APUSH Unit 2 Notes: 1607-1754

European Colonization (1607-1754)

France

  • 1524: Initial interest in finding a water route to Asia through the Americas.
    • Colonization not immediately pursued due to wars and religious persecution in France.
  • 1608: Samuel de Champlain establishes Quebec, the first permanent French settlement.
  • Focus primarily on trade (fish and fur) rather than conquest.
  • Smaller colonizer population compared to Spanish and English.
  • Emphasis on trading settlements over permanent settlements.
  • French traders fostered kinship ties with native women to expand trade networks.
    • Example: Interactions with Ojibwe Indians involving beaver pelts for iron cookware and tools.

Dutch

  • Henry Hudson sent to find a water-based passage through the Americas.
    • Claimed land that became the Hudson River and established New Amsterdam (later New York).
  • Primarily economic goals; New Amsterdam became a significant trading hub.
  • Dutch were Protestant but did not focus on converting native populations.

British

  • Primarily economic motivations for colonization.
    • Declining wealth of nobles seeking new riches.
    • Economic hardship among peasants, displaced by the enclosure movement.
  • Religious freedom and improved living conditions also motivated colonists.
  • English colonizers typically migrated in family groups.
  • Lacked a large, readily enslavable native population.
  • Tension and violence arose as settlers encroached on native lands.
    • Contrast: Spanish subjugation vs. English expulsion of natives.

Regions of British Colonies

Chesapeake Colonies
  • Jamestown (1607): First permanent British North American colony.
    • Financed by a joint-stock company (investors sharing financial risks/benefits).
    • Primary purpose: profit (initially searching for gold and silver).
    • Early years marked by disease and death.
    • 1612: Tobacco cultivation saves the colony.
      • Indentured servants provided labor (7-year contract for passage and settlement).
      • Expansion of tobacco cultivation led to native land encroachment and subsequent raids.
  • Bacon’s Rebellion:
    • Virginia Governor William Berkeley's perceived neglect of native raids fueled resentment.
    • Nathaniel Bacon led farmers in attacks against Indians and Berkeley’s plantations.
    • Elite planters feared uprisings from indentured servants.
    • Shift toward enslaved Africans as a primary labor source.
New England Colonies
  • 1620: Settlement by Pilgrims, followed by an influx of Puritans seeking religious freedom.
    • Puritans initially settled in Holland but sought an agricultural lifestyle in America.
  • Migrated in family groups, focused on farming and establishing communities.
  • Initial hardships similar to Jamestown.
  • Developed a robust economy centered on agriculture and commerce.
British West Indies and Southern Atlantic Coast
  • 1620s: Establishment of permanent Caribbean colonies.
  • Warm climates and long growing seasons led to sugarcane as a primary cash crop.
  • Increased demand for slaves.
  • Harsh slave codes implemented to control black-majority populations.
    • Slaves defined as property (chattel).
Middle Colonies
  • New York and New Jersey: Export economies due to coastal and river access.
  • Societal structure: Wealthy urban merchants, artisans/shopkeepers, unskilled laborers, and slaves.
  • Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn (Quaker and pacifist).
    • Religious freedom and negotiated land acquisition with Indians.

British Colonial Governance

  • Britain allowed colonies to develop their own systems of governance.
  • House of Burgesses (Virginia): Representative assembly with taxing and law-making power.
  • Mayflower Compact (Pilgrims): Self-governing structure based on church models; power concentrated in town meetings.
  • Government dominated by elites (merchants in the North, planters in the South).

Transatlantic Trade

Triangular Trade
  • Merchant ships traveled a circuit:
    • New England: Rum → West Africa.
    • West Africa: Rum → Enslaved laborers.
    • West Indies: Enslaved laborers → Sugarcane (Middle Passage).
    • Sugarcane back to New England for rum production.
  • Slave Trade Act of 1778: Limited the number of slaves per ship but conditions remained brutal.
Mercantilism
  • Dominant economic theory in Europe: fixed amount of wealth (gold and silver).
  • Goal: Favorable balance of trade (exports > imports).
  • Colonies provide raw materials and serve as markets for manufactured goods.
  • Navigation Acts: Required trade with English colonies in English ships; valuable goods had to pass through British ports for taxation.
Effects of Transatlantic Trade
  • Generated wealth for elites.
  • Transformed seaports into thriving urban centers, leading to a consumer revolution.
  • Affluent families purchased more goods, tying financial success to social status.

Interactions Between American Indians and Europeans

Spanish
  • Implemented a caste system based on racial ancestry, placing natives at the bottom.
  • Employed coercive measures to convert the Pueblo to Christianity.
    • Pueblo Revolt (1610): Pueblo people expelled the Spanish, but the Spanish reconquered Santa Fe 12 years later.
Spanish vs. English Interactions
  • Spanish encountered large empires that could be subjugated for labor.
  • English did not find large, easily enslavable populations; natives were pushed out.
English Colonists
  • Initially peaceful relations but later conflict due to land expansion.
  • Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War, 1675):
    • Metacom (King Philip), chief of the Wampanoag, resisted English encroachment.
    • Attacked colonists; English retaliated with Mohawk allies, who killed Metacom.
French Colonists
  • Less invasive; viewed Indians as trade partners and military allies.
  • Maintained good relations through intermarriage.
  • Established trading posts rather than settlements.
General
  • European powers rarely faced unified native resistance due to inter-tribal conflicts.

Slavery in the British Colonies

  • Atlantic Slave Trade: Transported 3 million slaves to British colonies in North America and the Caribbean.
  • Middle Passage: Brutal journey across the Atlantic; approximately half a million deaths.
  • All British colonies participated in and benefited from the slave trade.
  • Increased demand for colonial agricultural goods + shortage of indentured servants = increased demand for slaves.
  • Bacon’s Rebellion decreased the popularity of indentured servants.
  • New England: Smaller farms, fewer slaves.
  • Middle Colonies: Slaves worked on agricultural estates and as household servants; port cities used slaves as seamen, dockworkers, and blacksmiths.
  • Southern Colonies: Plantation system relied heavily on enslaved labor.
  • British West Indies: A significant portion of slaves worked here.
Chattel Slavery
  • Race-based slavery; slaves considered property.
  • British West Indies influenced slavery practices, especially in the South.
    • Harsh slave laws defined African laborers as chattel and made slavery generational.
      • 17th century Virginia: Plantation owners could kill slaves for defiance.
      • 1680: Laws prohibited slaves from owning weapons or leaving plantations without permission; interracial relations were outlawed.
Slave Resistance
  • Covert resistance:
    • Practiced cultural customs, maintained belief systems and languages, and slowed work by breaking tools or damaging crops.
  • Overt rebellion:
    • Stono Rebellion: Enslaved men stole weapons, killed store owners, and marched toward freedom (though ultimately suppressed).
  • These events challenged the belief that plantation owners were benevolent caretakers.

Colonial Society and Culture

Enlightenment
  • European movement emphasizing rational thinking over tradition and religious revelation.
  • Spread to colonies via transatlantic print culture.
  • John Locke: Influenced Americans with the concept of natural rights (life, liberty, and property).
    • Influenced Jefferson’s belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  • Social contract: Agreement between government and people where people give up some rights to protect natural rights.
  • Shifted authority from religious dogma to scientific inquiry.
Great Awakening
  • Religious revival emphasizing Christian devotion and enthusiasm.
  • Calvinists: Emphasized salvation through God's grace alone.
  • New Lights accepted the Great Awakening.
  • Old Lights rejected the Great Awakening for the Enlightenment
  • Jonathan Edwards: combined enlightenment ideas with intense religious fervor.
    • “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.
  • George Whitfield: Preached salvation by grace throughout the colonies.
Social Consequences of the Great Awakening
  • Democratic tendencies from biblical interpretations.
  • Wealth no longer seen as a sign of God's favor.
  • Biblical theories used to resist colonial officials.
  • Lasting changes in colonial attitudes toward authority.
  • Participatory town meetings and elected legislatures.
Anglicanization and Colonial Frustration
  • Colonies gradually becoming more British-like but also frustrated with British policies.
  • Impressment: British practice of seizing American men and forcing them into naval service.
  • 1747: Riots in response to British impressment during King George’s War.