Colonial America: Southern Colonies, Pennsylvania, and the Development of African-American Identity

The Founding of the Southern Colonies

Following the establishment of Maryland in 1634, there was a 30-year period with no new English settlements.
In 1663, Charles II granted eight proprietors the right to establish a colony north of Florida as a barrier to Spanish expansion.
Carolina, the first southern colony, was founded in 1670 and began as an offshoot of Barbados.
Barbados was a wealthy Caribbean plantation economy facing land shortages, prompting planters to seek opportunities in Carolina for their sons.
Early Carolinians armed friendly Indians for raids into Spanish Florida and enslaved others, shipping them to other colonies and the West Indies.
Between 1670 and 1720, more Indian slaves were exported from Charleston than African slaves were imported.
In 1715, the Yamasee and Creek, alarmed by debts and slave trader raids, rebelled, leading to enslavement or expulsion of most remaining Indians into Spanish Florida.
The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669) aimed to establish a feudal society but included an elected assembly and religious toleration to attract settlers.
A generous headright system offered 150 acres for each family member and 100 acres for male servants completing their terms.
Slavery, not feudalism, became the basis of Carolina's hierarchical society, with a legal code granting slave owners "absolute power and authority."
Imported slaves were included in the headright system, allowing settlers, including planters from Barbados, to acquire large landholdings.
Initially, the economy centered on cattle raising and trade with local Indians, but it shifted to rice cultivation.
Rice became the staple crop, making planters wealthy and turning Carolina into a center of mainland slavery. Rice was sold to the Caribbean islands to feed enslaved people who worked on sugar plantations.

The Holy Experiment

Pennsylvania was the last English colony established in the 17th century, envisioned by William Penn as a place of spiritual freedom and harmonious coexistence between colonists and Indians.
Charles II granted Penn the land in 1681 to cancel his debt to the Penn family and strengthen the English presence in North America.
The grant included a vast tract of land south and west of New York, including the former Swedish-Dutch colony of Delaware.
William Penn, a Quaker, sought to create a refuge for Quakers facing persecution in England.
Penn assisted English Quakers in purchasing half of New Jersey from Lord John Berkeley and was largely responsible for the West Jersey Concessions (1677), which established an elected assembly with broad suffrage and religious liberty.
Penn hoped West Jersey would become a society of small farmers.

Quaker Liberty

Penn considered Pennsylvania a "holy experiment," a free colony for all mankind governed by Quaker principles.
Quaker principles emphasized the equality of all persons before God, including women, blacks, and Indians, and the primacy of individual conscience.
Quakers viewed liberty as a universal entitlement and were the first group of whites to repudiate slavery.
Penn treated Indians with consideration, purchasing land before reselling it to colonists and offering refuge to displaced tribes.
He sometimes purchased the same land twice when multiple tribes claimed it.
As pacifists, Quakers did not organize a militia until the 1740s, making peace with the native population essential.
Penn's Chain of Friendship promised local Indians protection from rival tribes.
Religious freedom was Penn's fundamental principle; he condemned attempts to enforce "religious Uniformity."
The Charter of Liberty (1682) offered "Christian liberty" to all who affirmed belief in God and did not promote "licentiousness."
There was no established church in Pennsylvania, and attendance at religious services was voluntary, but Jews were barred from office by a required oath affirming belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ.
Quakers upheld a strict code of personal morality, prohibiting swearing, drunkenness, adultery, and popular entertainments such as "revels, bull-baiting, and cockfighting."
Moral public behavior, rather than religious uniformity, was the foundation of Penn's social order.

Land in Pennsylvania

Penn established an appointed council to originate legislation and an assembly elected by male taxpayers and "freemen."
"Freemen" were owners of 100 acres of land for free immigrants and 50 acres for former indentured servants, making a majority of the male population eligible to vote.
Penn owned all the colony's land and sold it to settlers at low prices.
Penn expected to turn a profit but never really did.
Pennsylvania prospered due to religious tolerance, a healthy climate, inexpensive land, and Penn's promotion of the colony.
The colony attracted immigrants from all over western Europe.
Pennsylvania's freedoms for European immigrants led to a deterioration of freedom for others; the colony's success in attracting settlers conflicted with Penn's Indian policy.
The opening of Pennsylvania led to a decline in indentured servants choosing to sail for Virginia and Maryland, contributing to those colonies' reliance on slave labor.

Development of Slavery in English Colonies

English colonies developed a system of slavery that reflected their specific economic, demographic, and geographic characteristics.
The specific economic, demographic, and geographic characteristics of each colony (e.g., Chesapeake Colonies) shaped the development of slavery.
Chattel Slavery existed.
There was Covert and Overt Resistance to Slavery.

Becoming African-American

Nearly 300,000 Africans were brought to the mainland colonies during the 18th century.
These Africans were not a single people; they spoke different languages, had different cultures and ages, and practiced many religions.
Initially, their bond was not kinship, language, or race but slavery itself.
By the 19th century, enslaved people no longer identified by their tribal communities of Africa but as African-Americans.
Their music, art, folklore, religion, and cultural expressions were a synthesis of African traditions, European elements, and conditions in America.