America's History
Chapter 2: American Experiments (1521-1700)
- Chattel slavery- the ownership of human beings as property.
- “All children borne in this country shalbe held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother.” -Virginia Statute, 1662.
- The Encomienda System was based on Native American slavery. They aimed to convert natives, as well.
- The Native American population decreased rapidly.
- Neo-Europes was the replication of European economies and social structures made up by colonists.
Spain's Tribute Colonies
A New American World
- Encomiendas were claims of tribute in labor and goods for conquistadors from Indian communities and organized by the crown.
- The Columbian Exchange involved a transfer of goods, disease, ideas, people, and animals between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Potato, maize, rice, horses, and cattle were some of the many exchanges.
- Horse was brought from the old world to the new world.
The Protestant Challenge to Spain
- Spain had to control the Caribbean basin in order to ship across the transatlantic.
- The Lesser Antilles allowed pirates and privateers to have many safe harbors.
- Hans Staden was a German solider who landed himself into a shipwreck in Brazil in 1552.
- Mercantilism is a system of manufacturing and trade that's assisted by the state.
Plantation Colonies
Brazil's Sugar Plantations
- Brazil became a sugar plantation zone with its own milling operation. The operation was processed on site because sugarcane is heavy and rots quickly.
- Smallpox quickly led the Native population to decrease. The loss of Natives made the encomienda system suffer.
- African slavery got introduced as Native American slavery, and Native Americans in general, died out.
England's Tobacco Colonies
The Jamestown Settlement
- The Joint Stock Company consisted of investors who shared in profits and losses of colony.
- Tobacco was a major cash crop that drained the Native American land.
- The House of Burgesses was established in 1619 and was the first representative government in the U.S.
The Indian War of 1622
- Indians killed much of the Jamestown colony (about 1/3 of the population).
- The paramount chief, Opechancanough, aimed to kill all Englishman.
- In 1622, Opechancanough organized an attack on the colonists, killing 347 English settlers.
- Virginia became a royal colony in 1624 after James I revoked the Virginia Company's charter.
- Colonists had to start paying taxes to support the Church of England.
Lord Baltimore Settles Catholics in Maryland
- The Maryland Acts of Toleration in 1649 allowed religious freedom for only christians, and mostly catholics.
- Maryland and Virginia relied on tobacco as their main cash crop.
- King Charles I organized a tobacco-growing colony in Maryland, contributing to its success and high demand.
The Caribbean Islands
- Colonists used tobacco, indigo, cotton, cacao, and ginger as some of their main cash crops.
- Barbados, Jamaica, Nevis, and Martinique were responsible for much of the sugar cultivation.
- Sir Thomas Warner founded a settlement on St. Christopher, St. Kitts. English and French colonists quickly forced native Caribbeans out of their island.
Plantation Life
- Freeholds were farms of 30 to 50 acres owned and farmed by families.
- The Head right System distributed 50 acres of land to anyone who paid for an immigrant's passage. This system benefitted the rich and helped expand plantations.
Indentured Servitude
- Indentured servitude kept predominantly men, and select women, working under a master for 4-5 years. After the years were up they could marry and work themselves; they'd be free.
- Most servants (about half) died before they could be free.
African Laborers
- African slavery was heavily used in the Caribbeans at first for sugar cultivation.
- Laws were enforced to enhance and promote racism, restricting the rights and behaviors of African Americans.
Neo-European Colonies
New France
- New France expanded into Canada and Quebec was made into a fur trading post.
- French fur traders were called coureurs de bois.
- The French gained access to mink, otter, and beaver.
- Many French priests, typically Jesuits, sought out to Native communities and some attempted to convert them. Often, they learned Indian languages and respected their values.
New Netherlands
- The Dutch controlled most of the world's commerce and owned more ships than the rest of the colonies.
- Manhattan, a small colony in New Netherland, had a lot of commerce.
- The Dutch also engaged in fur trade.
- Albany was built in 1614, originally known as Fort Orange, to trade fur with Munsee and Iroquois Indians.
The Rise of the Iroquois
- The smallpox virus in 1633 killed most of the Iroquois population which led to further wars against the Hurons, Neutrals, Eries, and Susquehannocks.
- Traded with the Dutch and French.
- Iroquois resided in Central and Western NY, remaining a big part of NY's population.
New England
The Pilgrims
- Pilgrims were religious separatists who had left the English church.
- William Bradford brought 67 migrants from England aboard the Mayflower. They established the Mayflower Compact that allowed the Puritans to self-govern and form their own political structure.
- The cold-climate killed off many migrants but Plymouth prospered, nonetheless. A smallpox epidemic killed off the threat, the local Wampanoags.
John Winthrop and Massachusetts Bay
- John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts Bay colony, hoped to establish a "City Upon a Hill."
- The Joint-Stock corporation was a commercial agreement that allowed investors to pool their resources.
- Predestination was the idea that God only saved a few chosen people.
Roger Williams and Rhode Island
- Roger advocated for the separation of Church and state, and religious toleration, and friendly relations with Native Americans.
- Roger Williams was banished to Rhode Island by John Winthrop. No legally established church existed in Rhode Island.
Anne Hutchinson
- Anne Hutchinson was seen as a threat to the Puritans because she challenged gender roles in Church. She believed in a covenant of grace.
- She was banished to Rhode Island with Roger Williams.
Puritanism and Witchcraft
- The Salem Witch Trials caused chaos throughout Massachusetts. Women were accused of witchcraft, typically wealthy, middle-aged, young, or widowed women.
- After the trials, there began an Enlightenment, which sparked a religious awakening.
Instability, War, and Rebellion
New England's Indian Wars
Puritan-Pequot War
- Over 500 women, men, and children were killed by Native Americans in the war. The English were angry and retaliated, gaining them more land.
- John Winthrop believed that the decrease of Native Americans, due to disease, was all of "God's work."
Metacom's War (1675-1676)
- King Philip (Metacom) was the chief of the Wampanoags. His people and him adopted a few English ways, such as raising hogs and selling pork.
- Metacom called for an expulsion of the English colonists, which broke out the Metacom war. Narragansets and Nipmucks attacked white settlers around New England.
- Mohegan and Mohwak warriors were hired by the Massachusetts Bay government to execute Metacom and they succeeded.
Bacon's Rebellion
- The Bacon's Rebellion was inspired by an uprising against Governor William Berkley, who wouldn't allow settlements past a certain line.
- Tobacco prices dropped until the 1670's.
- Berkley bought his way into being favored by the House of Burgesses. He bought off legislators with land grants and appointing people as tax collectors or sheriffs.
Frontier War
- From 1607 to 1675, the Native population dropped from 30,000 to 3,500 due to English intrusion. 38,000 Europeans now occupied the land and 2,500 African Americans.
- Native Americans resided mostly on treaty-guaranteed territory but poor freeholders and landless former servants wanted the natives expelled. Berkley ignored their requests, as he used Occaneechee Indians for tradings beaver pelts and deerskins.
- In 1675, a group of Virginian vigilante militiamen murdered 30 natives.
Challenging the Government
- Nathanial Bacon, an Englishman in the governor's council, led a group of rebels to attack any and all Native Americans.
- The rebellion ended when Berkley expelled and arrested Bacon. After Bacon's sudden death in 1676, Berkley hung 23 rebels.