Test 1 College History
Chapter 1: Old Worlds and New
Factors fueling European exploration and conquest:
Economic motives: Europeans, particularly the Spanish and Portuguese, sought to exploit new trade routes and resources like gold, spices, and other goods. The rise of nation-states and monarchies made funding exploration possible.
Religious zeal: Christianity, especially Catholicism, played a central role in motivating explorers like Columbus, who aimed to spread the faith and convert indigenous populations.
Competition: European powers such as Spain, Portugal, France, and England were in a race to claim territories and expand their empires, fueled by growing rivalries.
Contact between Europeans and the Americas:
Initial encounters often involved trading, but this quickly escalated into conquest. Diseases like smallpox devastated Native populations, and European powers, especially Spain, established colonial rule, sometimes with brutal force.
Key Terms:
Great League of Peace: A coalition of Iroquois tribes formed to reduce conflict among themselves and strengthen their position against external threats.
Conquistadores: Spanish conquerors, such as Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, who led military expeditions in the Americas.
Columbian Exchange: The exchange of goods, people, and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. It transformed the world’s agriculture, population, and economy.
Mestizos: People of mixed European and Native American ancestry.
Creoles: People of European descent born in the colonies, who held a significant social standing but were distinct from those born in Europe.
Chapter 2: European Colonies and Native Nations (1600–1660)
English emigration to North America:
Many who emigrated to North America came to escape religious persecution (Puritans and Pilgrims) or to seek economic opportunities. Poor English citizens, driven by the enclosure movement (the privatization of common land), sought new lands and better livelihoods in the colonies.
Differences between New England and Chesapeake colonies:
New England: Focused on religious communities (Puritans) with more emphasis on family structure and small-scale farming. The government was tied to religious leadership.
Chesapeake: Centered on tobacco cultivation, which led to the establishment of large plantations and a reliance on indentured servants and enslaved Africans. The economy was export-driven, and government structures were influenced by wealthy landowners.
The Tobacco Economy and the Atlantic World:
The Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland) became part of the Atlantic trade network due to tobacco’s profitability. This drew the region into transatlantic trade involving African slaves, European goods, and American crops.
Key Terms:
John Smith: An early leader of the Jamestown colony, known for establishing trade relations with Native Americans.
Virginia Company: A joint-stock company that funded the settlement of Jamestown.
Enclosure movement: The consolidation of land in England, displacing many small farmers and leading to increased emigration.
Headright system: A land grant program designed to attract settlers by giving them land for every servant or family member they brought to the colony.
Puritans/Pilgrims: Religious dissenters who settled in New England seeking freedom from the Church of England.
Roanoke colony: The first English attempt at a permanent settlement in North America, which mysteriously disappeared.
Great Migration: The mass emigration of Puritans to New England during the 1630s.
Dissenters: People who separated from the Church of England, often facing persecution in England.
Half-Way Covenant: A form of partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of Puritan settlers.
Maryland Toleration Act: A 1649 law mandating religious tolerance for Christians in Maryland.
Chapter 3: Creating Anglo-America (1660–1750)
Establishment of Slavery:
Slavery became entrenched in the colonies due to the high demand for labor, especially in the Southern colonies where tobacco, rice, and later cotton dominated. Initially, there were indentured servants, but African slavery expanded as a more permanent solution for labor.
Bacon’s Rebellion and Salem Witch Trials:
Bacon’s Rebellion (1676): In Virginia, discontented landless settlers, led by Nathaniel Bacon, revolted against the governor. It highlighted class divisions and led to a greater reliance on African slaves as labor.
Salem Witch Trials (1692): In Massachusetts, mass hysteria led to the execution of individuals accused of witchcraft. The trials reflected deep social tensions and religious zeal.
Adoption of Horses and Impact on the Great Plains:
The introduction of horses, especially by the Spanish, transformed life on the Great Plains. Native American groups like the Comanche became skilled horsemen, which revolutionized their way of life and enhanced their ability to hunt bison.
Colonial Diversity:
The colonies varied greatly. New England had Puritan religious communities, the middle colonies (like Pennsylvania) had greater diversity with religious tolerance, and the southern colonies focused on plantation economies reliant on slave labor.
Key Terms:
King Philip’s War: A 1675–1676 conflict between New England settlers and Native Americans, led by the Wampanoag chief Metacom (King Philip).
Mercantilism: An economic policy that promoted government regulation of a nation's economy for augmenting state power at the expense of rival nations. Colonies were seen as a way to enrich the mother country.
Navigation Acts: Laws that governed colonial trade, ensuring it benefited England by restricting trade with other nations.
Quakers: Also known as the Society of Friends, a religious group advocating for pacifism and equality. They settled in Pennsylvania, led by William Penn.
Staple crops: Major crops such as tobacco, sugar, and rice that dominated the southern colonies' economies.
Chapter 4: Slavery, Freedom, and the Struggle for Empire (to 1763)
Great Britain’s position in North America:
Throughout the 18th century, Britain solidified its control over North America, especially after winning the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War), which led to the expulsion of French power from North America.
Three Slave Systems:
Tobacco plantations in the Chesapeake: Relied heavily on enslaved Africans, producing tobacco for export.
Rice plantations in the Carolinas: These were large-scale plantations that required extensive labor, primarily provided by enslaved Africans, who brought crucial knowledge of rice cultivation.
Non-plantation slavery in the North: Slaves were fewer in number and typically worked in more urban settings or as household servants.
Key Terms:
Middle Passage: The brutal sea journey of enslaved Africans to the Americas, marked by horrific conditions and high mortality rates.
Yeoman farmers: Small landowners who farmed their land without the use of slaves.
Republicanism: A political ideology focused on civic virtue and the common good, which became influential in colonial America.
Liberalism: Another political philosophy focusing on individual rights and freedoms.
Salutary neglect: Britain's unofficial policy of loosely enforcing colonial regulations, which allowed the colonies to develop their own governance systems.
Enlightenment: An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and human progress, which influenced colonial leaders.
Deism: A religious belief in a Creator who does not intervene in the universe, associated with Enlightenment thinkers.
Great Awakening: A religious revival movement in the colonies, emphasizing personal faith and challenging established churches.
Seven Years' War/French and Indian War: A global conflict that pitted Britain against France, resulting in Britain gaining control of French Canada.
Proclamation of 1763: Issued by Britain, it restricted colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains, angering colonists.
Albany Plan of Union: Benjamin Franklin's proposal to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, which was rejected at the time.