Chapter 2 Notes – The Planting of English America – 1500 – 1733
Overview- The English for the most part settle in areas without large native empires. Over a 150-year span Britain created 13 colonies that provided a profitable trade and a home to a diverse group of people. The colonies evolve over that time…from struggle into permanence… Farms, towns and cities are settled. Comingling various; cultures, economic plans, and ideas about governance…
Motivation or reasons for coming, topography, natural resources, climate, and background of settlers influenced the differences that develop among the colonies. Demand for labor influences the Southern colonies the most…due to their dependence on large scale commercial agriculture; Indentured servitude and African Slavery both develop as options… They all depend on the “Atlantic Trade” for their economic livelihood. The Dutch (ny) French (Canada and Ohio R. valley) and the Spanish (southeast and southwest ) along with the English develop diverse patterns of colonization… These efforts in colonization leads to intercultural contact and conflict. Political, Economic, and Cultural exchanges with the “Atlantic World” had a profound effect on Colonial Societies.
All English colonies receive their identity and authority to operate by means of a Charter granted by the King/English Monarch. 3 types of colonies develop: corporate- e.g. Jamestown/Va. Company, Royal: under authority of the King (Most by 1775) , and Proprietary: e.g. Maryland (Lord Baltimore, Cecil Calvert) & Pennsylvania ( William Penn) under the authority of the individual who were granted the charter.
All English colonies came with a tradition of Representative Gov’t and were accustomed to elections…although most colonists were excluded from this process and the concept of “Deference” was key.
The development of a “limited democracy” occurs alongside anti-democratic processes that develop as well; e.g. Slavery- massacre of natives…etc…
Part 1 pp. 25 – 32 “Virginia”
Introduction –
By 1600 (appx. 100 years after European Contact) much of the New World had been Transformed… especially in Caribbean, Central, and South America.
ECOLOGICAL REVOLUTION – effects on: people, animals, landscape, plants
- disease, armed conquest, and African Slaves
- From Fla/Nm South Spain Dominates
BUT North America in 1600 remained Largely Unexplored by the Eouro’s… with some early exceptions… Cabrillo – Calif, de Onate – NM, DeLeon-Fla, Cabot- Northeast, Cartier- St. Lawrence River area, Verrazano- NE. etc…
The coming CONFLICT would center on Three (3) Nations; Spain, England, and France…although the Dutch in NY, the Swedes in NJ, and the Russians, in the Far Northwest would attempt to plant their flags here as well.
The conflict for control of North America really begins in earnest beginning in 1607 with the 1st successful English colony Jamestown on the Chesapeake Bay, The 1st successful French colony at Quebec in 1608, and with the success of the Spanish at Sante Fe in 1610.
A Change in England –
The Protestant Reformation begins in England when King Henry the VIII breaks with the Catholic Church and begins the Church of England. In the 1530’s… (Anglican – Episcopal)
By 1558 and the Rise of Elizabeth (The Virgin Queen) the protestants become dominant and although conflict develops with the Catholic Irish…they are easily subdued and The English take Irish land and plant new protestant English land owners from Scotland (some later to be migrants to America The Scots-Irish) and England…where a conflict still simmers today.
Elizabeth
Now energized England begins to compete with their main CATHOLIC rival Spain…Sending Buccaneers (Pirates – freebooters) such as Sir Francis Drake and his Sea Dogs to the Caribbean to raid wealthy Spanish Treasure ships and raiding Spanish settlements…This turned out to be a great investment for the financial backers of Drake… a profit of 4600% on his return…surely not discouraging the English…
Two failed attempts at colonization were attempted by Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert (Raleigh’s ½ brother) at Newfoundland in 1583 and at ROANOKE ISLAND (off the coasts of future NC and Virginia-named in honor of the Virgin Queen) in 1585 (John White one of Roanoke’s earlier settlers paints a series of watercolors of the native inhabitants).
Spain is frustrated with the English interrupting their success and flaunting their Protestantism…so Phillip II begins to plan for a showdown… THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. In 1588, the outcome of the NAVAL Conflict between England and Spain CHANGES WORLD HISTORY FOREVER… With England’s Victory Spain begins it’s decline…and England surges into World Hegemony due to its NAVAL DOMINANCE OF THE WORLD [ THE SYMBOL OF THE FUTURE BRITISH EMPIRE sun on the horizon]
The sun was shining somewhere on the Empire at all times… leading to the GREATEST EMPIRE IN WORLD HISTORY…
The Defeat of the Spanish Armada and England’s hegemon over the World’s Oceans was a “Red-letter Day” for American History… As this occurrence allows England now to begin a Golden Age… leading to it planting its flag across the world and successfully in America as well… a unified national state, religious peace, flowering literature (Shakespeare) the Future of England indeed looks bright…
England on the Eve of Empire
Economic and Social change begins in England… a Population surge to 4million by 1600… Cropland Enclosure force many small farmers off their rented lands and onto the “roads” and in many cases becoming beggars in the streets of the overflowing cities…in these areas many of these farmers had become Puritans (following the ideas of John Calvin- a kind of super protestant that opposed any church similarities to Catholicism –more in Chapter 3) These Puritans from the Woolen districts are some of the earliest migrants to America.
Other Economic and Social Changes that motivated migration to the English colonies around the World… Laws of primogeniture, The creation of the Joint-Stock company, Peace with Spain signed in 1604 provided the opportunity, Population Growth provided the Workers, Unemployment, Adventure, and Religious Freedom provided the Motives, Joint-Stock companies provided the financial means… Now England is on the Move…
England Plants the Jamestown Seedling
Note: Why do the Southern and New England (Northern) areas DEVELOP so differently?
Two clues have to be considered…their motives or reasons for coming ;as well as geography …This difference becomes part of a HUGE idea as America develops its national IDENTITY…
The Virginia Company – A Joint-Stock Company forms and receives a CHARTER for a settlement in North America…Purpose- to find GOLD and a NW Passage through the Americas to the Indies.
The Va. Co. was INTENDED to be temporary… lasting long enough to make lots of $$$$.
The details of the VA Co Charter has huge implications for the Future… it GURANTEED THE SETTLERS THE SAME RIGHTS AS IF THEY WERE IN ENGLAND (The Magna Carta-Petition of Right- English Bill of Rights) THIS GURANTEE WAS ALSO GRADUALLY EXTENDED TO ALL SUBSEQUENT ENGLISH COLONIES **** by 1763 this insistence on the “Rights of Englishmen” nourished the Independence Movement in the 13 American British colonies…
Jamestown is created near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay (later sharing this with Maryland…the two later known as the Chesapeake colonies due to their similarities)
UNHEALTHFUL LOCATION…100 MEN DISEMBARK… a “nightmare” begins…
Due to its lack of preparation for long-term survival…many starve, However, Jamestown is saved initially by Captain John Smith – “he who shall not works shall not eat,” eventually Pocahontas and Powhatan (natives) help with foods.. but not before they resorted to eating “dogges, Catts, Ratts, Myce, Corpses, and even (one man) salting and eating his wife.. of the 400 who came by 1609 only 60 survive the “Starving Time 1609-1610.
FATE- in the Spring of 1610 the colonists attempt to leave…[STORY] however…as fate would have it …at that moment…a new Governor, Lord De La Warr ( which state eventually is named for him?) shows up in Jamestown at the same moment the colonists were leaving…orders the colonists to return and begins a Militaristic Regime with a focus on destroying the Indians…
Survival was difficult early in Virginia… of the 8000 who attempt to settle here by 1625 only 1200 are left…
Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake
Immediately the English settlers have to deal with the POWHATAN CONFEDERACY…. The natives were known as the Powhatan’s, after their chief and Pocahontas father. The beginning was somewhat nice… however it soon deteriorated into War…especially after the arrival of Lord De La Warr in 1610…
The Virginia Company orders De La Warr to introduce “irish tactics” against the Indians…raiding villages, burning houses, taking food, and burning indian food supplies… The First Anglo-Powhatan War ends in 1614 with the Marriage of John Rolfe to Pocahontas… supposedly the 1st interracial marriage in Virginia …
The Natives after suffering much decide to attempt to rid themselves of the English and attack in 1622 and kill 347 settlers…including John Rolfe… In response the VA. Co. calls for a perpetual WAR … to wipe out the natives… The 2nd Anglo-Powhatan War turns out again in defeat for the Powhatans… and in the Peace Treaty signed in 1646 –effectively banished them from their lands and separated the natives from white settlements… THE ORIGINS OF THE LATER “RESERVATION SYSTEM”… BY 1685 the English considered the Powhatans EXTINCT.
The THREE D’S - disease, disorganization, disposability… **** cause all native Americans problems… disease kills many, the lack of unity leaves them at a severe disadvantage, and the fact that early on the Indians provided no use to the English (somewhat later this changes- Fur Trade, alliances against other Euro’s) they could be disposed of without harm to the English economy… and without question delayed the English desire for LAND….
The Indians New World
The shock of large scale European colonization affects the Native American life dramatically…and the EFFECTS foreshadow the destinies of most indigenous peoples throughout the continent…..
Change: Effect …. Horses – influences indian migration and cultural patterns, disease wiped out entire cultures and helped shape new ones, e.g. The Catawba –in NC Southern Piedmont was formed from splintered tribes. Trade: barter and exchange networks change to include the Europeans; Firearms… intensify competition among tribes for fur trade, etc…
The Natives along the Atlantic Seaboard felt the worst effects of the Euro’s arrival… however, the Interior Tribes had the advantages of Time, Space, and Numbers… and sought to adapt… and dealt from a position of strength…therefore…the Euro’s had to ACCOMMODATE…the interior tribes to do business….Finding a Middle Ground… at least until more Euro’s could arrive.
End Part 1 Notes
Virginia: Child of Tobacco…look at Map p. 34
Chapter 2 Part 2 Notes
Virginia: Child of Tobacco
How does Virginia survive economically: Tobacco. John Rolfe introduces tobacco to Virginia in 1612… European Demand became insatiable… Crops were planted in the streets and between graves… to meet demand…. They even had to import food at first. LAND HUNGER… took over… and led to clashes with the Natives in the West and among themselves esp. for freed indentured servants.
King Nicotine was a Tyrant – Ruinous to the Soil…so you had to look for more land, kept VA.’s economy tied to a single factor (led to turbulent ups and downs based on the price) and it ties the colony to the plantation system which relied on a huge need for Labor (indentured servants and African slaves)
1619 - Two occurrences… 1st African laborers sold by the Dutch in Jamestown…not initially permanently in bondage… Blacks initially too costly and therefore not a huge increase until after 1690’s…. 1st Representative Self Government established –The House of Burgesses (Va. Legislature) Va. Becomes a Royal Colony in 1624 under the control of the Monarchy.
Maryland: Catholic Haven
Maryland – founded in 1634 by Lord Baltimore, a prominent Catholic… two purposes: for profit and to create a haven for persecuted Catholics. 1st colony is St. Mary’s … initially huge estates for Baltimore’s Catholic friends… but soon they are outnumbered by more moderate Protestant farmers… Trouble… Economic foundation was Tobacco …and in the need for labor huge #’s of White Indentured Servants , Those that pledge to be a servant for a # of years in return for paying for their passage and upkeep/ and eventually are freed…are imported… (they outnumber African slaves 7:3 until the 18th century)
Trouble begins between the wealthy Catholic minority and the more moderate protestant planters… The ACT OF TOLERATION passed in 1649 actually makes Maryland less tolerant… but protects the Catholic minority. Maryland sheltered more Roman Catholics than any other English-speaking colony in the New World.
The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America
After securing Jamaica in 1655…the English begin to settle in the Caribbean…. Primarily to farm SUGAR… Importing huge #’s of African Slaves that are permanently slaves… forming the Barbados Slave Code to govern their existence. Black slaves, by 1700, outnumber white settlers by 4:1.
Sugar is a Rich Man’s Crop with extensive planting, extensive labor costs to plant and refine, required huge amounts of Capital to be successful- THE SUGAR LORDS rise and control British Politics for centuries…in comparison Tobacco the Poor Man’s Crop…planted easily and had simple processing…
Colonizing the Carolinas
Civil War engulfs England in the 1640’s..Parliament is dismissed…and Oliver Cromwell takes over… The King is beheaded…. Eventually by 1660, Charles the II is restored to power and this period is called the RESTORATION period…
It is during this time after restoration Colonization resumes… Carolina is formed in 1670, given to the 8 Lord Proprietors, with a boundary going from Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean… Purpose: to grow foodstuffs for sugar islands and export wine, silk, and Olive Oil. Prospered due to its close contact to the sugar islands…many of the original settlers were from the sugar islands and they bring with them the Barbados Slave code, begin a vibrant slave trade (Indians and Africans) one RI town coutnted more than 200 indian slaves from Carolina… RICE emerges as the PRINCIPAL CROP and due to the African Sickle Cell which allows them to be somewhat immune to malaria…many West Africans are imported to SC and by 1710 become a majority. Charlestown (Charleston) becomes the largest city and Seaport in the Southern Colonies.
The Emergence of North Carolina
The Northern part of Carolina was a wild expanse… sparsely populated until “squatters” – people who lived on their land without a legal right..., from the dissenters from Virginia , arrived… Mostly small farmers and religious outcasts looking to create a utopian society away from the influences of civilization.