Notes
Different European colonial goals
- Spain: wealth, conversion to Catholicism; a strict social hierarchy.
- France and the Netherlands: fur trade; small populations that relied on alliances and intermarriage with Native peoples.
- England: large numbers of settlers who wanted land, which caused conflict with Native people.
The British colonies
| Region | Economy | Society |
|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake (Virginia, Maryland) | Tobacco | Indentured servants, then enslaved Africans; Jamestown (1607) |
| New England | Small farms, trade, fishing, shipbuilding | Puritan communities, town meetings, family groups |
| Middle Colonies | Grain exports, trade | Ethnically and religiously diverse (Pennsylvania, New York) |
| Southern colonies and the Caribbean | Rice, indigo, sugar | Large plantations; enslaved majority in places like South Carolina |
- Bacon's Rebellion (1676): poor whites and servants rebelled in Virginia over frontier policy. Afterward, planters relied more on enslaved Africans than on indentured servants.
Native American relations
- Conflicts: the Powhatan wars, Metacom's War (King Philip's War, 1675–1676) in New England, and the Pueblo Revolt (1680) against the Spanish.
- Trade and alliances also shaped relations, and guns and horses changed Native life.
The Atlantic world and slavery
- Triangular trade linked Britain, Africa and the Americas. The Middle Passage brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic in brutal conditions.
- Mercantilism: colonies existed to enrich the home country. The Navigation Acts required colonial trade to go through England. Weak enforcement (salutary neglect) let colonies govern themselves.
- Slave codes made slavery hereditary and race-based. Enslaved people resisted through slowdowns, keeping cultural traditions, running away, and revolts like the Stono Rebellion (1739).
Colonial society and ideas
- Self-government: the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact, town meetings.
- The Enlightenment emphasized reason and natural rights. The First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s) was a religious revival that challenged established churches' authority.
- Growing Anglicization (shared British culture, trade, and the printing press) tied colonists to Britain.
Practice
Trade relationships were essential to the French economy.
Tobacco was the main cash crop of Virginia and Maryland.
Enslaved labor seemed less likely to cause rebellion by poor whites.
Colonies served the home country's economy.
Pennsylvania and New York attracted many groups.
Preachers like George Whitefield drew huge crowds.
It was one of the largest slave revolts in the colonies.
Pilgrims agreed to form a civil government by consent.
Free response
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Free-response question
Answer (a), (b) and (c).
(a) Briefly describe ONE difference between the economies of New England and the Chesapeake in the 1600s.
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New England relied on small family farms, fishing, trade and shipbuilding, while the Chesapeake depended on large tobacco farms worked by indentured servants and, later, enslaved Africans.
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(b) Briefly explain ONE reason for that difference.
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New England's rocky soil and cold climate weren't good for cash crops, while the Chesapeake's warm climate and long growing season suited tobacco.
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(c) Briefly explain ONE way the Navigation Acts affected the colonies.
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They required colonies to trade mainly with England and ship goods on English ships, limiting colonial profits and leading to smuggling.
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