Colonial North America (1690-1754) Flashcards
Voyage across the Atlantic take by slaves on their way to the Americas
Sickness, disease, and death were rampant
More than 20% of the slaves who began the voyage were dead by the time the ship landed
Traders maximized profits by shipping as many slaves as possible on each ship
Middle Passage
Known as the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe, this war ran from 1702-1713, and pitted England against France and Spain
Native Americans fought on both sides
English were victorious and won Hudson Bay and Nova Scotia from France
Queen Anne’s War
120 men, women, and children were arrested for witchcraft in 1692
19 of them were executed before a new royal governor stopped the prosecutions
Reflected tensions between farming and commercial interests
Salem Witch Trials
Colonial war against the French that lasted from 1689 to 1697
Army from the New England colonies attacked Quebec but was forced to retreat because of a lack of strong leadership and an outbreak of smallpox amongst the troops
King William’s War
Treaty that ended the French and Indian War
Britain gained most French territory in the New World, most importantly Canada
Britain gained Florida from Spain
France gave Spain Louisiana as compensation for the loss of Florida
Treaty of Paris, 1763
Seasoned British general sent to America to stop the French construction of a fort at what is now the city of Pittsburgh
On July 9, 1755, his force of regulars and Americans was crushed in an ambush that cost him and most of his men their lives
Edward Braddock
18th-century European intellectual movement that attempted to discover the natural laws governing science and society
Taught that progress was inevitable
Included philosophers who greatly influenced Americans, such as John Locke, who emphasized natural rights
Enlightenment
Existed in all the British colonies in America
First was the Virginia House of Burgesses
Members were almost always from the upper classes of colonial society
Insisted they had same rights/powers enjoyed by House of Commons in Britain
Colonial Assemblies
British policy of the early 1700s stating that as long as the American colonies remained politically loyal and continued trade with Great Britain, the government would relax enforcement of the Navigation Acts
Despite this, tensions continued to exist concerning British trade policy
Salutary Neglect
1739 slave rebellion in South Carolina in which more than 75 slaves killed white citizens and marched through the countryside
After the rebellion was crushed, slave owners imposed harsher discipline, tax on imported slaves
Largest slave rebellion in 18th-century America
Slaves were armed by Spain and helped defend St. Augustine from Georgia in 1740
Stono Rebellion
Amglican minister who proved to be a dynamic and charismatic preacher during the Great Awakening
Preached to as many as 20,000 people at a time
His 1740 tour of the colonies was the high point of the Great Awakening
Encouraged the emergence of Dissenting churches: Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian
George Whitefield
Mnisters concerned that factors were underming religious devotion: westward expansion, commerical development, enlightenment
Great religious revival that swept through the colonies from the 1720s to the 1740s
Preachers challenged the “cold” message of the established churches and stirred congregations with powerful, emotive sermons
Encouraged a sense of social equality and the questioning of authority
Resulted in growth of new Protestant denominations: Baptist, Methodist
Great Awakening
British traders pressured Parliment to pass this Act in 1733 which put high duties on this import
Americans evaded British officials and smuggled French produts into the colonies
Molasses Act
Leaders of resistance to British rule listed their grievances against the British and circulated them to all the towns in the colony
First existed in Massachusetts and eventually in all the colonies
Committess of Correspondence
In 1704, the Iroquois joined with the French to attack this town in Massachusetts, killing 48 settlers and taking 112 into captivity
Deerfield Raid
Established by England to oversee colonial affairs in 1675
Questioned Massachusetts about compliance with Navigation Acts
Massachusetts response was that no representation meant Navigation Acts did not apply
Lords of Trade
Governor James Logan of Pennsylvannia hired teams of runners to capture large amounts of land
Destroyed good relationships put in place by William Penn’s Chain of Friendship
Walking Purchase of 1737
Colonial empires 3rd busiest port
Financial, commercial, cultural center of British America
Exported flour bread, and meat to West Indies and Europe
Artisans and craftsmen flourished
Philadelphia
Promised protection to local Indians from the Iroquois in Pennsylvannia
Chain of Friendship
Approved by Pennsylvannia Assembly in 1682
Offered religious freedom; no established church in Pennsylvannia
Charter of Liberty
Upper class of merchants with ties to British trading firms in New England and Middle Colonies
Farmers with large land holdings and crops like tobacco and rice
Rulers of proprietary colonies like Pennsylvannia and Maryland
Wealth began to pass from generation to generation
Colonial Elite
Colonial elites became more and more English
Modeled lives on British etiquette
Imported British fashion and literature
Anglicanization
Trading routes among Britain, Africa and the colonies
Britian sold manufactured goods to Africa and the colonies
Colonies sold commodities like tobacco, indigo, sugar, rice to Europe
Slaves sold from Africa to the New World
Triangular Trades
Largest of the three slave systems – about 1/2 of the regional population
Reinforced by mercantilist economic policy
Shifted from Tidewater to the Piedmont
Laid foundation for the consolidation of regional elite power (landed gentry, merchants, lawyers). Elite wrote and passed laws restricting the rights of blacks.
Better climate led to reproduction, more balanced gender and familes
Chesapeake (Tobacco) Slavery
Slave sytem centered in South Carolina and Georgia
Main crop became the foundation of the South Carolina economy and benefited from large economies of scale
Africans more resistant to regional disease like malaria
Very harsh conditions
Less contact with whites led to more independent, African-based culture – houses, names, spoke Gullah
Rice Kingdom Slavery
Founded Georgia in 1733 as haven for the “worthy poor”
British supported as buffer to protect South Carolina from Florida
James Oglethorpe
Founded in 1733 as a haven for the “worthy poor”
British supported as a buffer to protect South Carolina from Florida
Slaves and liquor banned, leading to conflict with the settlers
Proprietors surrendered colony to Britain in 1751, slaves and liquor became legal
Georgia
Slave system characterized by farm hands, artisan shops, personal servants
Slaves were about 3% of the regional population
Slave marriages were recognized by law, slaves could bring suits in court
Slavery in the North
Name for slaves born in the New World
By 1700s, outnumbered by slaves who were African by birth
Creoles
Conflict between England and Spain that helped led to the slave rebellions
War of Jenkins Ear
Idea of government without a king
Active participation in public life by economically independent citizens
Associated with “country party” because support came from landed gentry
Influenced by ideas in Trenchard and Gordon’s Cato’s Letters
Republicanism
Idea of government that emphasized individual and private rights
Influenced by John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government, which was written in 1680
Government formed by mutual agreement among equals
“Social Contract” in which men surrendered some of their rights in exchange for rule of law
Retained natural rights – life, liberty, and property
Liberalism
Wrote Two Treatises on Government in 1680, which influenced colonies in 1700s
Idea of:
individual rights
consent of the governed
right of rebellion against unjust or oppressive government
John Locke
Founded by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1727
Later became know as the American Philosophical Society
Reflected expansion of “public sphere” in which politics were debated by citizens
Junto Club
Technology that accelerated they number of adults who could read and write; reached 3/4 of population of adult white males
Led to growth of bookstores
Printing Press
Viewed as extremely dangerous in both Britain and America
Law until 1695 prohibited printed material until license had been granted
Government tried to manage through direct payment to publishers and journalists
Freedom of the Press
German born printer who emigrated to New York
Published the Weekly Journal which critized the governor for corruption
Council ordered four issues burned and the printer arrested
Lawyer urged the jury to judge the governor and not the printer
Found not guilty and helped establish support for freedom of the press
Trial of Zenger
Belief that suggested God withdrew after creating the world, letting it run by scientific laws
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson held these beliefs
Deism
Minister during the Great Awakening
Famous sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Jonathan Edwards
Obtained Louisiana from French in 1763
Few urban areas: St. Augustine, San Antonio, Santa Fe, Albuquerque
Established presidios in Los Adaes, La Bahia, San Antonio
Spain (Imperial Rival)
Held land in Mississippi Valley from Great Lakes to Mobile
Growth in St. Lawrence Valley and New Orleans
Challenged Britain due to large land holdings and good relations with Indians
French Empire (Imperial Rival)
