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Chapter 03 - North American in the Atlantic World, 1640-1720

I.    Introduction

Between 1640 and 1720, the mainland colonies became increasingly involved in a network of trade and international contacts that led to territorial expansion and economic growth. The introduction of slavery, changing relations with England, and conflicts with their neighbors shaped this colonial development.

    II.    The Restoration Colonies

A.    Proprietorships
Six new proprietary colonies, known as the Restoration colonies, were founded during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685).

B.    New York
Charles gave his younger brother, the Duke of York, claim to the area the Dutch had previously settled as New Netherland.
C.    The Duke’s Laws
Proclaimed by the Duke of York in 1665, the Duke’s Laws tolerated the maintenance of Dutch legal practices and allowed each town in New York to decide which church to support with its tax revenues. However, no provision was made for a representative assembly.
D.    Founding of New Jersey
The Duke of York regranted much of his land to two friends, thereby limiting the geographical extent and economic growth of New York.
E.    Pennsylvania: A Quaker Haven
Charles II gave William Penn a grant in 1681 to repay a debt he owed Penn’s father. A leading member of the Society of Friends, William Penn sought to establish a tolerant, humane, and dynamic colony.
F.    William Penn’s Indian Policy
Penn attempted to treat Indians fairly, which in turn attracted many Indian immigrants to his colony. These newcomers often clashed with Europeans also attracted by Penn’s policies.
G.    Founding of Carolina
Charles chartered Carolina in 1663. The northern region remained linked to Virginia and developed differently than did the area around Charleston.

    III.    1670-1680: A Decade of Crisis

A.    New France and the Iroquois
The French claimed the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley. This expansion brought France into conflict with the Iroquois Confederacy, which exerted great influence in what became the northeastern United States. Competition for European trade sparked a series of wars in the region that lasted until 1701.
B.    French Expansion into the Mississippi Valley
After the French founded New Orleans in 1718, its posts along the Mississippi became the glue of empire.
C.    Popé and the Pueblo Revolt
Resentment over Spanish treatment led a shaman named Popé to lead a revolt among the Pueblo Indians in 1680. This uprising was the most successful Indian resistance in North America.
D.    Spain’s North American Possessions
By using forts and missions, Spain expanded its holdings to include California and Texas.
E.    Population Pressures in New England
The population increase in the New England area placed great pressure on available land.
F.    King Philip’s War
Concerned by the encroachment of English settlers King Philip, chief of the Pokanokets, led a bloody war in New England in 1675-1676.
G.    Bacon’s Rebellion
Conflict between English settlers and Indians in Virginia turned into a political struggle between Nathaniel Bacon and Governor William Berkeley.

    IV.    The Introduction of African Slavery

A.    Labor-Supply Problems in the Chesapeake
As fewer English men and women came to the Chesapeake as indentured servants, Chesapeake tobacco growers sought a new source of labor for their plantations.
B.    Why African Slavery?
Slavery had been practiced in Europe (although not in England) for centuries. European Christians also believed that enslaving heathen peoples was justifiable.
C.    Atlantic Creoles in Societies with Slaves
In the early English colonies, residents of African descent varied in status.  These early mainland colonies have been characterized as “societies with slaves” as opposed to “slave societies.”
D.    The Beginnings of Mainland Slave Societies
Mainland colonists began the large-scale importation of Africans in the 1670s, at first bringing slaves in from the Caribbean islands but eventually carrying them directly from Africa.

    V.    The Web of Empire and the Atlantic Slave Trade

A.    Atlantic Trading System
The traffic in slaves became the linchpin of a complicated web of exchange that tied the peoples of the Atlantic world together.
B.    New England and the Caribbean
The sale of New England foodstuffs and wood products to Caribbean sugar planters provided New Englanders with a major source of income.
C.    The Human Tragedy of the Slave Trade
This voyage that transported Africans to the Americas proved particularly deadly, with high percentages of black slaves and white overseers dying in Africa or at sea.
D.    West Africa and the Slave Trade
West Africa experienced profound demographic changes because of the slave trade. Also, some African kings consolidated their political power as a result of the role they played in the commerce.
E.    European Rivalries and the Slave Trade
Europeans benefited the most from the slave trade, and their economies shifted away from trade in Asia and the Mediterranean to the Atlantic trade. Furthermore, attempts to control the slave trade caused rivalries among European nations.
F.    Mercantilism
England used its colonies in an attempt to become self-sufficient while maintaining a favorable balance of trade with other countries.
G.    Navigation Acts
Parliament sought to advance its mercantilist policies through a series of trade laws passed between 1651 and 1673. These acts, which made England the center of all trade, met with resistance in North America.
H.    Board of Trade and Plantations
In 1696, Parliament hoped to improve its administration over the colonies when it established the Board of Trade and Plantations.

    VI.    Enslavement in North America

A.    Enslavement in the Chesapeake
By 1710, Africans made up 20 percent of the population in the Chesapeake.
B.    Impact of Slavery on the Anglo-American Chesapeake
This concentration of slaves influenced the economic activities, demographic patterns, and social values of the region.
C.    Enslavement in South Carolina
The large number of slaves in South Carolina, along with similarities in the climates of West Africa and the colony, helped ensure the survival of African culture.
D.    Rice and Indigo
South Carolina developed a rice economy based mostly on skills brought in by enslaved Africans. Indigo, too, flourished because of knowledge bought by West Indian slaves.
E.    Indian Enslavement in North and South Carolina
Indians were among the many people held in slavery in both the Carolinas. Bitterness over the trade in Indian slaves caused the Tuscarora War.
F.    Yamasee War
The abuses associated with the trade in Indian slaves also led to the Yamasee War in South Carolina.
G.    Slaves in Spanish North America
Spanish authorities in Florida in 1693 offered freedom to runaway slaves who would convert to Catholicism.
H.    Slaves in French Louisiana
Both Africans and Indians were held as slaves in French Louisiana, but Louisiana remained a society with slaves rather than a slave society.
I.    Enslavement in the North
Involvement of the northern colonies in the slave trade ensured that many people of African descent lived in that region.

    VII.    Colonial Political Development, Imperial Reorganization, and the Witchcraft Crisis

A.    Colonial Political Structures
Each of the colonies generally had a governor, some form of council, and an assembly.  Local political institutions, such as town meetings or county courts, also developed in America.
B.    A Tradition of Autonomy Challenged
James II and his successors attempted to tighten the reins of government by reducing the colonies’ political autonomy.
C.    Dominion of New England
James II attempted to strengthen royal control over the New England colonies by creating the Dominion of New England in 1686.
D.    Glorious Revolution in America
News of the Glorious Revolution encouraged New Englanders to overthrow Governor Edmund Andros.
E.    King William’s War
A war with the French and their Algonquian allies added to New England’s problems.
F.    The 1692 Witchcraft Crisis
A witch hunt broke out in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The intense but short-lived incident reflected the social and political stresses of the day.
G.    Accommodation to Empire
Although the colonists resented the new imperial order, they adjusted to its demands and restrictions.

 

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