Period 2 Notes (1607 - 1754)

2.1 Contextualizing Period 2

2.2 European Colonization in North America

Spanish Colonies

• • Because of limited natural resources and strong opposition from NA, Spanish settlements grew slowly.
    • They also wanted to counter the spread of Protestantism.
  • Juan Ponce de Leon in Florida claimed these lands in 1513.
    • St. Augustine was the permanent settlement for the Spanish.
    • Only a small few settlements developed as the Spanish found little gold and there was disease.
  • Spanish colonists also started arriving in New Mexico and Arizona, as well as Texas and California.

French Colonies

• • The French colonizers were mainly men like the Spanish.
    • There were few of them though.
  • They were mostly looking for either converting people to Christianity or fur trading.
    • The fur trade made rivers very important to them.
    • Through rivers, they established Quebec, New Orleans, and Louisiana.
  • Married with NA.

Dutch Colonies

• • The Netherlands gov hired Henry Hudson (English sailor) to sail westward to Asia.
    • To search for the northwest passage.
    • He sailed up a river and it was later named the Hudson River.
    • Established New Amsterdam (later New York).
  • The Dutch East India Company was also granted the right to control the region for economic gain.
  • Just like the French, the Dutch also had few traders to build strong trading networks.
    • They didn’t really marry with NA, however and they settled more along rivers and trading posts.

British Colonies

• • John Cabot set forth English exploration in the early 1600s.
  • The English population was rapidly increasing which caused poverty because its economy was still low.
    • Therefore, people relied on joint stock companies to fund colonization because they were attracted to opportunities in America.
  • Higher percentage of female colonists and families.
  • More interested in farming.
    • As a result, they were more likely to claim NA land.
  • Didn’t intermarry with NA often.
  • Most English settlers desired better lives and religious freedom.

2.3 The Regions of British Colonies

Early English Settlements

• • The English colonies developed sectional differences because of natural resources, climate, and settler backgrounds.
  • Three types of colonies developed:
    • Corporate Colonies: operated by joint-stock companies during early years.
    • Royal Colonies: under direct rule of the King's gov.
      • Like Virginia.
    • Proprietary Colonies: under authority by ppl who were granted ownership by the king.
      • Like Maryland and Pennsylvania.
  • They had a more representative government unlike the French and Spanish.
    • Elections and deciding important measures like taxes.

Jamestown

• • King James I of England chartered the Virginia Company (a joint stock company) that founded Jamestown in 1607.
    • The first permanent English settlement.
  • Early settlers in Jamestown suffered a lot.
    • Their location near swamps caused malaria.
    • Many settlers were men unaccustomed to hard work like farming.
    • NA was the source of goods as tensions grew and NA stopped trading with settlers which led to starvation among them.
  • Jamestown survived in the beginning because of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, his wife.
    • The colony developed a surplus of tobacco.
  • Planters mostly used white labor then moved to African slaves.
  • However, in 1624 Jamestown nearly collapsed.
    • Again, mostly because of disease and NA conflict.
    • Also because the Virginia Company was bankrupt.
  • Eventually, King James took direct control and declared that area as Virginia (the first English colony).

Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay

• • Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were two other colonies founded by the British.
    • In New England.
  • Motive was mainly religious reasons and wealth.
  • Both colonies were settled by Protestant Englishmen who disagreed and dissented with the Anglican Church (The Church of England).
    • The Anglican Church was a Church led by the king that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.
    • It still followed and kept a bunch of the government structure and practices from the Catholic Church.
    • The dissenters wanted the Anglican Church to be completely free from Catholic influence and Rome.
    • King James I put these dissenters in jail.
  • Separatists were radical dissenters (wanted a church without royal control).
    • Left England and became known as Pilgrims.
      • Wanted religious freedom.
• They set aboard the Mayflower.
• They settled in Plymouth.
• They got help from NA who helped them adapt.
• Puritans were moderate Separatists.
  • They believed that the Anglican Church could be reformed or PURIFIED (get it hahahaha).
  • They were persecuted by King Charles I after King James I.
  • A thousand of them led by John Winthrop sailed to America and founded Boston.
  • The Great Migration was a term used for the movement of over 15,000 settlers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony (later the same term is used for the 20th century).

Religious Issues in Maryland

• • King Charles I split off a part of Virginia to create a new colony, Maryland.
    • It was the first proprietary colony.
  • George Calvert was given control of it and his son was given control after he died. His son was Cecil Calvert.
    • Both wanted to provide a haven for Catholics who faced protestant persecution in England.
  • Several wealthy Catholic people emigrated to Maryland and established plantations.
    • They were quickly outnumbered by Protestant farmers.
    • The Act of Toleration was established to grant religious freedom to all Christians.
      • However, people who denied that Jesus was god were killed.
  • The Protestant Revolt happened which was a civil war by protestants who were angry at a Christian proprietor.
    • They won and repealed the Act of toleration.
    • Maryland became like England.

New England

Rhode Island

• • Puritan leaders often tolerated anyone who questioned their religious teachings and banished dissidents.
    • The dissidents formed their own colonies in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
  • Roger Williams was a puritan minister who moved from England to Boston.
    • He believed that the conscience of a person was beyond a Church’s authority.
    • He was banished by other Puritan leaders 😞
    • He and other ppl founded Providence in 1636.
      • Allowed catholics, quakers, and jews to practice religion equally.
      • Recognized NA rights.
  • Anne Hutchinson also questioned Puritanism.
    • Believed in Antinomianism, which was the idea that people didn’t have to follow traditional moral laws because only their faith allowed them to achieve salvation.
    • She founded Portsmouth with other ppl.
    • Died later in an NA uprising.
  • Williams was granted a charter to join Providence and Portsmouth to form Rhode Island.

Connecticut

• • The Connecticut River Valley attracted people who were unhappy with Massachusetts authorities (Radical Puritans).
  • Thomas Hooker led a bunch of Puritans and founded Hartford in 1636.
    • They formed the first constitution in America, The Fundamental orders of Connecticut in 1639.
      • Representative gov with popular vote legislature.
  • John Davenport in 1637 founded New Haven which later combined with Hartford to form Connecticut.

New Hampshire

• • The land New England colony to be founded.
  • King Charles II separated New Hampshire from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because he wanted to increase royal control over colonies.
    • New Hampshire was a royal colony 👑
  • To be a full member of a Puritan congregation, people needed to have a confirmed conversion.
    • This was also called a religious experience.
    • Fewer people started having them in the native-born generation.
    • A Halfway Covenant was offered by a clergy to maintain the Church’s influence.
      • People could become partial members despite not having a conversion.
  • Over time, in the New England colonies, strict puritan practices declined so people could have Church membership more.

Restoration Colonies

The Carolinas

• • In 1663 Charles II gave a huge land tract to 8 nobles because they helped him get the throne.
    • They became proprietors of the Carolinas.
    • North and South Carolina were formed.
  • In 1670 a few colonists from England and some planters founded Charleston (named after King Charles II).
    • The Southern economy was based on fur trade.
    • Later they formed large rice-growing plantations.
  • Unlike the south, the north had poor transportation and less slave reliance and fewer plantations as a result.
    • Ppl from Virginia and New England colonies formed tobacco farms there.

The Middle Colonies

• • These colonies are known as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
  • New York
    • Charles II wanted to close the gap between New England and the Chesapeake colonies.
      • This required the Dutch to give up New Amsterdam.
    • He granted his brother, the Duke of York (James II), the lands between Connecticut and the Delaware Bay.
      • James II dispatched Peter Stuyvesant who took control over the Dutch colonies.
      • He ordered his agents to rename the colony New York but treat Dutch settlers well.
      • He also ordered for taxation without representation.
  • New Jersey
    • James split New York in 1664 because he believed that it was too large.
    • Quakers eventually bought the land.
    • East New Jersey and West New Jersey were combined later in 1702.
  • Pennsylvania
    • William Penn was granted this area of land as payment for a debt.
    • When he died, he gave the land to his son, also name William Penn 🤦
      • Penn had joined a group of Christians called the Quakers, who were radical and believed that religious authority was found within ppl and not the Bible.
      • They supported equality amongst all men and women and were pacifists.
      • They were often persecuted.
    • Penn hoped his colony was a refuge for Quakers and others.
    • He wanted to test his Quaker beliefs with liberal ideas.
      • First, he provided a Frame of Gov which guaranteed a representative assembly.
      • Then, he put forth a Charter of Liberties which guaranteed freedom of religion.
    • He also attempted at treating NA fairly.
  • Delaware
    • In 1702, Penn granted three lower Pennsylvania colonies their own assembly.
    • It became Delaware.

Georgia

• • Georgia was the final 13th British colony.
  • It was the only colony that got direct government financial support.
  • Two reasons why the British wanted to start a southern colony:
    • Defense to protect South Carolina plantations from Spanish Florida.
    • Wanted a place to send thousands of ppl in England imprisoned for debt and a chance to start over.
  • James Ogelthorpe founded Savannah in 1733.
    • He put regulations on drinking rum and slavery practices.
    • However, the colony didn’t prosper because of Spanish attack threats.
    • He gave up 💀
  • Georgia was taken over by the British government.

Early Political Institutions

• • There was a representative assembly in Virginia.
    • Settlers had the same rights as England residents had.
    • The House of Burgesses was the first rep assembly founded in 1619.
  • There was a representative gov in New England
    • The Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact to pledge to make decisions based on the majority vote.
    • Communities held town meetings for elections.
  • Overall, most colonists other than MALE PROPERTY OWNERS were excluded from politics.
    • Enslaved people had no rights and indentured servants and women had limited rights.

2.4 Transatlantic Trade

Triangular Trade

• • Many European nations that controlled colonies looked for an increase in power.
  • Transatlantic trade was a way to gain power.
  • Merchant ships often follow a triangular route which connects North America, Africa, and Europe.
  • For example,
    • A ship would leave New England and carry rum to West Africa where it could be traded for hundreds of slaves.
    • The ship would go through the middle passage and the surviving Africans would be traded in the West Indies for sugarcanes.
    • The ship would return to New England to sell sugar and turn it into rum.
  • People would also sometimes stop in England or Spain.

Mercantilism and the Empire

• • Many European kingdoms believed in Mercantilism which was a theory that a country’s wealth was determined by how much more it EXPORTED than imported.
    • In this system, colonies ONLY existed to benefit the parent country.
  • England’s gov enforced the Navigation Acts from 1650-1673. They established 3 rules.
    • Trading to and from the colonies could only be carried out by English ppl.
    • All goods imported to the colonies had to pass through ports in England.
    • Only enumerated (listed) goods like tobacco could be exported to England.
  • The navigation acts affect colonies in mixed ways.
    • The triangular trade was largely unaffected but the acts also limited colonial economic development.
      • Colonists couldn’t manufacture their own goods so they had to pay high prices for goods from England.
      • Chesapeake farmers had to sell their crops for low prices since they could only sell to New England.
  • Colonists continued to trade with NA for fur, food, and other goods.
  • They also married with NA.

Enforcement of the Acts

• • Mercantilism called for strict trading regulations.
  • England was usually lenient with enforcing regulations.
    • This was known as salutary neglect.
  • Enforcement was difficult because England faced larger problems and their colonial agents were often corrupted (which led to bribes).

The Dominion of New England

• • Trade laws would face resistance, though.
  • The Massachusetts Bay Colony charter was taken away because of smuggling.
  • James II succeeded to the throne of England in 1685 and wanted to combine the colonies to increase royal control.
    • He eventually combined the New England colonies to form the Dominion of New England.
    • He made some dude a governor and he was bad cause he limited town meetings and levied (imposed) taxes.
  • James II was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Dominion fell.
    • The colonies operated on their own again.

Ongoing Trade Tensions

• • After the revolution mercantilist policies were still there but enforcement wasn’t effective.
    • This was a problem.

2.5 Interactions between American Indians and Europeans

Conflict in New England

• • In the 1640s New England colonies faced a lot of attacks from NA, the Dutch, and the French.
  • The New England Confederation was an alliance between four New England colonies.
    • Broke apart but still set a precedent for unified action towards a common goal.
  • Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War) was a few years before this confederation fell apart.
    • It was a response to English settlers encroaching onto NA land.
    • Metacom was a Wampanoag chief.
      • He was known as KING PHILIP.
    • He united many southern New England tribes and attacked the English.
    • Colonial forces and NA allies won (the confederation)

Conflict in Virginia

• • Sir William Berkley was the royal governor of Virginia.
    • Very dictatorial on behalf of large planters.
    • Mean to small farmers 😡
  • Nathaniel Bacon led BACON’S REBELLION 🔥
    • NA tribes would encroach onto farmer land.
      • Many sought to drive them out.
    • Bacon was a poor farmer and led a rebellion against Berkeley.
    • He resented the control of a few large planters.
    • He raised an army of volunteers and did a series of raids and massacres against NA villages.
    • His army burned Jamestown.
  • These problems highlighted disputes in the colonies.
    • Class differences between farmers.
    • NA conflict.

Spanish Rule and Pueblo Revolt

• • Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries were aggressive.
  • Led to the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.
    • Many tribes united against the Spanish
    • The Spanish were driven out of the area until 1692.

2.6 Slavery in the British Colonies

Demand for Labor

• • Landowners relied on African slaves for labor because NA kept escaping too much.
    • The indentured servant supply was too small as well.
  • In Maryland and Virginia, Europeans got a lot of profit because of tobacco.
  • The early Virginia colonists were too poor to buy African slaves so the Virginia Company used Indentured Servants for labor.
    • Basically, people agreed to work for a certain time in exchange for a home and care.
    • They could also eventually gain their own freedom and buy their own land.
  • The Headright System in Virginia was a system where each immigrant who paid for their own passage was granted 50 acres of land.

The Institution of Slavery

• • In 1619 there was an English ship that served the Dutch gov that mysteriously gave 25 indentured servants to Virginia who were Africans.
    • The first Africans in Virginia were free but by the 1660s there were laws that made them slaves.
    • Over time the demand for African slaves greatly increased, with most in the Middle Colonies.
  • Why African slave labor greatly expanded:
    • There were increased wages in England so there was a lower supply of immigrants.
    • Things like Bacon’s Rebellion where large plantation owners were disturbed by small farmers.
      • People thought that African labor would be easier to control.
    • Tobacco prices fell because of the Navigation Acts, so rice became popular and required heavy labor.
  • More slaves meant that people wanted more laws to ensure that they would be held in bondage.
    • Whites began to regard all blacks as inferior.

Resistance to Slavery

• • Africans struggled to maintain family ties because they were always separated when their family members were sold.
  • Many adopted Christianity but kept parts of their original religious practices.
  • They also resisted through direct action:
    • Hunger strikes, breaking tools, refusing to work, running away.

2.7 Colonial Society and Culture

Population Growth

• • The English colonial villages struggled because they wanted to develop a culture different from any European culture.
  • The population of English colonies greatly rose in the 1770s. This was because of:
    • Immigration of 1 million people.
    • Sharp natural increase.
  • These were due to a high birth rate among families, abundance of fertile land, and dependable food supply.

European Immigrants

• • Immigrants came from all over Europe.
  • Many of them were Protestants.
    • Mostly from the French Kingdom and Germany.
    • Many were seeking religious freedom as well as economic opportunities (artisans, farmers, merchants).
    • Most settled in the Middle colonies.
  • People from England came in small populations because they had fewer problems back at home.
  • The Germans settled on farmlands in Pennsylvania and kept parts of their own culture.
  • The Scotch-Irish were Protestants who settled in the West and disliked the British.
  • The French Protestants, Swedes, and Dutch also came.

Enslaved Africans

• • The largest single group of people were Africans who had to come forcefully.
  • They worked many jobs but the most worked as laborers on plantations.
  • Some gained freedom by their owners or they bought their freedom.

American Indians

• • Population growth in the colonies led to increased conflicts between NA and settlers.
    • Some formed alliances.
      • Like Powhattan and Iroquois Confederations.
    • Some used Europeans as allies.
  • Most peaceful in Pennsylvania.
    • Obtained land through treaties rather than wars.

The Structure of Colonial Society

• • ALL colonies permitted religious freedom.
    • However, only Christians could participate in gov.
  • A narrower class system based on economics emerged.
    • Wealthy landowners were at the top and small farmers made up the majority of the population.
  • Acquiring land was much easier than in Europe.
  • Colonists had a higher living standard than most Europeans because of family life.
    • People started to marry young and had more kids.
    • Men could own property and participate in politics
      • They got so much power, even to beat their wife 😭
    • Women worked at home and took care of the house and also sometimes worked alongside their husbands.
      • This granted them protection from abuse.

The Economy

• • The economy was mostly on trade and most of Europe’s trade came from the colonies.
    • New England relied on subsistence farming which was producing just enough for the family.
      • Small farms
    • Middle Colonies relied on rich soil to produce a lot of cash crops.
      • Large farms.
    • The Southern colonies had a diverse range of farming conditions
      • Some relied on subsistence farming, so lived on large plantations.
  • The British controlled the economy by limiting the use of money.
    • However, to pay for trade they would issue too much money.
    • Cause it to decline in value.
      • Inflation.
  • Trading by water was easier and there were also trading centers in the colonies.

Religion

• • Many people were Protestants, but there were others like Anglicans, Quakers, Jews, and more.
  • They still faced discrimination.

The Great Awakening

• • A movement of fervent expression of religious feelings.
  • Reverend Jonathan Edwards was one of the most prominent GA figures.
    • Presented that God was angry with human sinfulness.
    • People who deeply repented would be saved but those who didn’t would be greatly punished and damned (oof).
  • George Whitefield also spread GA ideals.
    • God could only save those who openly believed in Jesus.
    • Those who didn’t would be damned to hell (again, oof).
  • As a RESULT, people called for strict separation of Church and State.
    • Religious sects emerged.
    • People started to read the Bible at home themselves so religious authorities didn’t have control over them.

Cultural Life

• • In the early 1600s, the main goal was survival. As time went on, things like the arts could be significant.
  • There was architecture, paintings, literature (mostly religious, and science (botany).
  • Puritans emphasized reading the Bible so that led to the formation of tax-supported schools.
    • Many schools especially in the Middle Colonies were church-sponsored.
  • First colonial colleges were sectarian (promoting doctrines of a SPECIFIC religious group).
  • More newspapers emerged.
    • The Zenger Case: John Peter Zenger criticized the NY governor even though it was illegal.
      • Encouraged newspapers to criticize the gov.

The Enlightenment

• • A European movement in literature and philosophy.
    • Many Americans felt attracted to it.
    • People believed that earlier was a “Dark Age” where people just relied on God’s intervention and tradition.
      • Now was a time for reason💡
  • John Locke was a major influencer 💅
    • He argued that while the state (gov) is supreme, it is bound to follow “natural laws” based on people’s human rights.
    • Sovereignty resides on ppl rather than the state.
      • Citizens also have the right to revolt against the government if it isn’t protecting their rights.
    • He provided principles of the CONSTITUTION.

Colonial Relationship With Britain

• • Colonies were becoming more like ENGLAND 🤩
    • Philosophy, political traditions, trade
  • AT SAME TIME, COLONISTS were developing an AMERICAN viewpoint of life.
    • They had motivations for leaving Europe and diversity contributed to this.
  • Differing viewpoints:
    • The British wanted peace with NA while the colonists wanted to expand westward.
    • The British enforced strict trade regulations while colonists were fine with salutary neglect.
    • Colonists were more ethnically and religiously diverse.

Politics and Government

• • In colonies there were towns with local govs where town meetings were held.
    • A sheriff ran each town.
  • Laws often barred most people from voting: women, poor white men, all slaves.
    • The Government started removing these barriers.
      • HOWEVER, property qualifications remained.
  • More self-gov.