Chapter 2 Part 2 Flashcards
What is mercantilism?
It looked upon trade, colonies, and the accumulation of weath as the basis for a country’s military and political strength;
Basically, the more, the merrier
When was mercantilism popular, and where?
In the 17th century in most European kingdoms
How did countries operate under mercantilism?
A government should regulate trade and production to enable it to become self-sufficient;
Colonies were to provide raw materials to the parent country to enrich said country
When was mercantilism applied to the English colonies?
Only after the turmoil of England’s civil war
When was mercantilism applied to Spanish and French colonies?
Since their inception
What did the English Navigation Acts do?
They established three rules for colonial trade?
What was the first rule of colonial trade established by the Navigation Acts?
Trade to and from the colonies could be carred only by the English or colonial crews
What was the second rule of colonial trade established by the Navigation Acts?
All goods imported into the colonies, except for some perishables, had to pass through ports in England
What was the third rule of colonial trade established by the Navigation Acts?
Specified or enumerated goods from the colonies could be exported to England only;
Tobacco was the original “enumerated,” but this list expanded over the years
What were the positive effects of the Navigation Acts?
- Caused New England shipbuilding to prosper
- Provided Chesapeake tobacco with a monopoly in England
- Provided English military forces to protect the colonies from potential attacks by the French and Spanish
What were the negative effects of the Navigation Acts?
- Severely limited the development of colonial manufacturing
- Forced Chesapeake farmers to accept low prices for their goods
- Caused colonists to pay high prices for manufactured goods from England
How did the Navigation Acts tarnish British-colonial relations?
Colonists resented the regulator laws imposed by their distant government in London;
In New England especially, they defied the acts by smuggling in French, Dutch, and other goods
Did the British Crown heavily enforce the Navigation Acts?
They were lax;
Plus, their agents in the colonies were known for their corruption
What did the British Crown do in 1684 to the Massachusetts Bay colony?
It revoked the charter of Massachusetts Bay because that colony had been the center of smuggling activity
When did James II become king of England?
1685
What was King James II set on doing with regards to the colonies?
He wanted to increase royal control over them by combining them into larger administrative units and going away with their representative assemblies
What did James II combine, and what did he create?
He combined New York, New Jersey, and the various New England colonies into a single unit called the Dominion of New England
Who became the governor of the Dominion of New England?
Sir Edmund Andros;
He made himself unpopular by imposing taxes, limiting town meetings, and revoking lang titles
How did the Dominion of New England fall apart, and when?
It fell after 1688, when the successful Glorious Revolution of that year replaced James II with William and Mary because of his assertion of his royal powers
Did the mercantilist policies stay even after the Glorious Revolution?
Yes
Why did slavery become increasingly important, especially in the southern colonies? (Reason 1)
Reduced migration;
Increases in wages in England reduced the supply of immigrants to the colonies
Why did slavery become increasingly important, especially in the southern colonies? (Reason 2)
Dependable workforce;
Large plantation owners were disturbed by the
political demands of small farmers and indentured servants and by the
disorders of Bacon’s Rebellion;
They thought that slavery would provide a stable labor force totally under their control
Why did slavery become increasingly important, especially in the southern colonies? (Reason 3)
Cheap labor;
As tobacco prices fell, rice and indigo became the most profitable crops. To grow such crops required a large land area and many inexpensive, relatively unskilled field hands.
What did Massachusetts do in 1641 with regards to slavery?
It recognized the enslavement of “lawful” captives
What did Virginia do in 1661 with regards to slavery?
It enacted legislation stating that children automatically inherited their mother’s enslaved status for life
What did Maryland do in 1664 with regards to slavery?
It declared that baptism did not affect the enslaved person’s status, and that white women could not marry African American men
Did racism and slavery become integral to colonial society as whites came to regard blacks as social inferiors?
Yes
Who had monopoly over the enslaved trade in the 17th century (in the Americas)?
The Royal African Company
Describe how the traingular, or three-part, slave trade route operates. (First Part)
A ship starting from a New England port such as Boston would carry rum across the Atlantic to West Africa;
There the rum would be traded for
hundreds of captive Africans
Describe how the traingular, or three-part, slave trade route operates. (Second Part)
Next, the ship would set out on the horrendous Middle Passage;
The Africans who survived the voyage would be traded as slaves in the West Indies for a cargo of sugarcane
Describe how the traingular, or three-part, slave trade route operates. (Third Part)
Third, completing the last side of the triangle, the ship would return to a New England port where
the sugar would be sold to be used in making rum
What happened every time one type of cargo was traded for another in the slave trade?
The slave-trading entrepreneur usually succeeded in making a substantial profit
