Exam 1 Flashcards
Hiawatha
Pre-Colonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confedracy
First Contact
Columbus first European to make contact with Native Americans. Indians had never seen a European before.
Ferdinand Magellan
A Portuguese explorer who organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519-1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
Joint Stock Company
Predecessor to major corporations. A business entity where different stocks can be bought and owned by shareholders. Founded colonies
Jamestown
A British settlement established on the James River in Virginia in 1607. First permanent British colony
John Smith
Important person in Jamestown’s establishment
Starving Time
Period in Jamestown where there was little food and supplies because no one worked
John Rolfe
Credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the colony of Virginia. Known as the hub and of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confedracy. “Cured” tobacco, which took the bitter taste out, making it more profitable by allowing it to compete with Spanish tobacco
Tobacco
Was the chief money crop in all the British Colonies in the New World (cash crop)
Pocahontas
Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. Daughter of Powhatan.
Nathaniel Bacon
Colonist of Virginia Colony, famous as the instigator of Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676, which collapsed when Bacon himself died from dysentery
Enclosure Movement
Legal process in England which enclosed small landholdings to create one larger farm. Once enclosed, use of land became restricted to owner, and it ceased to be communal land for communal use
Mercantilism
Mercantilism was an economic theory and practice, dominant in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, that promoted governmental regulation of a nation’s economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic counterpart of political absolutism or absolute monarchies. Mercantilism includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods. Historically, such policies frequently led to war and also motivated colonial expansion. Mercantilist theory varies in sophistication from one writer to another and has evolved over time. High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, are an almost universal feature of mercantilist policy.
Navigation Acts
Passed by parliament, prevented any other ships from trading in British Ports.
Subsistence Agriculture
Farming enough to support yourself and family, not for commercial profit
Staple Crop Agirculture
Farming crops solely for commercial use/trading and monetary gain
Royal Colony
King appoints the governor and the council
Proprietary Colony
Owned by a company, family, or group of people, and the proprietor appoints governor and council (Virginia - Virginia Company; Pennsylvania- William Penn; Maryland- the Calvert family)
Self-Governing Colony
All branches are elected by the people (Rhode Island and Connecticut)
William Bradford
Plymouth Colony Governor between 1621 and 1657
Separatists
English Protestants who occupied the extreme wing of Puritanism. They were severely critical of the Church of England and wanted to either destroy it or separate from it.
Political Party
Political group with a certain set of views and beliefs
William Penn
Created Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers. Advocate for freedom of religion
Redemptioners
Families; 2 weeks to redeem themselves for passage to new world through servitude; best colonists
Triangular Trade Route
Slave trade route between New England, W. Africa coast, and W. Indies. Rum manufactured in England / New England and shipped to Africa, traded for slaves.
Middle Passage
When slaves are transported to the new world
Royal Africa Company
Monopoly of supplying slaves to the New World. It was closed in 1752.
Slave Codes
First in Virginia in 1680; South Carolina in 1712; Louisiana - Code Noir (Black Code)
George Whitefield
English Anglican cleric who helped spread great awakening in Britain and especially, in the American colonies.
Great Awakening
Most significant religious movement in Colonial America beginning in 1740. Message was that all are sinners, and in orde to be saved, one must go through an emotional experience of being saved. 4 consequences; Increase in other denominations More humanitarian treatment of slaves Boost in education Boost to democracy in colonies
Peter Zenger
Criticized local governor in newspaper, accused of libel, found innocent, awareness for freedom of speech
Privy Council
Advisory body to King in all matters.
3 functions
Could make policy by drafting legislation and having parliament pass it
Could veto colonial law that conflicted with England (only about 5% disallowed
Heard cases on appeal from colonial court
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years’ War. The war was fought between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as Native American allies.
Treaty of Paris 1763
French and Spanish lost the war and had to give up large portions of land
France gave British all its possessions east of Mississippi River, excluding isle of Orleans, also ceded Canada
Spain ceded east and west Florida
France ceded Louisiana to Spain
New Colonial Policy
4 parts
Rigid enforcement of existing trade laws
Britain stationed a standing army of 10,000 troops
Strengthen Royal governor
Taxes to pay for new provisions
Proclamation of 1763
Proclamation line along Appalachian mountains to divide Indian territory from white settlement
Civil governments in the four areas taken after the war for non English speaking peoples- east and west Florida, Quebec, and Grenada - with no assembly
Salutary Neglect
Allowed colonies to develop on their own without any supervision
Sugar Act
Lowered dutton foreign molasses, imported mostly from the French West Indies, from 10 pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon; designed to raise revenue
External Tax
Not a tax in the colonies
Stamp Act
Internal, direct tax.
A graduated tax payable only in specie on 80-100 articles most importantly on newspapers and legal documents but also tavern licenses,playing cards, almanacs, etc.
Stamp Act Congress
1st inter colonial meeting
Virginia Resolves
Patrick Henry; laid out grievances in the tax.
Challenges rights of parliament
Sons of Liberty
Working class; favored direct violence toward tax collectors
Non Importation Movement
Boycott against British goods
Declaratory Act
Stated Parliament had right to tax colonies no matter what
Townsend Acts
External measures passed by the parliament- levied taxes on a variety of imports
Ex. Paint, lead, paper, glass, and tea
Sam Adams
Authored Massachusetts Circular Letter
Boston Massacre
Altercation between British soldiers and colonists that resulted in 5 dead colonists
Gaspee Incident
British Warship patrolling the bay. Investigated a small boat which led the Gaspee to shallow water where it crashed and radicals kidnapped British troops.
Boston Tea Party
On December 17, 1773, 150 men disguised as Indians, rowed out to ship, took it over, and dumped its cargo into the harbor. This is known as the Boston Tea Party
Tea Act
- Designed to save the British East India Company from financial ruin
- The company’s only asset was 17 million pounds of tea in warehouses around the world
- The act only permitted the company to ship the tea directly to the colonies and enabled them to sell it directly to consumers. This would bypass all middlemen and gave a monopoly over the tea market in America.
Intolerable Acts
- British angered by Boston Tea Party and responded with a series of acts known as the Intolerable Acts or Coercive Acts passed in early 1774
Massachusetts Government Act
- The Massachusetts Government Act, forbid any town meetings to be held without the governors consent
Continental Congress
- Met in fall of 1774, but was not yet talking about independence
- Four actions
1. Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, authored Joseph Warren
2. Galloway Plan of Union- calls for the congress to become permanent that would have the same standing as Parliament that would have a veto power over acts that violated colonial rights. Voted Down
3. Drafted a Declaration of Rights and Grievances- Asserts rights as colonial citizens. Forerunner to Declaration of Independence
4. The Colonial Association- machinery for another economic boycott. Stopped all exports - The Continetal Congress adjourned with the understanding that they would meet again the following spring (1775) if the grievances were not redressed.
Galloway Plan of Union
calls for the congress to become permanent that would have the same standing as Parliament that would have a veto power over acts that violated colonial rights. Voted Down
Suffolk Resolves
The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made on September 9, 1774 by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, of which Boston is the major city. The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resolved on a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the Intolerable Acts were repealed.
Iroquois (Confedracy)
5 Indian Nations; Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oneida. Formed a defensive alliance in the 15th century. Had been the most powerful native presence in the Ohio Valley since the 1640’s. Maintained autonomy by trading successfully with both French and English playing them against each other.
