Unit 1 Important Info Flashcards
Name three examples of native american societies adapting to their environment before European interaction
01 nomadic cultures in arid great plains followed migratory patterns of buffalo
02 iroquois people in northeast forests built wooden longhouses
03 southwest desert groups building canals for irrigation for crops
What are some similarities between native american groups pre-colonization?
tribal structure
reliant on natural features of specific region
no private property
ritualistic religion with single creator god + other dieties (not like the christian one)
What was the doctrine of discovery?
document written by pope to justify spanish colonialism for the purpose of converting natives to catholocism
what was the encomienda system?
spanish government grants land in new world to people
(supposedly) natives given protection in exchange for some labor, actually ended up being exploited
Who was Bartoleme De Las Casas?
important spanish clergyman, writer, and activist who argued against exploitation of natives
suggested importing enslaved africans as an alternative but eventually regretted it
What were the demographics / settlement patterns of spanish colonists?
began with mainly men (similar to english)
originally urban, later rural
less focus on settlement than british
When was St Augustine created and why was it important?
1565 spanish colony in florida
oldest continuous settlement in north america
Who was Francisco Vázquez de Coronado? (include year of important activity)
spanish conquistador in 1540
explored up to Kansas in search of seven cities of gold
wasn’t successful (death and debt)
Who was Juan de Onate? (include year of important activity)
1580
conquistador who traveled north from mexico
known for being incredibly brutal -> Acoma massacre of 1599
Name 3 notable French colonial explorers in north america and their importance. What were they looking for?
cartier - first one
la salle - explored mississippi river
champlain - vermont (lake champlain)
looking for a northwest passage to asia
What was the main focus of the French in the americas?
fur and cod trade
Why didn’t the French establish more settlements?
attempted some, but agriculture opportunity wasn’t good (bad climate, low populations)
How were the French’s relationships with natives?
better than most other european colonizers
initially had some good trade agreements, intermarriage, viewed eachother as equals
ultimately they kept stealing all the french’s land though so conflict came up (mourning wars)
What were the mourning wars?
part of iriquois cultural tradition in which after a war, they conduct raids into other tribes / the french to replace those they had lost in the war with captives
happened to french as result of conflict with iriquois
What was the initial role of the Dutch in european colonization of the americas? How and why did this change?
initially very important!
dominated early slave and sugar trade
made the new netherlands (later lost to english and becomes new york)
eventually lost land to english + lost interest in colonialism
Who was Henry Hudson? (include year of notable activity)
1609
dutch explorer for fur
How were relationships between the Dutch and the natives?
initially ok (focus on exploration)
soured when government started offering land in exchange for settlers coming over (Algonquin attacks)
Describe the start of English exploration and colonization of the Americas. (when, how, why)
after other european powers had already started
exploration was able to be sponsored after England became more centralized and politically organized under the Tudors
motivated to start exploring by colonialism, opportunities for profit (capitalism growing as a system)
Define primogeniture. Where was it used and what were its effects?
system in which the first born male of a family inherits all of the land
used in England, colonial period
made social mobility very difficult - only a small percentage of people are getting land and the rest are scrambling for whatever is not taken up by a big family -> motivation to move away from england (and into north american colonies!!)
What were the push and pull factors for early English settlers in the Americas?
push:
economy in England is not good
primogeniture - not enough land
overpopulation
pull:
gold
better climate
stop spain from gaining more power
What was Roanoke? (include date and impact)
1585
first attempt at north american colony by british
in modern day north carolina
colony is started, but England is busy fighting in a way so supplies are delayed in coming over. when they finally get over, all the settlers have disappeared!!
theorized that they went to live with natives but is unknown
caused english to create new strategy - instead of just the government putting down a huge investment in a colony, we should fund them with joint-stock companies
Who funded Jamestown and what was their goal?
virginia company!! (joint-stock)
made up of private shareholders
sending over colonists to find gold in the new world
How did it go initially for colonists in Jamestown? Why was this?
bad!!
sickness caused by climate not being as good as expected
no food caused by those who were sent over being aristocrats (unwilling to do physical labor)
tense relationships with native Powhatan confederacy due to them having knowledge of other Europeans
What was the starving time?
first period of Jamestown’s history
characterized by lots of people dying from starvation / sickness
Who was John Smith and what did he do?
colonist in Jamestown who took on a leadership role when everything was going bad (starving time)
starts organizing people and getting them to work so they can have food
attempts to get help from England
makes alliance with Powhatan confederacy (food in exchange for guns for defense against other tribes)
What happens to John Smith? What does this cause?
he gets injured and has to go back to England!!
tensions rise between the natives and colonists (he was really important in their relationship)
- also caused by english taking more and more land
What was tobacco’s role in early Jamestown?
initially the colony wasn’t making a profit, but when they got tobacco from spanish they found an opportunity to fix that!!
grows really well in Virginia so they can produce millions of pounds per year to make money
What were the main effects of tobacco starting to be grown in Jamestown?
profit!
increased need for labor -> women being brought over in 1619 to make families, headright system and indentured servitude, slavery (first brought over in 1619 also)
What was the headright system?
used in early jamestown to get labor for growing tobacco
if investors get a lot of people to come over and become indentured servants, they can get some land in the new world!
What were slavery’s effects in Africa?
destabilization!
What were the effects of slavery on the English?
control of slave trade -> english truly dominates colonialism in americas
True or false: some colonies did not participate in slavery.
False - they all did, even if only to a small extent.
What was the seasoning time?
second period of Jamestown history caused by growing of tobacco + profits
if you last a year in the colony, you will probably live a decent amount!
people are building immunity to diseases and adapting to climate
sanitation is increasing
lots of immigration! (this is what is causing population increase, not babies yet)
What was the class hierarchy like in early Jamestown?
plantation owning families on the very top!
- take all of the good land in the east, leave the worse land in west for lower class people
What was the gender hierarchy like in early Jamestown?
women have some economic freedom when unmarried (ability to own property)
women have much less rights when married and are expected to do domestic work
What was life like for colonists in early Jamestown during or after the seasoning time? (health, lifestyle, religion)
people are living much more than in the starving time, but life expectancy is still low (lack of medical institutions, still some sanitation issues, population growth from immigration)
lifestyle is very simple for most (bare houses, subsistence agriculture)
religion isn’t a huge focus for most people
- not a fundamental part of government
- generally education indicates lots of organized religion and these people were not educated
What was the House of Burgesses?
established in 1619
elected form of government in Jamestown (the first one of its type!!)
- only landowning men can vote but still
What three important things happened in Jamestown in 1619?
- first women brought over (prostitutes threatened with punishment) to start families
- first african slaves imported
- house of burgesses established
Who controlled Jamestown in the early 1620s?
originally virginia company, but their power declined due to conflict with the Powhatan over taking all their land for tobacco
becomes controlled more directly by england (crown colony) in 1624
How were relations with natives on Jamestown in the early 1620s?
not good
english keep taking all their land to grow tobacco and give to settlers
Powhatan (chief) dies in 1622 -> direct attacks on Jamestown (lots of death on both sides!!)
How did governance change when Jamestown became a crown colony?
(this happened in 1624)
governor is now appointed directly by king
representative voted government still handles matters of lower importance
What was the political and economic climate like in Jamestown pre-Bacon’s rebellion?
issues are building up!
population is increasing from immigration, but all the good land is gone so people have to settle for bad land in west
too much tobacco in the market (decrease in prices -> economic problems)
conflict with natives, they are attacking mostly the western settlers and the house of burgesses isn’t helping
What was the primary cause for Bacon’s rebellion? (progressive perspective)
natives are attacking westernmost colonists (which includes some free african americans!) and the house of burgesses is more focused on protecting the rich in the east! (class conflict!!)
What was the primary cause for Bacon’s rebellion? (neo-conservative perspective)
conflict between powerful white guys nathaniel bacon and his enemy colonial governor william berkely
(not classed based)
What did Nathaniel Bacon do in Bacon’s rebellion? What year did this take place?
1676
gathers and organizes discontent lower class (settlers, previous indentured servants) in west to storm Jamestown!!
successfully burn (some of) it down and take over the government!
but then Bacon dies like right away so they overall lose
What were the results of Bacon’s rebellion?
rich are scared of indentured servants (they were the ones doing the rebelling) -> slavery increases
house of burgesses gives in and starts fighting natives more in the west
Jamestown starts to decline -> Virginia capital moves to Williamsburg
England thinks they maybe need to take more control of the colonies
race becomes legally defined to further divide people and prevent them from organizing
What is a proprietary colony? When were they most common?
king grants land to a landowner in england to found their own colony
after 1660s became the majority
What was Maryland notable for? When was it founded)
founded in 1634
created as a safe haven for catholics by lord baltimore, but was also populated by poor protestants
made the Toleration Act
What was the Toleration Act? When and where was it created?
1649, created in Maryland
granted religious freedom for all types of Christians
When were the Carolinas created and what was their original purpose?
1663
outpost against Spanish in the south (prevented them from expanding further)
How were the Carolinas structured politically and economically?
similar political structure to House of Burgesses
- established a fundamental constitution inspired by John Locke -> democracy!! (for rich white guys)
originally economically focused on creating food for sugar colonies in Caribbean
- later transition to more plantations with indigo, lumber, rice
