Chapter 3 The Emergence of Colonial Societies 1625-1700.

Chapter 3

The Emergence of Colonial Societies1625-1700

Introduction

• By 1700, more than 250,000 people of European ancestry, mostly English, lived in what would one day be the U.S.

• During the 16th century, 300,000 West African slaves were brought to North America and the Caribbean – the majority to the West Indian sugar colonies and the

remainder to the mainland• These great migrations from Europe and Africa

resulted in the depopulation and uprooting of the native inhabitants

Introduction (cont.)

• 4 major questions:– Why did Chesapeake planters shift from using

white indentured servants as laborers to black slaves?

– Why did colonial New Englanders abandon John Winthrop’s vision of a “city on a hill”?

Introduction (cont.)

• What were the most important differences between the Middle Colonies and other English colonial regions?

• What factors distinguished French and Spanish colonies in mainland North America from those of England?

Chesapeake Society

• State and Church in Virginia– 1619=Virginia Company of London granted the

settlers the right to elect a representative assembly• VA became a royal colony

– Settlers repeatedly petitioned the king to continue the right to elect a rep. assembly• 1628=Charles I grudgingly agreed

State and Church in Virginia (cont.)

• The assembly eventually became a bicameral legislative – composed of a House of Burgesses (elected by

landowners) and Royal Governor’s Council (appointed by King)

• Local government had most officials appointed rather than elected

State and Church in Virginia (cont.)

• Anglican Church was the established church• All Virginians were required to pay fixed rates

for its support• Role of religion in daily life of Virginians had a

much lower profile than it did for New Englanders

State and Church of Maryland

• Maryland was founded by Cecilius Calvert (Lord Baltimore)– Land given to him by Charles I– First proprietary colony

• Lord Baltimore wanted to create a haven for Catholics to escape England– could not worship in public– Had to pay tithes to Anglican Church– Barred from holding political office

State and Church of Maryland (cont.)

• Clavert remained in England – Governed as an absentee proprietor

• More Protestants than Catholics settled in Maryland• Act of Religious Toleration– Drafted by Lord Baltimore– Protect Catholic minority– 1649 passed by Maryland assembly– http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc2200/sc2221/000

025/html/prefaceb.html

http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc2200/sc2221/000025/html/prefaceb.html

http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc2200/sc2221/000025/html/prefaceb.html

State and Church of Maryland (cont.)

• 1654=Protestant majority disfranchised Catholics and repealed the Act

• An army was raised to restore religious toleration, but it was defeated

• Protestant-controlled legislature battled continuously with the proprietary and resisted any political role for the Catholic minority

Death, Gender, and Kinship

• By 1700=more than 110,000 Englishmen to Chesapeake area– Constant demand for more laborers to grow

tobacco– 90% came as indentured servants

• Life expectancy was 20 years shorter than in NE

• Deaths exceeded births

Death, Gender, and Kinship (cont.)

• Disease and overwork killed off about 40% of indentured servants within 6 years of their arrival

• Shortage of women settlers prevented men from marrying and starting families

• Widows of the Chesapeake enjoyed greater property rights than women elsewhere

• By the late 1600’s, native-born residents acquired childhood immunities and deaths from epidemics began to lessen

Tobacco Shapes a Region, 1630-1670

• Life in VA and MD was shaped by tobacco growing (the main occupation)

• Population spread out on farms and plantations near rivers

• Few commercial centers or towns developed – Ships from England came directly to riverfront docks built

by the planters– Ship captains sold their goods from Europe and bought the

outgoing tobacco, with the planters serving as the middlemen for the surrounding small farmers

Tobacco Shapes a Region, 1630-1670 (cont.)

• Some planters, taking advantage of the headright system, acquired huge estates and made great profits from exploiting their indentured servants

• Indentured servants who survived their term of unpaid labor had a hard time acquiring their own farms because they had little capital

• After 1660=tobacco prices dropped and tobacco farms struggled to survive

Bacon’s Rebellion, 1675-1676

• Racism, depressed tobacco prices, and the resentments of the small farmers and landless toward the wealthy planters and the governing elite set the stage for Bacon’s Rebellion

• 1676• Led by Nathaniel Bacon• Made up mostly of economically hard-pressed

farmers

Bacon’s Rebellion, 1675-1676 (cont.)

• War of extermination against all remaining Indians in VA– Intention of seizing their lands and crops and enslaving

them• Royal governor tried to restrain Bacon and his

followers– They marched on Jamestown– Burned it– Looted their enemies’ plantations

• Rebels dispersed after Bacon’s death in 1676

Bacon’s Rebellion, 1675-1676 (cont.)

• Was this the 1st act of rebellion in support of Liberty for colonists?

From Servitude to Slavery

• The first African arrived in VA in 1619– Treated initially as indentured servants

• 1640-1660– Status deteriorated into that of lifelong slavery

• After 1660, the Chesapeake colonies recognized the institution of African slavery with laws that defined the condition and rigidly controlled blacks

• As late as 1660 fewer than 1,000 slaves lived in VA and MD

From Servitude to Slavery (cont.)

• Heavy importation of African slaves began in the 1680’s

• By 1700 black slaves constituted 22% of the Chesapeake population

From Servitude to Slavery (cont.)

• Replacement of white indentured servants with African slaves occurred for several reasons:– Racism– The desire of white planters to avoid class conflict with

poor white– A falloff of white immigration from England– More Africans being brought directly to the Chesapeake

colonies as greater # of companies entered the international slave trading business

Puritanism in New England

• Building a City upon a Hill, 1625-1642– King Charles I in 1625, began to drive out all Puritan

influence from the Anglican church– Nonconforming ministers and congregation members

were fined and excommunicated– 1628=a group of Puritan merchants formed the

Massachusetts Bay Company• Obtained a charter from the king permitting them to establish a

colony in North America• Company’s officers and stockholders would emigrate along with

the settlers (Mass. Bay would not be under the control of stockholders or proprietors back in England)

Building a City upon a Hill, 1625-1642 (cont.)

• 1630=company sent over 11 ships

• 700 settlers• Governor John

Winthrop


• Sermon titled “A Model of Christian Charity”– Puritans’ mission– Create a godly community– “a city upon a hill” that would serve as an example

for sinful England to emulate


• Massachusetts was founded primarily for religious reasons, the Puritans did not object to material gain

• They believed that moral and/or govt. restraint must limit ruthless exploitation and profiteering


• During the 1st severe winter in Mass., 30% of Winthrop’s party died

• Within a year, the colony was economically self-sufficient and population grew

• Heavy English immigration through 1630’s• By 1642=15,000 colonist lived in New England

New England Ways

• Most New Englanders belonged to the Church of England

• Most congregations were self-governing• Ignored Anglican bishops’ authority• Male “saints” controlled each congregation• All residents had to attend services• All residents had to pay taxes for support of the

church

New England Ways (cont.)

• Candidates for membership had to stand before their congregation and provide convincing, soul-baring “relation” (or account) of their conversion experience

• Familiarity with the Bible• Education should begin in childhood– Towns over 50 households had to appoint a teacher– Towns over 100 households had to have a grammar school

• first steps toward public education


• Harvard College– 1636– Supply ministers trained in the New England Way– 1642-1671=201 graduates (111 ministers)

• Only part of English America to produce its own clergy and college-educated elite before 1700


• Church must be free of state control• Opposed theocracy (govt. by clergy)• Required cooperation between church and

state• Levied taxes to support local churches


• Roger Williams• Believed in complete

separation of church and state and religious toleration

• 1635=banished from Mass. Bay Colony


• 1635=moved to Providence• 1647=formed Rhode Island– Only New England colony to practice religious

toleration– 1650=had 4 towns and 800 settlers


• Anne Hutchinson• Publicly criticized the

clergy for judging prospective church members on the basis of “good works” (Cathloic=salvation)


• Hutchinson cast a doubt on the clergy’s spiritual state by under minding its authority over laypersons

• She also violated gender norms• Asserted her own opinions and shared them

at meetings with men• 1637=excommunicated and banished• Moved to RI

Towns, Families, and Farm Life

• All New England colonies provided for the establishment of towns– Made sure that colonists would settle in communities with

congregations– Families were granted no more land than was needed to

support themselves– Live in house lots near the town center

• “In a proper Puritan family, the wife, children, and servants dutifully obeyed the household’s male head.”

Towns, Families, and Farm Life (cont.)

• Puritans were allowed to divorce• Happened rarely• Healthy families were vital for the welfare of

the community• Courts could and did discipline disobedient

children, wives, and servants, and irresponsible husbands


• Puritans followed English common law in giving the wife not property rights independent of her husband’s– She had significantly more rights than

Englishwomen on matters such as spousal abuse and nonsupport


• Better living conditions=longer life expectancy in New England than in England

• Larger families and faster rate of population growth

• Most colonists had little or no cash– Relied on labor of their large healthy families to

sustain them


• Rocky soil and a short growing season made it unlikely that anyone would become rich from agriculture

• New Englanders seeking better opportunities turned to part-or-full time lumbering, fishing, rum distilling, and commerce

• As they prospered, – became more worldly and materialistic– less preoccupied with religion

Economic and Religious Tension

• The most fundamental threat was that colonists would abandon the ideal of a close-knit community to pursue self-interest

• Govt. leaders tried to limit prices so consumers would not suffer from chronic shortage of manufactured goods

• Conflicts often developed between Puritan clergy and farming elite vs. merchants

• Political and religious leaders sought to insulate their city upon a hill from the competitiveness and pursuit of self-interest basic to a market economy

Economic and Religious Tension (cont.)

• 1660=Some farmers wanted to expand their agricultural output and provide land for their sons– They voted themselves larger amounts of land– Insisted their scattered parcels be consolidated– Many farmers built houses away from the center

of town

Economic and Religious Tension (cont.)

• 1649=Charles I was beheaded– Puritan Oliver Cromwell

took power– Developed England’s

commercial empire

• Restoration– 1660– Monarchy was “restored”

under Charles II

Economic and Religious Tensions (cont.)

• Decline in New England Way was reflected most vividly in a crisis over church membership

• Many Puritans’ children were not joining• Did not want to provide a public conversion (did not

become saints)• Puritan ministers only baptized babies born to

saints=most 3rd generation children remained unbaptized=no future members


• Halfway Covenant– 1662– Compromise– Permit the children of baptized adults to receive baptism– Allow founders’ descendants to transmit potential church

membership to their grandchildren• Adult children “halfway” members who could not take

communion or vote on church affairs


• The crisis in church membership signaled a weakening of the old orthodoxy

• Saints became a shrinking minority• The founding fathers failed to pass on their

intense religious fervor to the 2nd and 3rd generations

Expansion and Native Americans

• At 1st, Native Americans offered little opposition to Puritan colonization

• 1637– Puritans moved into Connecticut Valley– Pequots resisted– War of extermination– Puritans won– Cleared the way for Puritans to move into CT

Expansion and Native Americans (cont.)

• European settlers increased and prospered=Indian population declined– Died from diseases brought by the Europeans

• Diphtheria, measles, tuberculosis– Food supply reduced

• Europeans cut down forests which took away Indian hunting areas

• New England’s Indian population – 1600=125,000– 1675=10,000


• Native Americans were demoralized– Turned to alcohol– Convert to Christianity– Moved and lived in “praying towns”


• King Philip’s War– 1675-1676– Wampanoag chief

Metacom (King Philip)– Tried to unite the

remaining Indians and remove the English

– Failed– Metacom was killed– Many Indians were

captured and sold into slavery

Salem Witchcraft, 1691-1693

• Started in Salem and spread throughout MA• Reasons for witchcraft hysteria– Economic resentments– Breakdown of the religious mission – Breakdown of the sense of community– Resent of economically independent and assertive

women

Salem Witchcraft, 1691-1693 (cont.)


• It started with accusations by a group of young girls against a few residents of low standing

• It escalated as more and more people made charges against others– Even the wife of the governor

• 20 persons were convicted of witchcraft and executed

• Hundreds were in jail by the time the governor halted the trials and released the imprisoned


• The witchcraft hysteria was an extreme expression of more widespread anxieties over social change in New England.

• The generation reaching maturity after 1692 would be far less willing to accept society’s right to restrict their personal behavior and economic freedom.

The Spread of Slavery: The Caribbean and Carolina

• Between 1630 and 1642, almost 60% of English migrants headed for the Caribbean– West Indies developed a plantation-slave economy

• Concentrating on sugar growing

• Some of these English colonists later resettled in the Chesapeake and Carolina colonies and brought their slaves with them

• By 1710, black slaves made up the majority of the Carolina inhabitants

Sugar and Slaves: The West Indies

• The islands of the West Indies were colonized by each of the major North American European colonialist countries – Spain, France, England, and Netherlands

• Tobacco was the 1st export– Raised primarily with the labor of white

indentured servants

Sugar and Slaves: The West Indies (cont.)

• 1640’s most switched to sugar growing– Required more workers than tobacco– Planters imported more and more slaves

• Until 1713, blacks outnumbered whites by 4 to 1

Rice and Slaves: Carolina

• 1663=King Charles II gave a group of his English supporters a grant of land in America– Named Carolina in his honor

• Proprietors adopted the headright system to attract colonists– Most settlers came from English mainland and Barbados– Some French Huguenots (Protestants)

Rice and Slaves: Carolina (cont.)

• Northern Carolinians– Cultivated tobacco – Exported tobacco, lumber, pitch

• Southern Carolinians– Raised livestock

• Neither region used many black slaves• Used own family as labor


• By 1690’s, southern Carolinians found a staple crop that would make them rich--rice

• You needed sufficient capital to start to grow rice though– Invest in costly dams, dikes, slaves

• Large-scale rice production became fabulously wealthy

• Only mainland elite that was a wealthy as West Indians sugar planters


• Humid rice patties were swarming with malaria-bearing mosquitoes– Large # of indentured English servants died rapidly– Planters’ solution was to import Africans who they

believed were immune to the malaria and who were experts on growing rice


• Black population in South Carolina grew• South Carolina was the only mainland British

colony with an African majority• Southern Carolinian whites also allied

themselves with the Yamasees and Creeks to capture Indians living in Spanish FL and sell them into slavery, mostly in the West Indies

The Middle Colonies

• Precursors: New Netherland and New Sweden– Dutch-founded fur-trading colony of New

Netherland became America’s first multiethnic society• Population included Dutch, Germans, Swedes, Africans

(free and slave)• Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims• 18 different languages

Precursors: New Netherland and New Sweden

• 1655=New Netherland’s governor Peter Stuyvesant took over and annexed the Swedish fur-trading settlement in the lower Delaware Valley

• 1664=population of 9,000– Thriving port city of New

Amsterdam

English Conquests: New York and New Jersey

• 1664 Charles II presented the seized Dutch colony, New Netherland, to his brother James, Duke of York

• James renamed it New York• Most of the Dutch settlers were allowed to

keep their land and remained in the colony

English Conquests: New York and New Jersey (cont.)

• 1685, James became King James II

• New York became a royal colony


• The British royal governors rewarded their loyal followers with immense land grants, mostly along the Hudson River from New York to Albany (pg. 77 and 79)

• These manor lords grew almost as wealthy as South Carolina rice planters– Rents they collected from their tenant farmers


• James gave part of the former New Netherland (which became to be known as the Jerseys) to a group of proprietors (led by Lord Berkely and Sir Philip Carteret)

• Settlers were mix of New England Puritans, Quakers, Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians, and Swedish Lutherans– Quarreled often with each other

• 1702 the crown took over NJ and it became a royal colony

Quaker Pennsylvania

• 1686 Charles II gave a huge grant of territory in America to William Penn

• Repaid a debt Charles II owed Penn family

• William Penn was a wealthy Englishman who had joined the much-persecuted Quakers

Quaker Pennsylvania (cont.)

• Penn wanted to base the colony on Quaker principles that would offer a haven to his fellow worshipers

• And he wanted to make a profit• 1681=laid out Philadelphia and started the

settlement there• Quaker teachings he included:– No established church– Allowed people of all faiths to settle


• He also drafted a constitution• Created a legislative assembly to give

residents a voice in running the colony• Good relations with the Indians• Settlers prospered by growing grains on the

fertile land and selling the grain to the West Indies


• Trade made Philadelphia a major port by 1700• Population quickly expanded through natural

increase and immigration• Some of the colonist resented Penn and his requests

for rent– Swedes and Dutch in lower Delaware caused the most

problems– 1704, gained the right to elect their own legislature– Separated from the rest of PA– Formed the colony of Delaware

Rivals for North America: France and Spain

• France Claims a Continent– French empire spread inland– 1660’s and 1670’s, Louis XIV sent 600 settlers

yearly– Fur traders and missionaries– Spread out the Ohio Valley– Explored the Mississippi from WI to Gulf of

Mexico

France Claims a Continent (cont.)

• By early 1700’s, French claimed the entire Mississippi basin– Called it Louisiana– Erected forts– Started fur-trading centers at Mobile, AL and

Biloxi, MS– Few Frenchmen lived in this vast empire but many

of those who did mingled with the Indians, carrying out fur trade

New Mexico: The Pueblo Revolt

• Spain attempted to strengthen her hold on NM by subjugating the Pueblo Indians

• Franciscan missionaries forced the natives to abandon their traditional way of life and convert to and practice Catholicism

• Spanish landowners compelled the Indians to labor on their encomiendas

• By the 1670’s, Spanish exploitation and years of drought left many Indians starving, while diseases brought by Europeans decimated their numbers

New Mexico: The Pueblo Revolt (cont.)

• 1680 Pueblo Revolt– Led by Pope

• An Indian religious figure– Attempt to drive out Spanish of NM– Most successful Indian uprising in American history– Rebellion lasted until 1700

• Indians forced the Spanish to abolish the encomiendas and the forced conversions

Florida and Texas

• Florida– Guale, Timucua, Apalachee Indians rebelled

periodically against Spanish coerced labor and conversions

– 1680’s situation further deteriorated when the English in Carolina and their Creek allies began invading FL and carrying off Indians to sell in the slave trade

Florida and Texas

• Texas– France’s establishment of LA further challenged

the Spanish– Spanish responded by finding the province of

Texas (Tejas) in 1699– White settlement did not begin there until 1716

Conclusion

• By 1700, European nations had staked claims to most of the territory in the present-day U.S.A. east of the Mississippi River

• Spanish and French North America empires were the largest territories– Low #’s of Spaniards precluded their development as a

major center of colonization– French resided mostly in the St. Lawrence Valley

• Commercial-agrarian economic plan • Smaller than the English

Conclusion (cont.)

• English colonies along the Atlantic coast• Most European settlers– New England

• transformed from its religious beginnings to embrace a market economy based on trade and commerce

– Chesapeake• revolved around tobacco growing planters who had converted

from dependence on a white indentured servant work force to one of enslaved Africans

Conclusion (cont.)

• West Indies– British sugar planters had imported huge #’s of enslaved

Africans• Slaves made up majority of population

• Carolina rice growers had a plantation-slave economy– Created a black majority by 1700

• Middle colonies– Built on Dutch and Swedish predecessors– Greatest ethnic diversity and religious pluralism– Free market economies

Chapter 3 The Emergence of Colonial Societies 1625-1700.

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Transcript of Chapter 3 The Emergence of Colonial Societies 1625-1700.