I. Europe and the Colonies

I. Europe and the Colonies a. Colonial Characteristics i. Colonists and visitors praised natural bounty of the land ii. Downplayed significance of natural inhabitants and native people iii. Each imperial country treated natives differently 1. France had better relations with natives in northern North America than in the Gulf region—allies and trading partners 2. English and Dutch remained generally hostile to native people 3. Spain attempted to colonize and Christianize native people (create little pseudo-Spaniards) iv. Introduction of European colonists into New World permanently altered everything – 1st impressions b. Spain i. Imperial Motivation 1. Secure mineral wealth for Spanish throne: GOLD, GOLD, GOLD 2. Develop labor source: NATIVES, NATIVES, NATIVES 3. Develop trans-Pacific shipping—connect California, Indonesia, Philippines, and Japan ii. Franciscan missionary activity begins in New Mexico, 1598 iii. Proclaims peace and Christian ideals iv. Problems of Spanish rule in North America 1. Enforced civilization in California and the Southwest 2. Disrupted traditions and customs, particularly matriarchal social units (antithetical to Christianity) 3. Introduced epidemics and disease, resulting in depopulation v. Reactions against the Spanish 1. Pueblo Uprising (1680)—attempted to drive out missionaries 2. Spanish brutally suppressed Pueblo Indians (1693) vi. Spain’s Empire (Very Fragmented) 1. Florida/St. Augustine 2. Mexico 3. California 4. Arizona 5. Nevada 6. Texas 7. Cuba c. England i. Imperial Motivation 1. Protestants challenge Catholic Spain for global/naval domination 2. Capture trade opportunities—Gold, timber, fishing, and sassafras 3. Overpopulation a. Agricultural Revolution in Europe and crop rotation resulted in birth increase b. Primogeniture, practice of first son inheritance, resulted in disenfranchised second/third/fourth sons c. Crop Enclosure resulted in decreased land availability and urban migration 4. Puritanism, a sect of Protestantism, was inherently elitist 5. The Joint-Stock and Charter System a. Became the basis for modern corporate system—stockholders invest in colonial property for economic exploitation b. Investors apply with king for permission and receives a charter, written permission to begin business activity 6. English Civil Wars ii. Problems of English rule 1. Constant tension between colonists and native people 2. First colonies suffered from poor management, lack of resources, native raids, and starvation 3. Competition for resources between France and England 4. Poor communication from England iii. England’s Empire 1. The Middle Colonies a. Included the Virginias and the Chesapeake region b. Motivation based on mixed economy: shipping, cash crops (tobacco), and timber c. Settled under the Virginia Co. charter: Jamestown (1607), Maryland (1632) d. Problems: 1. Disease (dysentery, malaria, and typhoid) resulted in immediate decimation of colonies (no drainage, mosquitoes, sewage, tainted soil), 2. Native tensions (Powhatan Indians already lived there) 3. Virginia’s House of Burgesses overstepped boundaries and charter was revoked, then reinstated e. Mixed economy: corn, tobacco, and wheat— avoid soil depletion 1. Tobacco exports 1630—1.5 million pounds 2. Tobacco exports 1700—40 million pounds 3. Resulted in inflation, lowered price for unit, and recession 4. Large scale agriculture resulted in plantation-style ownership i. Few average men could afford land, many landless and poor ii. Resulted in organized rebellion led by Nathanial Bacon (1676), challenging Gov. Berkeley’s lack of protection and help against an Indian raid iii. Indicated the growing problem of landless, disenfranchised, poor whitesHighlighted the need for free labor f. Common Chesapeake Culture 1. Settlements developed around numerous waterways and coast 2. Agriculture was backbone of economy 3. Act of Toleration: established nominal religious freedom and refuge from other colonies 4. Some use of African slaves (first imported in 1619) 5. Very few females in Middle Colonies, resulting in slow birth rate (3 men/1 female) 6. De-centralized, non-nuclear family units, few children had grandparents, aunts, and uncles 7. Average life span less than 50 years 8. Immigrants largely without property 9. Women had greater status than in New England i. Allowed for divorce and remarriage ii. Provided for property ownership and inheritance iii. Pre-marital pregnancy accepted 2. New England a. Included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, etc b. Mainly colonized by Protestants 1. Based on the teachings of Luther, Calvin, and Henry VIII 2. Anti-Catholic and Anti-Pope— considered Catholics to be idol worshippers, cannibals, and overly materialistic 3. Believed in predestination—that salvation is based on predetermined decision of God (it doesn’t matter what happens in life, the decision is already made) 4. Conversion separates the saved from the damned c. Pilgrims and Protestant Separatism 1. Believed in a purer form of Protestants 2. “Invaded” North America beginning in 1620 3. Settled in land purchased from Virginia Co. 4. Arrived, via the Mayflower, in Plymouth i. Only 1/3 of people on boat were “Puritan”, the rest were hired mercenaries ii. Mayflower Compact, loose rules signed by all men, indicates a degree of self-government apart from England iii. Governed by William Bradford for 30 years, chosen by annual elections d. The Massachusetts Bay Colony 1. MBC was the overarching corporate/colonial entity 2. Provided protection and consistent economic opportunity 3. 1630 – Settled near Boston under leadership of John Winthrop, who continued to govern Boston for 19 years 4. Church and state officially separate e. Common New England Culture 1. Immigrants arrived in colonies as family – population increased steadily and quickly 2. Household = microcosm of society w/ jobs and responsibilities; male dominated (like leadership and clergy) 3. Population increase required expansion in Connecticut 4. No large scale agriculture, resulted in no significant use of slaves 5. Most economic activity based on merchants, trading goods, shipping, and small business 6. Women had few rights—convicted of adultery (forced to wear an “A”, a “Scarlet Letter”) f. Challenges and problems for New England 1. Destroyed Pequot Indians and sold them to West Indies 2. Roger Williams advocated separation of Church and State and protested existing elitism of New England i. Was soon expelled from Massachusetts ii. Founded Rhode Island, considered a sewer of derelicts, outcasts, radicals, crazies, non- Conformists, and Jews iii. Bought land from Narragensetts 3. Anne Hutchinson questioned male dominance i. Held meetings in her house ii. Claimed that God spoke directly to her, didn’t require the Communion of God iii. Antinomianism iv. Banished from Massachusetts and settled in Rhode Island 3. The Southern Colonies a. Included the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia b. Motivation based on large-scale agricultural production: rice, tobacco, indigo, and later cotton c. Southern culture 1. Decentralized settlements due to migratory patterns 2. Few large cities, villages, or towns 3. Most immigrants arrived for agricultural production 4. Development of “planter aristocracy”, a rigid social system based on feudal European patterns i. Virginia Plantation owners quickly established political and economic dominance 1. FFV—First Families of Virginia included Fitzhughs, the Lees (as in Gen. Lee), and the Washingtons 2. Owned most of the property 3. Controlled Virginia’s legislature: House of Burgesses 4. Widened gap between rich and the poor ii. Dependent on landless/poor whites and the importation of slaves 5. Women enjoyed greater status, were allowed education, particularly in math, science, and “letters” d. Slavery 4. Debunking Myths a. Not all the people on the Mayflower were Pilgrims b. Before landing at Plymouth, the Pilgrims had surveyed the New England coast, landing at Plymouth because it indicated settlement and agriculture c. The Pilgrims were squatters, without legal charter to their land d. Myles Standish proved an excellent negotiator and Indian fighter 5. New Colonial Institutions—Elements of Democracy a. Annual elections by “freemen,” adult males who belonged to the Puritan Congregation (later Congregationalists) b. Mayflower Compact—first freely signed set of rules in North America c. Private property, inheritance, and participation in Church affairs==Suffrage d. Virginia’s House of Burgesses—Considered first colonial legislature and a model for a bicameral (two house) congress