Creating Anglo-America, 1660–1750: Comprehensive Study Notes

The Mercantilist System

• Mercantilism defined: the government regulates economic activity to promote national power; aim to maximize exports and minimize imports, so that more gold and silver (wealth) flow into the country. Exports generate revenue from abroad; imports require payment to foreigners.
• The colony–metropolis link: colonies exist to serve the mother country’s interests by supplying raw materials and importing manufactured goods from home.
• Key quote: “Foreign trade formed the basis of England’s treasure.”
• Policy instruments that shaped empire:
  • Special bounties, monopolies, and other measures to encourage manufacturing and trade.
  • Navigation Acts (earlier focus with Dutch competition) to regulate shipping and trade within the empire.
• Economic rationale for empire: wealth generated through controlled trade, not merely territorial conquest. Commerce and the use of colonial resources under English control were the foundations of empire.
• Consequences for colonies: increased English shipbuilding and participation in Atlantic trade; heightened dependence on English markets and rules; rise of port cities and a commercial culture.

The Expansion of England’s Empire: The Conquest of New Netherland

• The Restoration era (1660) sparked renewed colonial expansion and chartered ventures, including the Royal African Company with a monopoly on the slave trade.
• New Netherland seized in 1664 during an Anglo-Dutch War; Charles II awarded the colony to his brother James (the Duke of York), who governed as New York. The Dutch surrendered without a fight.
• Transformation of a minor base into a major imperial outpost: seaport trading with the Caribbean and Europe; base for operations against the French.
• Demographic shift: New York’s European population rose from about 9,000 at capture to about 20,000 by 1685.
• New Netherland’s decline and integration into English imperial structure:
  • English rule extended religious toleration and property protections, but Dutch property practices and women’s business rights shifted under English law.
  • English restricted free Blacks from some skilled trades; elites solidified landholdings (e.g., grants to Robert Livingston and Frederick Philipse).
• Iroquois relations:
  • Covenant Chain alliance formed between English (New York) and the Iroquois; helped clear western/indigenous rivals and supported anti-French actions, though later divisions and French aid altered the balance.
  • By the late 17th century, Iroquois attempted to navigate European rivalries through neutrality and fur trade, maintaining leverage in the Ohio River valley.

New York and the Rights of Englishmen and Englishwomen

• English rule expanded some freedoms for some New Yorkers while reducing others for others.
• Surrender terms protected religious toleration and property for many communities, but Dutch traditions (e.g., married women’s business rights) were curtailed.
• Social and legal changes under English rule:
  • Women’s property rights and business practices shifted toward English norms; Dutch traders’ habits gave way to English legal expectations.
  • Expanded restrictions on free Blacks; English pattern of limiting access to skilled trades for Blacks emerged.
• Land and elite power:
  • The duke of York and governors granted vast tracts to favorites (e.g., 160,000 acres to Livingston; 90,000 to Frederick Philipse).
  • By 1700, about 2 million acres in New York were owned by five families; elite power anchored in landholding and political influence.
• Native relations:
  • The Covenant Chain with the Iroquois; Iroquois leadership recognized English claims to authority over Indian lands to the Ohio River valley, though later shifts in alliances and conflict occurred.
• The Charter of Liberties (1683):
  • An elected assembly to represent freemen; guaranteed trial by jury, security of property, and Protestant religious toleration; reflected a shift in English liberties into colonial governance.

The Founding of Carolina (1663–c. 1700)

• Grant and purpose:
  • In 1663, Charles II granted eight proprietors the right to establish a colony north of Spanish Florida as a barrier to Spanish expansion.
  • First settlers arrived in 1670; Carolina began as a colony of Barbados migration, a “colony of a colony.”
• Early economy and labor:
  • Initial focus on cattle, trade with local Indians, and enslaved labor; Indian slaves exported to the Caribbean and mainland colonies; Yamasee and Creek enslaved or driven out after uprisings.
• The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669):
  • Proposed feudal-like system with hereditary nobility, serfs, and slaves; included a headright system (150 acres per arriving family member; 100 acres to male indentured servants).
  • Reality diverged: the feudal plan never fully materialized; slavery became central to the colony’s social order.
• Economics and slavery:
  • Slavery rapidly entrenched; enslaved people played a crucial role in developing a hierarchical society.
  • Slavery and cattle/timber trade formed the backbone before rice became the defining staple.
• Yamasee and Creek uprising (1715):
  • Alarm over debts and slave-trading raids; uprising crushed; many Indians enslaved or expelled to Spanish Florida.
• Transition to a plantation economy:
  • Slavery underpinned Carolina’s wealth and social structure; planters exploited land and labor to establish prosperity tied to the Atlantic system.

The Holy Experiment: The Founding of Pennsylvania (1681–1683)

• Founder: William Penn, a Quaker, established Pennsylvania as a refuge for religious dissenters and as a place of peace with Indigenous peoples.
• Land grants and governance:
  • 1681 land grant south and west of New York; Penn framed the colony as a “holy experiment” based on Quaker ideals.
  • West Jersey Concessions (1677) framed a liberal government with elected assembly and broad suffrage; emphasis on religious liberty.
• Liberty and religion:
  • Penn defined liberty as a universal Christian liberty; promoted religious toleration for Protestants and nonconformists; Jews barred from office by oath affirming belief in Jesus Christ.
  • Quaker moral code emphasized conduct: no swearing, drunkenness, or adultery; prohibited revelry, bull-baiting, and cock-fighting.
  • Religious toleration existed in practice, but civil life emphasized moral conduct and virtue.
• Indian policy:
  • Chain of Friendship with Indigenous peoples; land purchases before resale; occasional double land purchases when claims overlapped; aim of peaceful coexistence.
  • Peaceful relations with Indians essential for Penn’s model of settlement, though tensions persisted as settlers expanded.
• Land and settlement dynamics:
  • Penn owned land and sold it at low prices to promote settlement; draw of Pennsylvania’s climate, land, and religious liberty attracted diverse European immigrants.
  • Indentured servant migration decreased as land became available elsewhere; the colony contributed to the shift toward slave labor in other colonies due to labor demands.
• Colonial governance and religion:
  • Frame of Government (then 1677/1682) and Charter of Liberty (1682) laid out governance structures, civil liberties, and religious protections while maintaining moral public order.

Origins of American Slavery

• Pre-colonial context: Slavery existed globally, with ancient and medieval practices; in the Atlantic, slavery took on a new, racially codified form tied to plantation economies.
• Slavery’s transition in the Atlantic World:
  • Slaves introduced to English North America in small numbers beginning in 1619 (Africa-based origin: enslaved people taken from Angola via a pirate ship). Early slavery overlapped with indentured servitude.
  • In the Chesapeake, labor demand from tobacco accelerated the shift from indentured servitude to lifelong slavery.
• Why Africans? Legal and practical reasons:
  • Africans could be held in bondage for life; their children remained enslaved; enslaved individuals were not granted the protections of English common law.
  • Blackness became a fixed criterion for slavery in law; enslaved status was hereditary and race-based.
• Comparative context of slavery:
  • Slavery in the West Indies and Brazil (sugar economies) predated North American slavery and became deeply entrenched there; slavery’s economic rationale connected to sugar, tobacco, and other cash crops.
  • By the 17th century, European empires increasingly relied on enslaved Africans to support plantation economies.
• Slavery in the Chesapeake and the laws that reinforced it:
  • Early status of Africans and mixed communities was flexible; by the 1660s–1680s, legal codifications tightened: interracial sexuality and status, conversion to Christianity, and manumission laws were constrained.
  • 1662 Virginia law established that a child’s status followed the mother’s status, embedding slave status into lineage.
  • 1667 Virginia House of Burgesses declared religious conversion could not free a slave; 1680s laws reinforced racial distinctions; laws segregated Black and white populations in courts and rights.
• A broader context of freedom and resistance:
  • The notion of freedom persisted among enslaved people; runaways and legal challenges occurred, even as laws tightened.
  • Anthony Johnson illustrates early mixed status: a Black landowner who acquired land and slaves in Virginia by the 1640s.

The Rise of Chesapeake Slavery

• From 1680 to 1700, slave labor began to replace indentured servants on Chesapeake plantations as the death rate declined and life-long labor became more economical.
• Contributing factors to the shift:
  • End of indentured servitude as a viable path to land due to aging population of freed servants; Penn’s settlement reduced English migration to Virginia and Maryland.
  • End of a Royal Africa Company monopoly and opening to other traders reduced slave price; by 1700, enslaved Africans constituted a sizeable share of the Chesapeake population.
• 1705 slave code consolidated:
  • Reaffirmed slavery as a permanent condition; slaves treated as property; rights of whites expanded; blacks and whites prosecuted in separate courts; disarming enslaved people and restricting their mobility.
• Notions of freedom and resistance:
  • Newspapers carried runaway slave advertisements; enslaved people pursued freedom via law, family networks, and flight; racial categories hardened to enforce slave society.
• Outcome: The Chesapeake transformed into a slavery-centered society, with a dramatic shift in social hierarchy and labor structure.

Bacon’s Rebellion: Land and Labor in Virginia (1676)

• Causes:
  • Governor William Berkeley’s governance seen as corrupt and protective of elite planters; land hunger among small farmers and indentured servants; rising taxes on tobacco and falling prices.
  • Frontier conflict with Native Americans and unwillingness to remove Indians for white land settlement.
• The rebellion:
  • Nathaniel Bacon led a diverse coalition including landless whites, freed servants, and some Africans; demanded removal of Indians from western lands and lower taxes.
  • Bacon’s forces attacked frontier Indians and then Jamestown; burned the capital; Berkeley fled.
• End and consequences:
  • English naval support restored order; Bacon died of illness; 23 followers were hanged.
  • Post-rebellion policy shifts: voting property requirements restored; new political tactics emphasized alliances with poorer whites; tougher Indian policy opened western lands for settlement; tobacco prices rose after 1680.
  • Consolidation of elite power and accelerated shift to slave labor on tobacco plantations to avoid future uprisings.
• Significance: The rebellion exposed class tensions among colonists and pushed elites toward a racialized labor system that would endure for centuries.

The End of the Rebellion and Its Consequences; Notions of Freedom

• The shift away from relying on indentured labor to a slave-based economy changed political and social dynamics in Virginia and beyond.
• Concepts of freedom and race matured:
  • White liberty became tightly linked with property ownership and political influence, while Black freedom was constrained by race and law.
  • Legal distinctions between free and enslaved people hardened; earlier avenues to freedom (e.g., religious conversion, manumission) diminished over time.

Colonies in Crisis: The Glorious Revolution and Its Aftermath (1688–1692)

• Glorious Revolution in England (1688–1689):
  • James II’s Catholic monarchy replaced by the Protestant William III and Mary II, establishing parliamentary supremacy and the idea that rulers are subject to the law.
  • 1689 Bill of Rights codified parliamentary powers (taxation, elections) and individual liberties; 1689–90 Toleration Act granted Protestant dissenters freedom to worship (not full religious liberty in England).
• In America:
  • The Revolution reinforced English liberties as shared values across English-speaking colonies, reinforcing resistance to arbitrary rule.
  • Lords of Trade established to oversee colonial affairs; enforcement of Navigation Acts increased scrutiny on colonial governments.
• Dominion of New England (1686–1689):
  • James II combined Connecticut, Plymouth, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, East and West Jersey into a single royal province led by Sir Edmund Andros.
  • Andros centralized authority, curtailed local assemblies, levied taxes without consent, voided land grants without his approval, and enforced toleration for Protestants; his rule provoked widespread opposition.
• Maryland uprising (1689) and Leisler’s Rebellion (New York, 1689–1691):
  • Protestant factions overthrew Catholic proprietors; Maryland briefly had a Protestant regime; Leisler’s rebellion in New York divided colonial elites along ethnic lines and was brutally suppressed by London-backed forces.
• Aftermath and restoration of order:
  • Reestablishment of charters and royal governance; Massachusetts failed to regain its original charter in full but remained under royal rule; Plymouth was absorbed into Massachusetts (1691).
  • Maryland eventually returned to proprietary power in 1715 after conversion of Baltimore family to Anglicanism; the era highlighted tensions between colonial self-rule and imperial authority.

Changes in New England; The Prosecution of Witches and The Salem Witch Trials

• Changes in governance after the Dominion of New England ended:
  • New England colonies sought restoration of their original charters; most regained charters, but Massachusetts did not fully recover its old structure.
  • 1691 Massachusetts charter: Plymouth absorbed; voting now tied to property ownership (not church membership); governor appointed by London; shift from a Puritan “Bible Commonwealth” to a royal colony.
• Religious liberty and tensions:
  • The 1690–1691 era introduced broader religious toleration for Protestants, provoking anxiety among Puritans about non-Puritan Protestants; some Puritans feared “devil worship” and witchcraft.
• Prosecution of witches (Salem Witch Trials, 1692):
  • A wave of accusations began with fits and nightmares among girls; Tituba (an enslaved Caribbean Indian) was among the first accused; as accusations grew, hundreds were implicated; 14 women and 5 men were hanged; one man was pressed to death.
  • The crisis exposed flaws in colonial justice and the dangers of mass hysteria; by late 1692, authorities halted the trials, and the governor dissolved the court; influential clergymen urged caution and empirical explanations for natural phenomena.
• Long-term impact:
  • Salem marked the decline of witch persecutions in Massachusetts and signaled a shift toward secular, empirical explanations for events; it foreshadowed a broader move toward religious toleration and rational inquiry.

The Growth of Colonial America: A Diverse Population and Attracting Settlers

• A diverse and rapidly growing population by mid-18th century:
  • Population growth from ~265,000 in 1700 to over 2.3 million by 1770.
  • A diverse mix of ethnic and religious groups: English core, plus substantial non-English arrivals (Scots-Irish, Germans, Dutch, Swedes, Jews, Huguenots, Moravians, Dunkers, Mennonites, Lutherans, Catholics, etc.).
• Attracting settlers:
  • Policy incentives to attract non-English settlers included land availability, religious freedom, and economic opportunity; 1740 law granted British citizenship after seven years of residence for European immigrants.
  • Large-scale immigration included English convicts (about 40% of European migrants), Scots-Irish, Germans, and others seeking land and opportunity.
• The German Migration:
  • Germans (about 110,000) formed the largest non-English group; many settled in frontier areas (New York, Pennsylvania, backcountry). Redemptioners (indebted families) migrated under contract to work off debt in America.
• Religious Diversity:
  • The colonies were not a religious melting pot; most communities remained relatively homogeneous; Anglicanism and Congregationalism predominated, with a growing number of dissenting denominations due to immigration and the Great Awakening; Rhode Island and Pennsylvania offered notable religious liberty.
• Indian Life in Transition:
  • Indian communities faced displacement and realignment with European powers; new tribes formed (e.g., Catawba, Creek Confederacy); Indian warfare and trade dramatically altered Indigenous economies and sovereignty.
  • Chain of Friendship (William Penn) remained a foundational pledge in early relations, though land pressures and expansion undermined long-term harmony; Walking Purchase (1737) in Pennsylvania demonstrated the frailties and manipulation in settler-Indigenous land negotiations with Lenni Lenape.
• Regional Diversity:
  • Backcountry regions expanded rapidly; Virginia, the Carolinas, and the Chesapeake developed plantation economies; New England remained more urban and trade-oriented; Middle Colonies combined agriculture with commerce; backcountry expansion increased western settlement and conflict with Indigenous peoples.
  • Rivers and access to markets facilitated long-distance trade; forests and fertile soils supported diverse livelihoods.

The Consumer Revolution and The Atlantic World

• Consumer revolution (18th century):
  • Britain emerged as a dominant producer and trader of inexpensive consumer goods (coffee, tea, linens, pins, glass, ceramics, clothing). Imported goods spread through port cities and rural towns; debt and credit networks supported imports.
  • The New World economies integrated into Atlantic trade: colonists bought goods from Britain and Africa, and produced cash crops to feed world markets.
• The Atlantic economy:
  • Sugar, tobacco, and other Western Hemisphere products marketed across Europe and the Americas; London bankers financed the transatlantic slave trade; Spain imported gold/silver for consumer goods; the empire’s shipping network connected North America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
  • North American colonies supplied grain, fish, and timber; the Chesapeake tobacco crop was largely marketed in Britain and re-exported to Europe; West Indian sugar supported colonial economies and imperial revenue.
• Colonial cities and artisans:
  • Urban centers (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston) acted as hubs for merchants, artisans, and craftspeople; by mid-18th century, cities housed a growing class of skilled laborers who could own tools and operate workshops.
  • Artisan life: master-apprentice systems; individual craftspeople like silversmiths could achieve prominence (example: Myer Myers, a Jewish silversmith in New York).
• Atlantic world connectivity:
  • The empire linked people, ideas, and goods across oceans; European powers relied on colonial labor, maritime commerce, and colonial resources.
  • Despite regulations, enforcement of Navigation Acts was lax enough to sustain a bustling trade network, including smuggling.
• The idea of an English Atlantic community:
  • The colonies shared in imperial governance and economic activity; their growth was tied to the mother country’s markets and financial institutions.

Social Classes in the Colonies

• The Colonial Elite:
  • A rising, but not aristocratic, elite dominated colonial politics; merchants linked to London networks; high social status often tied to wealth from trade and land.
  • In Virginia and Maryland, “cousinocracies” and landed gentry controlled local government, vestries, county courts, and legislatures.
  • Landed families accumulated immense estates, often generating political influence across generations (e.g., the Lee family in Virginia; Robert Carter; George Washington’s lineage).
• The South Carolina Aristocracy:
  • South Carolina’s wealthiest planters achieved substantial wealth (per capita wealth in Charleston district was very high; 1774 wealth disparities were pronounced—top 10% owned half the wealth; bottom 25% less than 2%).
  • Social life revolved around theaters, societies, and elite consumption; enslaved house and field laborers wore uniforms and performed in highly structured hierarchies.
• Poverty in the Colonies:
  • Poverty existed on the margins; many slaves lived in poverty; free whites sometimes faced hardship as land became scarcer.
  • Poor relief often involved workhouses or “warning out” the unemployed; Essex County (Mass.) saw rising numbers of “warned out” poor by mid-century.
• The Middle Ranks:
  • A large proportion of free colonists owned land and operated farms; two-thirds of free men were farmers who owned property.
  • The shift toward landholding as the key to freedom was embedded in colonial culture and economics.
• Women and the Household Economy:
  • Family life centered on the household; women contributed to farm labor and household production; the rise of consumer goods affected women’s work but did not abolish the centrality of family labor.
  • Legal and social constraints limited women’s public and legal roles; primogeniture kept estates intact for male heirs; women’s legal standing in court was diminished by the need for male representation.
  • The household economy and gender division of labor defined women’s daily life: cooking, sewing, butter-making, childcare, and assisting with farming chores.
• Anglicization:
  • Colonial elites modeled life on British gentry; strong interest in etiquette, fashion, literature, and education; some families sought coats of arms and English luxury goods.
  • Debt and social aspiration were widespread; some elites went into debt after emulating English aristocratic lifestyles.
• Acknowledging the economic reality:
  • The 18th century saw a widening gap between the wealthy elite and the rest of society, yet the majority of free whites owned property and participated in local governance.

North America at Mid-Century: Diversity, Growth, and the Consumer Economy

• Population and regional diversity:
  • By mid-century, North America displayed a mosaic of cultures and economies: Puritan New England; agrarian middle colonies; plantation South; frontier/backcountry.
  • The backcountry experienced rapid growth, comprising a significant share of Virginia and South Carolina populations by 1760.
• Economic and political power:
  • Elite control remained firmly in the hands of landowners and merchants; colonial governance linked to imperial centers and London markets.
  • The consumer revolution integrated colonies into broader Atlantic trade networks; colonists enjoyed rising living standards and a widening array of goods.
• The image of America as a land of liberty:
  • Letters from immigrants described liberty of conscience, access to land, and economic opportunity; British citizenship could be earned after residence, reflecting imperial policy to attract settlers.
  • The reality of freedom often coexisted with persistent inequalities: slavery, indentured servitude, and a hierarchy anchored in land ownership.
• Indigenous populations and land relations:
  • The presence of Indians remained significant but increasingly pressured by European settlements and frontier expansion; treaties and land purchases frequently masked coercive dynamics.
• The Atlantic world and cultural exchange:
  • The colonies’ growth depended on, and contributed to, transatlantic networks—merchants, sailors, artisans, and planters connected across the Atlantic, linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
• Enduring themes:
  • The era produced a complex mix of freedom and constraint; the expansion of English imperial authority intersected with local autonomy, religious pluralism, and evolving racial hierarchies.

The Directions of Social and Economic Change in the Eighteenth-Century Colonies

• Population and migration:
  • The colonial population surged, with English-origin settlers still dominant, but large numbers of Scots-Irish, Germans, and other Europeans arriving.
  • Table 3.1 (Origins and status of migrants, 1700–1775) highlights the composition of migrants: total around $585{,}800$; major origins include Ireland, Germany, England/Wales, Scotland, and Others; status categories include indentured servants, slaves, convicts, and free persons; a substantial number of Africans are noted within the migration mix.
• Economic shifts:
  • A broad shift toward landholding and family-based agriculture; widespread ownership of land by freeholders became a key element of political power.
  • The consumer revolution increased demand for imported goods; colonies became integrated into the Atlantic economy through exports (tobacco, wheat, fish) and imports (British consumer goods).
• Regional differences and economic specialization:
  • New England: trade, maritime economy, skilled artisans, small farms; growth of port cities like Boston and New Haven.
  • Middle Colonies: mixed agriculture and commerce; more diverse religious and ethnic communities; large-scale farming not as dominant as in the South.
  • South: plantation slavery and the production of tobacco, rice, and later other cash crops; aristocratic planter culture; concentration of land and wealth in a small elite.
• Religion and social life:
  • A broad spectrum of Protestant denominations; increasing toleration, especially in colonies like Rhode Island and Pennsylvania; Anglican presence grew, though Congregationalist and other dissenting groups persisted.
  • The Great Awakening would further diversify religious life and challenge established churches in Chapter 4.
• The “Anglicization” of colonial elites:
  • Education, fashion, and etiquette echoed English aristocratic norms; some elites built large houses, displayed luxury goods, and pursued social networks that mirrored British gentry.
• The enduring challenge of freedom:
  • While many colonists enjoyed a degree of political and economic freedom beyond Europe, the majority lived under conditions of dependence for labor (slaves, indentured servants) and vulnerability to taxation and political shifts in London.

Appendix: A Snapshot of Key Figures, Dates, and Terms

• Key dates and events (selected):
  • 1624: Dutch West India Company settles Manhattan
  • 1651: First Navigation Act issued by Parliament
  • 1664: English seize New Netherland; becomes New York
  • 1669: Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina
  • 1670: First English settlers arrive in Carolina
  • 1675–1676: King Philip’s War
  • 1676: Bacon’s Rebellion
  • 1681: William Penn granted Pennsylvania
  • 1682: Charter of Liberty drafted by Penn
  • 1683: Charter of Liberties & Privileges drafted by NY assembly
  • 1686–1689: Dominion of New England
  • 1688–1689: Glorious Revolution in England
  • 1690: Toleration Act passed by Parliament
  • 1691: Plymouth absorbed into Massachusetts
  • 1691– Salem witch trials (1692–1715 Yamasee and Creek uprising crushed; 1737 Walking Purchase)
  • 1737: Walking Purchase in Pennsylvania
• Core terms and concepts:
  • Mercantilism, Navigation Acts, enumerated goods, and trade balance formula ext{Exports} - ext{Imports} > 0
  • Headright system: $150 ext{ acres per arriving family member}$; indentured servants’ term: $100 ext{ acres to the employer after completion}$
  • Covenant Chain, Covenant relationships with Indigenous nations
  • Charter of Liberties, Frame of Government, and religious toleration concepts
  • The Walking Purchase: use of swift runners to claim excess land; breach of Indigenous trust in treaty negotiation
• Notable individuals and groups:
  • William Penn (Pennsylvania) and the Quaker ideals of liberty and peace with Indigenous peoples
  • The Iroquois Confederacy and the Covenant Chain alliance with New York
  • Nathaniel Bacon (Bacon’s Rebellion) and the Virginia planter class
  • The Leisler and Maryland uprisings illustrating colonial struggle for power and religion in political life
  • The Pennsylvanian Germans, Scots-Irish, and other immigrant groups shaping regional diversity
• World context:
  • The Atlantic world: sugar, tobacco, enslaved labor, and maritime trade linked English, African, and Caribbean economies; the Navigation Acts and mercantile practices linked colonial economies to the mother country’s needs and markets
  • The long-term shift from “a society with slaves” to a “slave society” in the Chesapeake and elsewhere, changing the social and political fabric of the colonies