualizing Period 2

Early Settlements

Spanish and Portuguese settled in Central and South America
French, Dutch, and British settled on the Atlantic coast
Trade was the mainstay of Native and European contact

Sources of Labor

Europeans seized land from Native Americans as they looked for a source of labor to make the land profitable
Enslaving Natives failed due to disease and because they could escape easily
Indentured servitude became common in colonies but was insufficient
Slaves from Africa became a popular source of labor later as the Spanish and others were importing slaves too

Spanish Colonies

Florida → Juan Ponce de Loen claimed this land for Spain after strong resistance from Natives
New Mexico And Arizona → Spanish Colonists began arriving in 1598 with Sante Fe as the capital
Texas → Spanish est. settlements in Texas between Florida and New Mexico
California → Franciscan order and Father Junipero Serra est. mission along the California Coast

French Colonies

Motives: Christian missionaries, economic reasons, the fur trade
Quebec was the 1st settlement in America by Samuel de Champlain (1608)
Louisiana was explored by Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette
New Orleans became a prosperous trade port

Dutch Colonies

Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River with est. Dutch claims to the surrounding area
Dutch West Company made to control the region for economic gain

British Colonies

England’s population grew more rapidly than its economy
Joint-stock companies financed colonies
Motives: better life, religious freedom

The 13 Colonies and the British Empire

Types of British Colonies

Corporate colonies: operated by joint-stock companies, during the early years
Royal colonies: under the direct authority and rule of the King’s government
Proprietary colonies: under the authority of individuals granted charters of ownership by the king

Early English Settlements

England gained a reputation as a major naval power
England’s population was growing wildly
poor and landless people attracted to the Americas
Joint-stock companies grew * pooled savings of many investors → spread the risk

Jamestown

King James chartered the Virginia Company
Problems * Location in the swampy area resulted in disease outbreaks * Trades with American Indians were prominent but when conflicts came trade stopped and settlers went hungry * John Rolfe developed a variety of tobacco that became popular in Europe and profited
Transition to a royal colony * Virginia company made unwise decisions + debt * King James, I revoked the charter and it became England’s 1st royal colony

Plymouth + Massachusetts Bay

Religious motivation to move west
Settled by English protestants and + Anglican Church
The leader of the church was the monarch of England
Dissenters adopted Calvin’s doctrine of predestination
King James, I viewed religious dissenters as a threat to his religious and political authority + ordered them arrested and jailed

Plymouth Colony

Separatists (radical dissenters to the Church of England) wanted a separate church independent of royal control
Known as pilgrims they chose a colony in America operated by the Virginia Company of London
Set sail on the Mayflower and landed off the Massachusetts coast
Hardships * Harsh winters killed many * Able to adapt to the land by natives + celebrated Thanksgiving
Leaders: Captian Miles, Governor William Bradford

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Moderate dissenters believed the Church of England could be reformed/ purified → Puritans
Puritans gained a royal charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company
Puritans + John Winthrop sailed to MA → more settlers came (known as the great migration)

Political Instiutions

Representative Assembly in VA * Virginia Company encouraged settlement in Jamestown with the same rights as residents * Representation in lawmaking processes * Jamestown organized the 1st representative assembly in America → House of Burgesses
Representative Government in New England * Mayflower Compact → pledge them to make decisions by the will of the majority * All freemen (male) of the Puritan church had the right to participate in elections
Limits * Most colonists were excluded from the political process * Only white males could vote * The rest had limited rights

Chesapeake Colonies

King Charles chartered a new colony on either side of Chesapeake Bay and granted control of it to George Calvert
Religious Issues * Act of Toleration → act of parliament granting freedom of worship to nonconformists * Protestant revolt → religious reform movement that swept through Europe
Labor Shortages * Indentured servants → agreements between 2 parties about long-term work * Headright system → right to receive 50 acres per person or per head in Virginia * Slavery → Dutch ships brought black Americans to Virginia to serve plantation owners + permanent bondage
Economic Problems * Tobacco overproduction led to low prices * House of Burgesses attempted to raise prices
Conflict in Virginia * Bacon’s Rebellion → Bacon and his followers burn Jamestown, angry at the Virginia government that gave land to natives and the land aristocracy * Problems * Highlighted class differences * Colonial resistance to royal control

Development of New England

Rhode Island * Roger Williams fled southward to Narragansett Bay with followers * Anne Hutchinson believed in antinomianism and joined Roger * Roger granted a charter from the Parliament that joined Providence and Portsmouth into a single colony → Rhode Island that served as a refuge
Connecticut * Settlers unhappy with MA authorities were attracted to Connecticut * Reverend Thomas Hooker led a large group of Puritans to Hartford + drew up the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut * Est. representative government of the legislature * New Haven Joined with Hartford settlers to form Connecticut
New Hampshire * Last New England colony that was originally part of Massachusettes Bay * King Charles II separated NH from the Bay colony and made it a royal colony
Halfway Covenant * Allowed partial membership rights to persons not yet converted to a Puritan church
New England Confederation * The joint military alliance between New England colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, New Haven, and Massachusetts Bay against Natives, French, and Dutch
King Philip’s War * Wampanoag’s chief Metacom united many tribes against English settlers (encroaching on native land) * Colonial forces prevailed ending Native resistance in New England

Restoration Colonies

Colonies found in restoration time
Carolinas * Charles II granted a tract between Virginia and Spanish Florida to 8 nobles (lord proprietors of the Carolinas) * South Carolina * Colonists from England + planters from Barbados founded a town * Based on fur trading and providing food for West Indies + large rice-growing plantations
North Carolina * Virginia and New England farmers est. self-sufficient tobacco farms * Earned a reputation for democratic views and autonomy from British control
New York * The king granted the Duke of York lands between Connecticut and Delaware Bay. * James ordered new taxes, language, duties, rents, etc with no assembly * Taxation without representation et strong opposition made James yield by allowing the governor to grant broad civil + political rights
New Jersey * James split the New York colony into 2 making New Jersey * Attracted settlers by land offers + religious freedom + assembly * West New Jersey + East New Jersey → New Jersey
Pennsylvania + Delaware * Quakers * Believed that religious authority was found within each person’s soul and not the bible or any other source * Persecuted + jailed for their beliefs in England * William Penn * Young converted to the Quaker faith * Bequeathed Pennsylvania land as the royal family owed father large debt * The Holy Experiment * William Penn est Pennsylvania as a way to put into practice Quaker ideals * Penn hired agents and published notices throughout Europe that promised political and religious freedom and generous land terms * Delaware * Penn granted 3 lower counties of Pennsylvania their own assembly becoming another colony
Georgia * Britain wanted a defensive buffer to protect South Carolina from the Spanish threat * imprisoners in England could come here to escape debt + start over * Special regulations * James Oglethorpe founded Georgia’s first settlement + put in a plan to make the colony thrive * The constant threat of Spanish attack stopped the colony from prospering * Royal colony * Oglethorpe gave up their plan and Georgia became a royal colony * The colony grew slowly through the SC plantation system

Triangular trade

Merchant ships followed a 3-way route from North America to Europe to Africa.
Britain (textiles, rum, manufactures) , Africa(slaves), America (sugar, tobacco, cotton)

Mercantilism and the Empire

Mercantilism: nations’ wealth and power were best served by increased exports and reduced imports
Colonies were to provide raw materials to the parent country for growth
Acts of Trade and Navigation were England’s implemented mercantilist policy with Navigations acts * Trade only by English Ships * Imported goods only through England ports * Specific goods could only be exported to England (tobacco)
Impact on colonies * Caused New England shipbuilding to prosper + Chesapeake monopoly * Limited development of colonial manufacturing * Colonists resented regulatory laws by distant governments
Enforcement * British gov lax in enforcement * Massachusetts Bay Charter revoked
Dominion of New England * King James II determined to increase royal control over colonies through larger administrative units * NY, NJ, + others combined into the dominion of New England * This led to an uprising against him + separate charters for colonies

Institution of Slavery

Increased Demand for Slaves * Reasons * Reduced migration of immigrants into colonies * Slaves were a dependable workforce → Indentured servants were unsuitable as they kept revolting * Slaves were cheap labor → Tobacco prices fell, and rice and indigo became profitable so cheap was labor needed
Slave Laws * White colonists adopted laws to ensure African Americans would be held in bondage for life and slave status would be inherited * Triangular Trade * Britain (textiles, rum, manufactures) , Africa(slaves), America (sugar, tobacco, cotton) * Middle passage: slaves would be transported to the Americas directly from Africa

European Settlements

Motivations to colonize → raw materials, adventure, markets, overcrowding in England, and religious reformation
Spanish Settlements * Settled in Mexico * Spanish caste system (Europeans, Mixed, Natives) * Were there for missionary work * Enslaved Natives + Bartolome de las Cases outspoken against enslavement and encomienda
Dutch Settlements * Settled in middle colonies * No cohesive establishment + trade * Quakers
French Settlements * Settled in Canada + West of Britain * Immense fur trade with Natives * Missionary work
English Settlements * Settled away from Natives → Eastern Coast * Settlement and land were the main goals * Protestant + Catholic (refugees) * Disease wiped out natives

Colonial Society in the 18th Century

Population Growth

250,000 → 2,500,000 complete population
Africans * largest non-English immigrant group * Africant population made up 20%

Structure of Colonial Society

General Characteristics * Self-Government → Representative assembly (RI & CT were elected) * Religious Toleration → practice of different religions * No Hereditary Aristocracy * Social Mobility → Opportunity to improve their standard (didn’t apply to Africans)
Family * Men - landowning + voting + jobs * Women - average typical household work
Economy * Mercantilism throughout colonies * New England - limited farming + more industrial manufacturing * Middle Colonies - rich soil + small manufacturing * Southern Colonies - large plantation economy * Monetary system - limit the use of money * Transportation - good by water, roads, trails, and small ships on water routes
Religion * Puritans, Anglicans, Quakers * Challenges * discrimination + persecution * absence of church leadership * Established Churches: protestant, Anglican, congregation church dominance * Great awakening * Religion/puritan influence DECREASES * Johnathan Edwards: sinners in the hands of an angry god”: Christians must depend on God’s grace * George Whitefield traveling sermons * Revitalized religion with emotionalism * New lights v old lights (orthodox) * congregations + Presbyterians split into methodists + baptists * Anglican + congregational (puritan) tax-supported churches dominate * Anglican/church of Eng ESP IN SOUTH * Founding of college & sense of Americanism
Cultural life * Colonial arts and sciences flourished * Architecture: Georgian-style buildings * Painting: itinerant artists * Literature: Poor Richard’s Almanac + more * Science: Ben Franklin
Education * Elementary * Emphasis on learning the bible * Tax-supported schools * Sponsored, private, tutors * Higher * Promoted doctrines of religious groups + only nobles could afford * Ministry → Cristian * Physicians → cures only made colonists worse * Lawyers → talkative troublemakers
Press * Newspapers → news spread + 5 newspapers dominant * Zenger Trial → 1st challenge with freedom of the press regarding
Enlightenment * Education in colonies * Brought by Ben Franklin * Reasoning: science and politics * Colonies more democratic than Europe * John Locke - natural rights basis for Declaration
Politics * Structure of government * 8 royal colonies and 3 proprietaries (MY, PN, DL) * Local government * The dominant form of local government was a town meeting * Voting * White men largely took the votes * Wealth men had the bigger say