Chapter 3 Study Notes

Desire of Landowners
- Aimed for a dependable and stable self-perpetuating labor system for cash crops such as tobacco and rice.
European Association with African Slavery
- Prejudice against individuals with dark skin.
- Cultural prejudice prevalent against non-Christians.
- Recognition of diverse ways of living among different cultures.
- By 1700, slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies.

Key Factors
- Natural increase among the enslaved population.
- Economic growth demanded an expansion of the labor force.
- Price to purchase slaves decreased significantly by 1698.
- The supply of enslaved individuals increased, driving prices lower.
Newly Arrived Africans
- Newly arrived Africans were often unlikely to reveal themselves or escape from their masters.

Step #1: Capturing Africans
- Africans would take other Africans captive.
- These captives exchanged for goods with European merchants.
- By 1650, the exchange of captives for rifles, gunpowder, and rum became common.
- Captives marched towards the coast.
Step #2: The Middle Passage
- Captives loaded into slave ships by the hundreds.
- Transported westward across the Atlantic Ocean.
Step #3: Arrival of Captives
- Most often arriving in the West Indies.
- Exchange for sugar and molasses or sold for cash.
- Between 1400 and 1820, approximately 10-15 million slaves were sold.

General Characteristics of Early Settlers
- Predominantly from poor to middling classes.
- Majority held Christian religious beliefs (mostly Protestant Christians).
- New settlers were often unfamiliar with the land.
- Limited agricultural background and experience.
- Major demographic: young white males, average age 23 from 1607 to 1640.
Motives for Migration
- Escape from religious persecution (Puritans, Quakers, Amish, Mennonites).
- Desire for profit, land, and greater freedom and opportunity.
- Contributing to the success of England's Empire.
- Many came against their will, including Africans, convicts, and victims of kidnapping; around 75,000 felons sent to colonies from England (1620-1700).
Origin of Settlers
- Majority hailed from England, characterized by different accents, practices, and beliefs.
- Significant minority from other regions:
- Germans (225,000 between 1675-1725): poor and persecuted for religious practices, entered colonies for redemption in Pennsylvania, and later traveled west and south into the Appalachian Mountains.
- Scots-Irish: approximately 2,750 immigrants from 1680 to 1750, typically poor, seeking land and agricultural opportunity, and many were indentured servants who moved similarly to Germans after gaining their freedom.

Cultural Characteristics
- Strongly influenced by Puritanism.
- Limited reliance on servants and slaves.
- Smaller overall population.
- Generally fewer conflicts with Indigenous peoples.
- Long-term settlement goals, with family units united by faith.
- Not tolerant of non-Puritans.
- Middle class focus prevailed with few indentured servants.
- Absence of a planter elite.
- Cold climate leading to a diversified economy based around fishing.
- Active trade with England, the West Indies, and Africa.

Key Areas: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware.
Distinguishing Features
- Home to many non-English settlers, including Germans, Irish, and Scots.
- Agriculture was the primary industry, contributing significantly to the economy.
- There was a growing trade in manufactured goods.
- Emergence of a growing middle class society characterized by diversity and tolerance.
- Favorable conditions for agriculture existed, with fertile soil and long growing seasons.
- Notable activities included cattle raising and extensive trading with England and southern Europe, as well as trading with the West Indies.

Major Regions: Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Georgia.
General Characteristics
- The prevalence of African slave labor was common.
- Prior to African slavery, indentured servants were utilized.
- Relationships with Native Americans were often hostile.
- Heavy focus on profit generation.
- The climate was characterized as hot and humid, with high malaria incidence and fertile soil.
- Major crops included tobacco, corn, and wheat; little emphasis on cattle-raising in comparison.
- The tobacco trade was restricted to send to England, with half re-exported to other European countries, prompting smuggling in the colonies.
Lower Southern Colonies
- Areas included North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
- Heavy dependence on slave labor, with populations of whites often twice that of the enslaved in some areas, reaching a ratio of 10:1 comparing original white settlers coming from the West Indies.
- Economy focused on rice, indigo, and the slave trade.
- Trade continued with northern colonies and England, along with the West Indies.

Total inhabitants reached approximately 2.5 million.
- Characterized by great diversity in:
- Nationality
- Ethnicity
- Economic pursuits
- Societal dynamics reflected being competitive and argumentative among the different colonies.
Governance
- Every colony was self-governing with its own elected assembly, but all were ultimately under the authority of England.