Boston in 1770 // Nature of colonial society Flashcards
Describe the 3 conflicts that happened in Boston in 1770 during riots?
1] 22 Feb: a man loyal to the British and suspected on informing on others for customs avoidance, was surrounded and trapped in his house by the ‘Thursday Mob’. He fired on the crowd and killed an 11yr old boy, 5000 Bostonians attended the funeral
2] 2 March: workers at a factory attacked some red coats
3] 5 March: a small number of troops guarding the Customs House, fired into protesting Bostonians and 5 Bostonians were killed, including the leader of the protest. The Boston Massacre had taken place
Why were Americans dissatisfied with the British taxation system?
bc they were used to managing their own finances
How were the economies of the New England colonies, Middle colonies and Pennsylvania, and Southern colonies different from each other?
New England colonies were farmed by small subsistence farmers and had an extensive fishing industry
The Middle colonies & Pennsylvania were a major source of wheat and flour products
In the Southern colonies, tobacco was the predominant crop - since tobacco is very labour intensive, the majority of slaves were imported to provide labour for the Southern colonies
Reasons why agricultural workers, landowners and Protestants were encouraged to move to the colonies?
Protestants: chose to make the journey to establish a new life in a continent because of persecution at home
Landowners: availability of land. England - most farm labourers rented from the wealthy land owning class, in America - most white men worked and owned their land
agricultural workers: skilled workers and tradesmen were able to command better wages than in Europe bc of scarcity of labour
–> far more white men in American colonies enjoyed a sense of independence and had status as landowners and voters than in Europe
How was the system of government in American colonies contrasting to that of Britain?
much higher level of political experience
- each colony was governed by a governor appointed by the British Crown and a legislative assembly
- assemblies: responsible for money bills and controlling expenditure
- lower house: elected by a wide franchise of at least 50% - 80% sometimes, of the adult male pop.
this is in contrast to Britain:
- where only 1 in 10 men were entitled to vote
- the smallness of the colonies and the extensive edd of the franchise meant that the majority of colonial men were used to participating fully in the political process
Describe the role of colonial assemblies?
- raise revenue for the provision of local services
- payment of local officials
- passing of local legislation
However..
they consistently overstepped their constitutional position
–> provided a focus for discussion and reaction to the British taxes from the introduction of the Sugar Act 1764 until the outbreak of hostilities between the two countries
