Standards 1-2 Colonialism Homework

CHS Social Studies Owens Patterson U.S. History Homework: Standards 1-2: Colonialism Directions: READ and ANNOTATE the accompanying document. Using the document, complete the vocabulary practice and answer the following questions in complete sentences. Mercantilism Although many English colonists...

CHS Social Studies Owens Patterson U.S. History Homework: Standards 1-2: Colonialism Directions: READ and ANNOTATE the accompanying document. Using the document, complete the vocabulary practice and answer the following questions in complete sentences. Mercantilism Although many English colonists came to North America searching for religious or political opportunity, it was economic opportunity that fueled the ambition of other English colonists, as well as, their mother country. England sought to extract resources from North America in order to compete with their European rivals for wealth and power. By the 1650s, England was heavily entrenched in trans-Atlantic trade based on mercantilism. Mercantilism is an economic system in which the government of the “mother country” controls trade of a lesser country, ensuring that it exports more than it imports and build its gold and silver supply. England was considered the “mother country” and established colonies in order to control their natural resources or raw materials. In the highly competitive European world of the 16 th and 17th centuries, wealth equated to power. Some of the most important resources England took from its colonies included lumber (wood), sugar, wool, tobacco, rice, and indigo. These raw materials were then used in England to produce manufactured goods for export to other European countries and back to the colonists in North America. The raw materials of the colonies made England, the mother country, more wealthy and powerful. A favorable trade balance resulted for England in the colonial arrangement. Raw materials that were scarce in England were acquired from the colonies. Simultaneously, the colonies were a ready market for the manufactured products produced in England from the raw materials. England implemented a series of Navigation Acts in the mid-1600s to ensure a favorable trade arrangement with the colonies. The laws were designed to keep England’s own colonies from competing with their mother country by mandating three fundamental criteria for trans-Atlantic trade. First, all goods shipped to or from English North America had to travel on English ships. Second, any goods being imported to the colonies from Europe had to first be processed through an English port. And third, most colonial resources could only be exported to England. The Navigation Acts forced colonists to pay high prices for goods they were only allowed to purchase from England. Another effect of the Navigation Acts was increased smuggling of goods into North America by colonists who wanted their own riches from trade, regardless if it was illegal. Reading Check: Answer the following questions. 1. Why was mercantilism important to England? 2. How did mercantilism provide a favorable trade balance for England? 3. What was the purpose of the Navigation Acts? Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Trans-Atlantic trade, sometimes referred to as Triangular Trade, often took a three-step voyage around the Atlantic Ocean. First, English ships loaded with rum, cloth, and other manufactured goods sailed to Africa, where they were traded for Africans as part of the slave trade. Then, in the Middle Passage, the slaves were transported on a brutal voyage to the Americas and sold there as a forced labor commodity to colonial landowners. The third step of the journey transported American raw materials to England to be made into the manufactured goods that would start the cycle again. Colonial labor was critical for the production of materials England needed for a profitable mercantilist system. Labor needs were first filled through the use of indentured servants and then later by permanently enslaved Africans. Indentured servants were typically lower-class Englishmen who could not afford to pay for the voyage to North America but saw life in the colonies as an opportunity for economic advancement they would otherwise never have in England. Indentured servants worked for a land owner in exchange for their passage to North America. The land owner obtained labor and the indentured servant obtained the future opportunity to own land after working off their debt over a period of approximately four to seven years. Tensions began to develop over the continual need to supply land to newly freed indentured servants. African slaves were introduced as a labor source beginning in 1619. Eventually, plantation owners came to rely on African slaves as a more profitable and renewable source of labor. As tobacco farmers and other cash-crop farmers prospered in the colonies, they greatly expanded the size of their farms. Because of the resulting need for workers to plant, grow, and harvest the crops, farmers turned to African slaves to fulfill their growing labor needs. The vast majority of these slaves were concentrated in the agriculturally intensive Southern Colonies, although all of the English colonies allowed and had slaves during the colonial period. Middle Passage The African slaves who were forced to fill this labor role in the American colonies were brought to North America on crowded and dangerous slave ships along the Middle Passage portion of the trans-Atlantic trade routes. The slaves were originally captured through the African slave trade within the African continent and then brought to the West African coast for barter with European slavers. Rum, cloth, weapons, and other manufactured goods from Europe were traded for Africans. Between three and four hundred slaves were packed into cargo holds of slave ships bound for North America. Sickness, fear, and brutality was the common experience for slaves on the Middle Passage. About two of every ten slaves died during the Middle Passage. African Population and Their Cultural Contributions There was no single African culture. People brought from west Africa as slaves represented a large number of different cultures. In an effort to control the slaves, slave owners attempted to strip away the cultural identity of their slaves and sought to replace it with the culture of the plantation or region to which the slave was brought. However, the physical isolation of slaves from their masters led to the creation of a new blended culture rather than the replacement of one culture over another, resulting in the creation of a unique African American culture. Foods, such as okra, watermelon, yams (sweet potatoes), rice, and even grits have been attributed to cultural blending of African and European cultures. The practice of blending different African tribes on a single plantation led to the creation of blended language patterns such as Creole in Louisiana and Gullah in coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. Reading Check: Answer the following questions. 4. How did the Trans-Atlantic slave trade work? 5. How can you describe the Middle Passage? 6. How did African-American culture develop in the colonies? Colonial Regions Southern Colonies The Southern Colonies included Virginia, Maryland, Carolina (which eventually split into North Carolina and South Carolina), and Georgia. The location of the Southern Colonies, with the region’s rich soil and long growing season, fostered the development of strong agricultural producing colonies. Deep rivers and the distance of the fall line from the coast meant that inland farmers were able to ship tobacco, indigo, corn, and rice directly from their farms to European markets. Commercial farms tended to develop in the south and grew primarily high yield, labor intensive cash crops such as rice, tobacco, cotton, and indigo. As a result, slave labor was more common south while less common in the north. Relations with American Indians in the Southern Colonies began somewhat as a peaceful coexistence. As more English colonists began to arrive and encroach further into native lands, the relationship became more violent. Interactions with American Indians in the Southern Colonies grew worse as the region’s economic development grew. Once large-scale cash crops of tobacco, rice, and indigo proved highly profitable in the mercantilist system, more colonists arrived seeking economic opportunity. The growing English population in the Southern Colonies required more of the American Indians’ land for crop cultivation, which fueled increased tension between the groups. Virginia The first permanent English colony in North America was founded in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. The establishment of Jamestown was a business venture of London’s Virginia Company, a joint-stock company, which raised capital for the expedition to America by selling shares of company stock to investors. There were 104 settlers who arrived to settle Jamestown in 1607. Initially, the colony suffered mightily. Disease, famine, and Indian attacks all hindered the Jamestown settlement from fullfilling the Virginia Company’s vision for the colony. The colony was planted along the James River, a swamp which bred deadly diseases such as malaria and dysentary. A lack of leadership also caused the colonists to be unprepared to sustain themselves through the first winter. Food and shelter had not been the priority for the wealth seeking early colonists to Jamestown. Many were lazy and refused to work, thinking they were there to get rich quick. Captain John Smith eventually took forceful control of the colony, mandating much needed discipline to the remaining colonists. His famous order, “He that will not work will not eat,” encouraged more farming and the construction of a better fortification. Tobacco production helped to save the Jamestown colony and make it more lucrative (profitable). John Rolf married the American Indian princess Pocahontas, who helped teach the colonists to survive. Her father, Chief Powhatan, maintained peace with the colonists, but the relationship between his tribe and the colonists declined after his death as colonists continued to take native lands. Reading Check: Answer the following questions. 7. Why did the geography of the south impact its economy? 8. Why did the first settlement at Jamestown almost fail? What factors led to its survival? 9. Why did the relationship between colonists and Native Americans begin to rapidly deteriorate? New England Colonies New England had a colder climate and rocky soil, so farming was more difficult in this region than in the other colonies. Because of this, the economy in New England relied more on trade, shipbuilding, fishing/whaling, and lumber than it did on agriculture. The first New England colonies were established by the Puritans, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in present-day Massachusetts. Pilgrims also established the Plymouth colony for religious freedom. Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, the first written governing document in the New World to govern themselves and promote the common good. These colonists came with their whole families to pursue a better life and to practice their religion freely. As a result of strict religious beliefs, the Puritans were not tolerant of different religions. In 1692, the Salem Witch Trials took place among the Puritans. The incident began when three girls, ill with symptoms including convulsions and “fits,” accused several local residents of using witchcraft to cause the illness. The hysteria spread and led to over 150 Massachusetts colonists being accused of witchcraft. Of the 150 accused, 29 were convicted and 19 hanged. At least six more people died in prison. Contributing causes of the Salem Witch Trials included extreme religious faith, stress from a growing population, deteriorating relations with American Indians, and the narrow opportunities for women and girls to participate in Puritan society. Initially, relations with the American Indians living in the coastal regions of New England were cordial. Each side engaged in a profitable exchange of trade goods. However, as the English colony grew in size, so did the tension between the Puritans and Native Americans. King Philip’s War (1676) was an early and bloody conflict between English and regional American Indian tribal groups. King Philip, or Metacom, was the regional leader of the American Indians. The conflict originated as the Puritan community spread out from Boston and took more land from the natives. Many colonists died in the war, but it also caused a heavy loss of life among the American Indian population. As a result, large areas of southern New England were opened to English settlement. Mid-Atlantic Colonies The Mid-Atlantic colonies were founded as money making ventures designed to make use of the good harbors and river systems that helped to transport goods toward the coast. The Dutch established the North American colony of New Netherland in 1614. The colony, held by one of England’s European rivals, was founded as a private money-making venture by the Dutch. Trade was centered around New Netherland’s port of New Amsterdam, but was later taken over by England and the name changed to New York in 1664. American Indians in the Mid-Atlantic colonies were often more relied upon for trade with the English and not the target of war, as often happened in other colonial regions. Some groups were treated with respect and were compensated by the English for the loss of their land. These were the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the colonies, and home of the Quakers. The primary products of the Mid-Atlantic colonies were agriculture (wheat, corn, and other grains which gave this colonial region the nickname “bread-basket colonies”), lumber, livestock, and iron ore and iron products. The Great Awakening The Great Awakening was a religious movement influenced by the revivals that spread from Europe to the colonies. The revival placed an emphasis on individual religious experience rather than religious experience through church doctrine. The Great Awakening challenged established authorities as the colonists questioned the need to follow not only the Church of England but also the orders of the English monarchy and its authorities. Individuals grew to rely more on a personal approach to salvation than church dogma and doctrine through a personal understanding of scriptures. Ministers such as Jonathan Edwards, William Tennent, and George Whitefield began to urge Christians to adopt a more emotional involvement in Christianity through fervent prayer and personal study of the Bible. Their sermons were emotional, appealing to the heart not just the head. New denominations such as Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians gained members and challenged some of the old established colonial denominations such as the Congregationalist Puritans in New England and the Anglicans in the South. Practicing religion became an emotional experience in addition to an intellectual experience. One of the most famous sermons that typifies the religious fervor and emotional nature of the Great Awakening was Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The sermon urged the congregation to repent and not provoke God who is all knowing. Reading Check: Answer the following questions. 10. How did the English takeover of New Amsterdam benefit England? 11. What was the significance of the Mayflower Compact? 12. How did religion and the First Great Awakening play a role in colonial conflicts like King Philip’s War and the Salem Witch trials? Salutary Neglect Beginning in the 1720s, the American colonies had more freedom to trade and govern themselves because the English government adopted a policy of Salutary Neglect. It was believed that the colonies would be more profitable for the English government if they had fewer regulations placed on them. This enabled the colonies to develop local methods of self-governance, including voting, town meetings, colonial governors and elected legislatures. Colonies levied (raised) their own local taxes and held town meetings to make decisions on issues. This policy of Salutary Neglect contributed to Americans’ confidence in their ability to self-govern and to the development of an independent American identity, which, in turn, contributed to eventual conflict between England and the colonies. Bacon’s Rebellion There was also an expectation that emerged in the colonies that the local legislatures (government) would be responsible for looking out for the interests of all colonists and not just the wealthy. This concept played out dramatically with the events surrounding Bacon’s Rebellion in Jamestown in the late 1670s. Former indentured servants had worked off their debt but could not afford land in the township itself. Instead, they had to move farther into the frontier and often faced conflicts over land with the area’s American Indians. These poor citizens payed taxes and expected the House of Burgesses to provide protections for them, even though they lived further out from the wealthy Jamestown community. Nathanael Bacon led these poor citizens first against the American Indians and then against the Jamestown elite, including government and burned down Jamestown. Bacon’s Rebellion, between the poor frontier colonists and Virginia’s colonial government, established an expectation in America that the government would work for the good of all citizens – not just the wealthy. English Cultural Diversity Various European cultures came to be represented in England’s American colonies. Beginning with the first permanent settlement at Jamestown in 1607, approximately 250,000 Europeans migrated to the colonies by 1700. By the outbreak of the American Revolution, the population of England’s colonies in North America was approaching 2.5 million. Most immigrants to the colonies were from England during the early period, but over time immigrants began coming to America from other European countries. The European ethnic groups living in America during the colonial period included immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. Various “push factors” led immigrants from these countries to seek opportunity in England’s American colonies. German immigrants also began to populate England’s American colonies during the early period. Germany was divided into many small rival principalities whose quests for power led to violence. To finance each principality’s defense, the common people living there were taxed heavily and often forced into military service. The strict control German princes exerted over their lands left the commoners searching for better financial opportunities and autonomy. William Penn recruited these disgruntled Germans to immigrate to his new colony of Pennsylvania. After coming to America, the German immigrants reported back to their kin in Europe that abundant land, plentiful food, cheap taxes, and no forced military service was the way of life in Pennsylvania. Thus, more Germans arrived in America seeking land and opportunity. Reading Check: Answer the following questions and underline in the paragraph where you found your answer. 13. How did the policy of salutary neglect lead to colonial self-government? 14. What was the significance of Bacon’s Rebellion? 15. What push (negative) factors drove Europeans out of their native countries? What pull (positive) factors encouraged immigration to the colonies?