Unit 2 Flashcards
What were the primary sources of Spanish wealth from the Americas?
Agriculture and the mining of silver and gold
Why did the French explore?
To find a water route through the Americas which would give them access to trade in Asia, which they weren’t able to find
Who founded Quebec?
Samuel de Champlain
How did French colonial policies differ from the Spanish?
-The French had a greater interest in trade than in conquest, especially in the fish and fur trade
-Few French colonizers should up in the Americas
What is one example of French-Native American relations?
The French made alliances with the Ojibwe;
The natives benefitted the French because they were skilled in the process of preparing beaver pelts for market;
The French benefitted the natives by introducing iron cookware, farming tools, and manufactured cloth
How did the Dutch begin their exploration of the Americas?
With Henry Hudson attempting to find a water passage through the Americas and instead discovering a river which would be named the Hudson River;
The Dutch later got the territory around the river as a colony they named New Amsterdam
What was the Dutch’s goal with their settlements?
Economic-based;
New Amsterdam became a trading hub that attracted other traders
How were the Dutch different in their colonial practices?
They had no interest in coverting natives to their beliefs
Why were the British interested in colonizing the Americas?
Mainly because of economics;
The English economy changed as a result of the Columbian Exchange; the wars with France; the costly conquest of Ireland
– these all meant that the wealth of the nobility was decreasing
Why were the peasantry of England also suffering financial hardship?
The Enclosure Movement took their land and sold it to private parties
In general, what were British motivations for colonizing the Americas?
-Economic opportunities
-Land (Think back to the Enclosure Movement)
-Religious freedom
How did British colonial practices differ from the French, Dutch, and the Spanish?
-Came to America in family groups
-Landed in places where there were no large empires to coerce into working for them
-Instead of subjugating the native population, they expelled them
What was the first English colony established in the Americas?
Jamestown in 1607
What was the joint-stock company model of funding?
In order to pay for exploration, a group of investors pulled their money together and shared the financial risk;
A private venture as opposed to a public one
How was the Jamestown colony kept afloat after it struggled with famine and disease?
The cultivation of tobacco, as prompted by John Rofle
Who conducted most of the labor in the English colonies?
Indentured servants, people who signed a 7-year contract in which they work to pay off their settlement fees and then went free
What was an effect of the success of tabacco?
Farmers needed more land to farm their tobacco, which meant enroachment on land owned by the natives;
This, in turn, got the natives to raid and destroy settlements, which prompted the settlers to consult their governor regarding the matter (William Berkeley)
What was Bacon’s Rebellion?
Resentful of native violenece and Berkeley’s neglect, Nathanial Bacon led other poor farmers and indentured servants in an attack against Native Americans and plantations owned by Berkeley
What was the effect of Bacon’s Rebellion?
Out of fear for uprisings, elite farmers started turning to a more reliable source of labor: African slaves
Who settled the New England colonies?
Pilgrims
Who were the Puritans?
Protestants unhappy with the theology and structures of the Church of England
Why did the Pilgrims go to America?
Economic reasons;
They needed to find a way to make a living in a rural area
What is a difference between Jamestown colonies and New England colonies?
New England colonists came not for profit but to create societies and family economies as farmers
Why did the British establish colonies in the West Indies and South Atlantic Coast?
For growing cash crops;
The main cash crop grown in these regions was sugarcane
What were slave codes?
Strict regulations on behavior for African slaves and formal definition of enslaved persons as property
What was the economy of New York and New Jersey?
Export economy based on cereal crops
How was Pennsylvania unlike other colonies?
Religious freedom was recognized for all
How were all the English colonies similar?
Exhibited democratic systems of governance
What was the House of Burgesses?
A representative assembly which could levy taxes on the population and pass laws
What was the Mayflower Compact?
Organized the Pilgrims’ government on the model of a self-governing Church congregation
Who dominated the governments/societies of the middle and southern colonies?
Middle - elite merchants
South - elite plantation owners
What was the Triangular Trade?
From England to West Africa: rum for enslaved laborers
From West Africa to British West Indies: enslaved laborers for sugarcane
From British West Indies to England: sugarcane for rum
How did mercantilism view wealth?
-Assumed that there was a fixed amount of wealth in the world
-Wealth was measured in gold and silver
What was the goal of mercantilism?
To maintain a favorable balance of trade
(i.e., a nation has more exports than imports)
How were colonies useful in the mercantilist view?
-Gave mercantilist powers access to raw materials
-Colonies could become markets for their manufactured goods
What were the Navigation Acts?
Laws that required merchants to engage in trade with English colonies exclusively in English ships and required valuable trade items to pass exclusively through British ports (which were taxed)
What were the differences between British and Spanish interactions with native populations?
-British were not interested in intermarrying
-At first, interactions between British and natives were peaceful (British provided manufactured goods and iron tools; natives schooled British in farming and hunting)
-Expelled natives as opposed to subjugating them
What was Metacom’s War/King Phillip’s War?
-1675
-In which Metacom, chief of the Wampanoags, led an attach against the colonists because he recognized that their growth meant loss of ancestral way of life
What were the differences between French and (British and Spanish) interactions with the natives?
-Much less invasive
-Saw natives as trade partners and military allies
-Maintained decent relations
-Instead of settling in the Americas, the French focused more on establishing trade posts
How did natives react to the realization that the Europeans were here to stay?
-Alliance
-Left/migrated
-Resistance
Why was slavery used in the British colonies?
-Increased demand for colonial agricultural goods
-Shortage of indentured servants for labor
Where did most enslaved people in the British colonies end up?
British West Indies
What were the covert means of resistance to slavery?
-Practiced cultural customs from homeland
-Maintained belief systems
-Spoke native languages
-Slowed pace of work by breaking tools and damaging crops
What were the overt means of resistance to slavery?
-Rebellion (think Stono Rebellion 1739 in South Carolina, in which enslaved men stole weapons from a store and proceeded to kill white plantation owners)
What was the Enlightenment?
Movement in Europe that emphasized rational thinking over tradition and religious revelation
What Enlightenment ideas were popular in the colonies?
-Natural rights (all human beings had rights to life, liberty, and property)
-Checks and balances
-Social contract (power to govern was in the hands of the people and people had the right to rebel)
What was the Great Awakening?
-Response to the Enlightenment by the new light clergy, who were inspired by German pietism (which emphasized the heart over the head)
-Massive religious revival
-Generated intense Christian devotion and enthusiasm
Who were pivotal people in the Great Awakening Movement?
-Jonathan Edwards, writer of “Sinners At The Hands of An Angry God”
-George Whitfield, traveled a lot in the colonies to preach
What was the effect of the Great Awakening?
Created a movement that bound American society together
What was impressment?
The practice of seizing men and forcing them to serve in the Royal Navy
What were the difference between attitudes towards impressment?
-The English thought it was fine
-The colonists, who were being impressed, didn’t like it
