The Nature of Colonial Rule

Question 1

Models of political, social and economic exploitation

Question 2

Development of these models, their successes and failures

Question 3

Privateering

Answer 3

• Drake’s circumnavigation hugely helpful in terms of maritime knowledge, encouraged privateering to expand through fame and economic returns
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  North America
• Roanoke, Raleigh and Grenville improved knowledge of area and navigation
  Caribbean
• Used Henry Morgan and other privateers as irregulars to protect islands
• After Treaty of Madrid (1670) they were made to choose between piracy and legitimacy

Question 4

Mercantilism

Answer 4

• England has implemented mercantile policies since Tudor times
• Aimed to restrict imports from foreign nations and increase exports
• Policy particularly evident from 1650 onwards
• Navigation Acts, Molasses Act 1733

Question 5

Trading/charted companies

Answer 5

North America
- Virginia Company founded Jamestown but lost charter in 1624, then Virgina became Royal Company
- Massachusetts Bay Company (1629) had been established to form colony, had an elected assembly dominated by Puritans
- Hudson Bay Company (1670) had little population to control
Caribbean
- Royal Africa Company (1660) lost its monopoly 1698, mainly provided slaves but role lessened as individual slave traders took over
India
- East India Company, Charles II could print his own money and have arm
- Influence was mainly economic until 1750s

Question 6

Cash crops/ plantations

Answer 6

North America
- Tobacco, crown encouraged production
Caribbean
- Tobacco then sugar
India
- 1750s onwards, opium and indigo grown in Bengal

Question 7

Indentured labour

Answer 7

North America
- Many moved from England, about 1/2 of all English immigrants 1630-1783
Caribbean
- Majority of white people going to the Caribbean were indentured
- As slavery increased the number of indentured labourers decreased

Question 8

Navigation Acts

Answer 8

North America
- Controlled trade carried out the colonies
- Many colonies felt it was too restrictive and led to an increase in smuggling
Caribbean
- Protected sugar trade from cheaper sugar
- All re-exports to go through London
India
- Items from the East transported on English ships with mostly English crews

Question 9

Slavery

Question 10

Banking

Answer 10

Banking and finance hugely benefitted from Empire, London became an economic centre for finance, particularly boosted by slavery

Question 11

Religion

Answer 11

North America
- Massachusetts Bay

Question 12

Ports, bases and trading posts

Answer 12

North America
- Hudson Bay area, forts eg. Albany Fort, York Factory
India
- Surat, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras

Question 13

How were the North American colonies governed?

Answer 13

• All colonies were subordinate to the crown
• Admin was overseen by Lords of Trade (1675), then the Board of Trade (1696)
• Lords of trade set up by Charles to control the colonies, they had no money to spend on the colonies and did not interfere with the large trading companies, they heard appeals from the colonial courts and monitored legislation of the colonies to ensure it was in accordance with British interests

Question 14

How were the Caribbean colonies governed?

Answer 14

• West Indies proprietors were replaced by royal governors
• 1627, Leewards and Barbados were grouped together, but this was found to be difficult to administer, so Leewards gained their own governor
• 1671, St Kitts, Nevis and other islands got their own separate governors
• 1674, first Federation of West Indies was established, each island had two representatives
• Some islands had to hire irregulars for protection against foreign threats, one of which was Henry Morgan, who eventually became Governor of Jamaica
• Lords of Trade also had power over Caribbean colonies

Question 15

How were the Indian colonies governed?

Answer 15

• For majority of period, the factories were part of England’s informal Empire
• In Madras, the EIC had a municipal council which handled the day to day running of the settlement, this included men from the EIC as well as locals
• After Treaty of Allahabad in 1765, the EIC’s. rule was on a more formal footing as it was allowed to collect taxes and decide on civil cases

Question 16

What was Britain’s relationship with the North American colonies like?

Answer 16

Charles II
- Took over a sensible colonial policy
- Setting up an Empire was official policy, each colony was examined to see what could be gained
- 1670s, amount of colonies doubled
Charles II and James II
- Both concerned with Massachusetts, had behaved like an independent state for the last 50 years
- It’s charter (established 1679) was attacked in court in 1684, with Charles and James claiming that the country had exceeded its authority
James II
- Set out to create Dominion of New England to unite Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York
- Was to be no elected assembly, designed to be easily controlled by Britain
William III
- Wanted to bring the colonies under control, DoNE collapsed in 1689, William was more concerned about the growing power of France
- After King William’s War, the Crown tried to unify the colonies, however this proved to be an issue with colonies such as Massachusetts opposing, so this plan was abandoned in favour of protecting the Caribbean
1700-1757 - Salutary Neglect
1763 onward - GB expected colonists to pay for their own defence, so introduced new taxes, Sugar Act 1764, Stamp Act 1765

Question 17

What was Britain’s relationship with the Caribbean colonies like?

Answer 17

• Fear of a shift in population balance due to slavery, so GB tried to bring over political prisoners
• Passed laws to make planters employ more white workers
• English government maintained a small military force on the islands, but it was not big enough to prevent invasion or stop a slave revolt
• Charles II got the Barbados assembled to grant him 4.5% tax on sugar imported from the islands
• Islands provided a lot of money for the Crown, money was used to protect the trade routes

Question 18

What was Britain’s relationship with the Indian colonies like?

Answer 18

• EIC needed permission from the Mughal Emperor to trade
• Many employees of the EIC were interlopers and traded for their own benefit, this was difficult to control due to the distance between the East and GB
• Up to 1757, the EIC’s influence only stretched as far as their factories, however after Plassey this influence grew
• 1768-70, devastating famine in Bengal, EIC did very little to help, in fact worsened its effects

Question 19

Taxation

Answer 19

North America
- Assemblies imposed taxes
- British government introduced taxes which led to opposition from colonists: Wool Act 1699, Molasses Act 1733, Sugar Act 1764, Stamp Act 1765

Caribbean
- Charles got Barbados to grant him a 4.5% tax on sugar

India
- 1765, EIC were given Diwani, the right to collect taxes in Orissa and Bengal, they increased tax on agricultural products from 10% to 50%

Question 20

Law making

Answer 20

North America
- Parliament/ crown made laws for the empire
- Assemblies made laws applicable to that colony, which were monitored by governors to ensure they were followed and Board of Trade to ensure they were acceptable under British rule

Caribbean
- See above

India
- 1773, after the Regulating Act the legal system was reformed and was similar to the British system