Unit 2 Notes: Colonization and Development of British Colonies

Distance and Self-Governance

  • Distance from Britain fostered self-governing tendencies in American colonies.

  • Evidence:

    • Mayflower Compact: Pilgrims established a self-governing model based on congregational church principles.

    • House of Burgesses (Virginia): Representative assembly with powers to levy taxes and pass laws, largely independent of British control.

Transatlantic Trade and Economic Development

  • Colonization was sustained by wealth generated through the Transatlantic trade.

  • Triangular Trade:

    • Global trade network involving New England, West Africa, and the Caribbean.

    • New England merchants transported rum to West Africa in exchange for enslaved people.

    • Enslaved people were transported via the brutal Middle Passage to the Caribbean, where they were traded for sugarcane.

    • This cycle generated substantial wealth for participants.

  • Mercantilism:

    • Dominant economic system in Europe.

    • Relied on colonies to supply the parent country (Britain) with raw materials.

    • Britain sought to control colonial trade through measures like the Navigation Acts, requiring trade with English colonies on English ships and taxation of goods passing through English ports.

    • \text{Mercantilism} \implies \text{Finite wealth (gold and silver)} \implies \text{State-driven economic system}

    • The goal was for a state to accumulate as much gold and silver as possible.

Native American Relations and Conflict

  • European powers had varying policies towards Native Americans, often resulting in conflict.

  • Metacom's War (King Philip's War):

    • Led by Metacom, chief of the Wampanoag Indians.

    • Triggered by British encroachment on Native American lands, threatening their way of life.

    • Wampanoag and allied tribes attacked British settlements.

    • Illustrates growing tensions between colonists and Native Americans.

  • Pueblo Revolt:

    • Resistance against Spanish land grabs and Christianizing efforts in the Southwest.

    • The Pueblo people initially succeeded but were eventually crushed by the Spanish, who then adopted some accommodation of American Indian culture.

Slavery in the British Colonies

  • British colonies relied on enslaved African laborers, though the extent varied by region. *The number of enslaved people increased from North to South.

    • New England had relatively few enslaved laborers.

    • Middle Colonies had more enslaved laborers as a significant minority.

    • Southern and Chesapeake colonies, and the Caribbean, had the largest populations of enslaved people.

  • Chattel Slavery:

    • Enslaved people were considered chattel (property) and dehumanized.

  • Resistance to Slavery:

    • Covert Resistance: Maintaining cultural customs and belief systems.

    • Overt Resistance:

      • Stono Rebellion (1739, South Carolina): A small group of enslaved people burned plantations and killed white people; the rebellion was suppressed, but it demonstrated resistance.

      • Resistance occurred in varied forms.

Colonial Society and the Enlightenment

  • Colonial society was influenced by English society and developed its own distinct character.

  • The Enlightenment:

    • Transatlantic print culture spread European intellectual ideas to American colonists.

    • Key Enlightenment concepts: natural rights, social contract; weakened religious authority.

  • The Great Awakening:

    • Response to the perceived loss of faith due to Enlightenment influence.

    • New Light Clergy preached against this loss of faith.

    • A massive religious revival swept through the colonies, led by figures like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield.

    • The first truly national movement among colonial Americans, contributing to a shared identity.

British Policies and Colonial Mistrust

  • British policies led to growing mistrust in the American colonies.

  • Anglicization:

    • American colonies were becoming more English-like in culture and institutions.

    • Development of autonomous political communities resembling English institutions.

  • Growing Frustration:

    • British Impressment:

      • Seizing colonial men against their will and forcing them to serve in the Royal Navy.

      • The Royal Navy had a terrible reputation due to malnutrition, disease, and death.

      • Led to resistance, such as three days of rioting, in response to impressment for King George's War.

    • Colonists increasingly saw impressment as a violation of their natural rights.