MIDTERM

Question 1

Laws of 1542

Answer 1

Laws passed by the Council of the Indies under King Charles V. Also known as the “New Laws”, they abolished the slavery of Native Americans. Bartolome de Las Casas was one of the leading voices against the brutal treatment of the Native peoples.

Question 2

Bartolome de Las Casas

Answer 2

1474-1566. Las Casas was a Spanish missionary, priest, and friar. He is most well known for his defense of the Native Americans against the cruelty of his fellow Spaniards. He is largely responsible for the Laws of 1542.

Question 3

Columbian Exchange

Answer 3

In 1492, Columbus set sail for India, but found the Caribbean instead. Violence between the settlers and the Natives would ensue, but so would trade and exchange. Columbus brought horses and disease to the table, and the Natives brought tobacco, corn, chocolate, etc. Mercantilism would play a role here, as the colonies were rich in raw materials which would be sold back to Europe.

Question 4

Tobacco

Answer 4

Tobacco was a cash crop which saved Jamestown when it boomed in the 1620’s. Exports of tobacco from Jamestown increased exponentially from 1620-1640. This business boom lead to the need for new forms of labor, which would lead to the use of indentured servitude. In Barbados, they tried growing tobacco but it wasn’t that good, so they gambled on sugar, and won.

Question 5

Northwest Passage

Answer 5

The Northwest Passage was believed to be a water passage that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Many believed there was a way to get through North America by water. We know now that the Northwest Passage does not exist. Many tried and failed to find it.

Question 6

City on a Hill

Answer 6

Massachusetts Bay colony was thought to be a perfect society (new Jerusalem). The thought was that the new colonies would be a beacon to the world. John Winthrop was the one who used this term in his speech, and it has since been referenced many times.

Question 6

New Amsterdam

Answer 6

A 17th century Dutch settlement established on the southern tip of Manhattan Island. It was the capitol of New Netherlands, and was a trade hot-spot. In 1664, the English sent a fleet of warships and surrounded New Amsterdam, which would cause them to peacefully surrender. New Amsterdam would later become New York.

Question 7

Headrights

Answer 7

individuals are promised a certain amount of land in the new world if they pay their way to get there. you get more land for everyone who you pay to bring over. Virginia was the first colony to use headrights.

Question 8

Atlantic Creole

Question 9

Carolina in Ye West Indies

Answer 9

Carolina largely got its start from younger brothers leaving home to get their own land and make money, since the elder siblings would get the inheritance.

In order to increase settling of Carolina, they employed a headrights system. They would go to Barbados and offer 150 acres of land to whoever would go. They also knew they would need slave labor.

They begin making money by raising cattle and selling them to Barbados, because Barbados was too focused on sugar to grow their own food.

By the late 1720’s, Carolina had turned to traditional planting (rice, tar, resin, etc.).

Question 10

King Phillip’s War

Answer 10

New England 1670’s. Philip was the chief of the Wampanoags. The Plymouth Colony executed 3 of Philip’s warriors after they were found guilty of murdering John Sassamon, a Native who had converted to Christianity.

The Narraganset tribe joined the Wampanoags in an attempt to reclaim Massachusetts.

These events lead to a violent war. The colonial militia was gathered together along with Native allies such as the Mohawks, and they began a siege on the Narraganset’s main base. The colonists burnt the Narraganset’s settlements, and in turn the Narragansets burnt every settlement in Rhode Island. Eventually king Phillip was killed, and the Narragansets were virtually wiped out.

Question 11

Bacon’s Rebellion

Answer 11

Cause: Navigation Act and overproduction of tobacco.

Effect: Government policy was issued to prevent any future incidences.

Nathaniel Bacon lead a rebellion against the local government, which was lead by Governor William Berkeley. Berkeley had been attempting to create peace between the settlers and the Natives, but Bacon rejected that notion as he was in favor of pushing the Natives out to take their land. Fighting between the Natives and settlers ensued. Bacon and his 600 followers marched into the capital of Jamestown in September of 1676, and burned it to the ground as Berkeley fled.

Question 12

Taverns and Ordinaries

Question 13

Mercantilism and Navigation System

Answer 13

Mercantilism is the theory that trade generates wealth, and so accumulating profitable assets for trading will increase wealth. The British did this with the colonies by using them to harvest the plentiful raw materials, and in turn trading/purchasing goods from Britain rather than other nations. Britain would create laws and acts that required the colonies to buy from them, while also using what the colonies provided to turn a profit.

Mid 17th century.

The Navigation Acts were restrictions imposed on the colonies trade. The acts essentially forced the colonies to trade with England exclusively, and forced the colonies to buy from England rather than other nations.

Question 14

The Great Awakening

Answer 14

A religious revival that swept through the colonies, peaking in the 1740’s. Ministers like George Whitefield, John Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards were heavily influential. The emphasis of the revival fell on the individual’s salvation, and personal piety as a result of Justification by Faith.

Question 15

Salutary Neglect

Answer 15

Late 17th, early to mid 18th century.

Salutary Neglect refers to England’s lack of enforcement concerning the various laws (particularly trade laws) and acts imposed on the colonies. The goal was to keep colonial allegiance whilst Britain was focused on European affairs.

Salutary Neglect came to and end when the 7 Year’s War ended (1763), and Britain was in debt. Taxes in the colonies were a way to make money back. The British began enforcing the Navigation Acts, whilst also passing more acts.

This would lead to the Boston Tea Party a decade later, as well as contribute to the American Revolution.

Question 16

Proclamation Line of 1763

Answer 16

Immediately following the 7 Year’s War (aka the French and Indian War), the British government decreed the Proclamation Line of 1763. Its goal was simple: keep the colonists from moving westward into Native territory.

2 main reasons for this line are:

1) Britain was worried that if the settlers kept moving west into Native territory, it would incite more violence from the Natives, as well as the French settlers of the region.

2) Britain was worried that if the colonists kept moving west, it would threaten their mercantile economic system. If the colonists moved west and began to farm, they may become economically independent, and that would be detrimental for Britain, particularly due to the fact that they were in debt from the 7 Year’s War.

Question 17

Stamp Act

Answer 17

An act of the British Parliament passed in 1765.

Britain was in debt from the 7 Year’s War, and needed money. They imposed taxes on the colonies to make that money. The Stamp Act was a tax on all paper documents in the colonies. The colonies found it to be grossly unfair that they were taxed by a government system they had no representation in. The colonists resorted to mob violence against the stamp collectors. Repealed in 1766.

Question 18

Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

Answer 18

1775.

Dunmore was Virginia’s royal governor.

Dunmore’s proclamation established a law that offered freedom to slaves who would leave their owners and join the British army. This eventually failed, as Dunmore was forced out of the colony the following year (1776). He did take 300 former slaves with him.

Question 19

Boston Massacre

Answer 19

Boston Massachusetts, 1770. Boston citizens insult the redcoats and threaten them. A melee battle ensues, but would be cut short when the redcoats shoot their muskets into the crowd and kill 5 men.

Elaborate funerals are held, and this event is used as leverage against the British. John Adams shockingly says he would defend the soldiers. Paul Revere famously portrayed this event in a painting, showing the colonists being ruthlessly slaughtered.

Question 20

Mumbet

Answer 20

A woman who sued for her freedom (1779-80/after the Revolutionary war)

Question 21

Loyalists

Answer 21

Also called “Tories”, loyalists were colonists that were loyal to Great Britain. They made up anywhere between 1/6-1/3 of the American Population. During the Revolution, they took up arms against the rebels.

In 1773, most people were actually loyalists, with smaller groups such as the Sons of Liberty being the rebellious minority. But following the Intolerable Acts, the momentum switched. Following the Revolutionary War, the loyalists left, and fled to Canada or Britain.

Question 22

Republicanism

Answer 22

In opposition to the Federalists, Republicanism came from the antifederalists. They wanted a strict construction of the Constitution, a weak/small central (federal government), and were in support of the French Revolution. They feared tyranny, and as a result did not want a large federal government. Many of them opposed the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry were among the antifederalists.

Question 23

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Answer 23

Though not penned by Jefferson directly, this ordinance was heavily influenced by the principles of Jefferson’s ordinance of 1784.

The ordinance outlined how a new state was to join the Union, and guaranteed new states that they would be equal to the original 13. It also promised religious freedom in the states. It also outlawed slavery in the new territories, and outlined which civil liberties were to be protected.

Question 24

Maryland Freedom Petitions and Suit