Exploration and Colonization Quiz

Exploration and Colonization

• Columbian Exchange: The exchange of diseases, ideas, food, crops, and people between the New World (North and South America) and the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) after Columbus' 1492 voyage.

• Colony: A group of people leaving their home country to settle in a new land, maintaining ties with their original country. Europeans established many colonies in the Americas.

• Examples of Colonies: New England and Chesapeake, Dutch settlements along the Hudson River, French settlements in Champlain Valley.

• Impact of Columbian Exchange:

• Disease: Native Americans lacked immunity to European diseases like smallpox, causing devastating effects.

• Species Exchange: Europeans brought animals, plants, and insects to the Americas.

• Slavery: Introduction of slavery to the Americas.

• Trade: Food and cuisine were impacted by the exchange between Europe and America.

• Old World/New World: Old World - Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World - Americas.

• Motivations for Exploration (Three G's): Gold, Glory, and God.

• Colonization: The action or process of settling among and establishing control over indigenous people of an area.

• Roanoke: Failed English settlement in North America, with colonists mysteriously disappearing.

Jamestown

• Establishment: The Virginia Company established Jamestown in 1607, the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

• Challenges: Difficult location, lack of fresh water, mosquito-borne diseases, poor leadership (initial), and struggles with Native Americans.

• John Smith: A military leader who enforced the "work or starve" rule, improving Jamestown's survival.

• Starving Time: A harsh winter in 1609-1610, where many colonists died from hunger and disease.

• Tobacco: John Rolfe's discovery of tobacco cultivation made Jamestown profitable, driving a boom in a tobacco plantation economy.

Bacon's Rebellion

• Cause: Nathaniel Bacon's opposition to Colonial Governor William Berkeley's policies regarding Native Americans.

• Outcome: Bacon's army burned Jamestown in 1676, which led to the conflicts between settlers and Native Americans.

Indentured Servitude and Slavery

• Indentured Servitude vs. Slavery: Indentured servitude involved a contract for a set period, while slavery was permanent and people were considered property.

• Treatment Differences: Differences in treatment affected both legal rights and social standing.

• Servitude vs Birth: Indentured servitude's status wasn't inherited.

• Rights Differences: Indentured servants had some rights, such as access to courts; slaves typically had significantly fewer rights.

Mercantilism and Salutary Neglect

• Mercantilism: Economic policy aiming to maximize the wealth of a nation, limiting colonial trade to benefit the "mother country" (England).

• Salutary Neglect: The British Crown's policy of limited enforcement of laws in the American colonies, allowing a degree of self-governance. This practice helped the development of colonial economies, but created eventual tensions regarding control.

European Interactions with Native Americans:

• Initial Interactions: Early interactions involved a combination of curiosity, violence, and attempts at trade.

• Consequences: Exploitation and devastating consequences like disease transmission, and displacement of indigenous populations.

• Middle Passage: The stage of the Atlantic slave trade where Africans were transported to the Americas.

• New England Colonies: Characterized by rocky coastline, good harbors, dense forests, and mountainous terrain. Shipping, fishing, and timber were key economic activities.

• Middle Colonies: Built on farming, milling, lumbering, shipbuilding. Industries related to forest resources were also important.

• Southern Colonies: Known for warm weather, plantation agriculture, and bustling coastal cities. Characterized by a robust economic region.