The Planting of English America

 

I.                    England’s Imperial Stirrings

a.       England

                                                               i.      King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s

                                                             ii.      This started a war between the Protestants and Catholics (Protestant Reformation)

                                                            iii.      In 1558, Protestantism became dominant in England (Queen Elizabeth)

                                                           iv.      This increased the rivalry with Catholic Spain

b.      Ireland

                                                               i.      Ireland was under England’s rule

                                                             ii.      Catholic Ireland sought help from Catholic Spain to help them in a revolt against Queen Elizabeth, but Spanish aid never amounted to much

                                                            iii.      In the 1570s and 80s, Elizabeth’s troops crushed the Irish uprising

II.                 Elizabeth Energizes England

a.       Francis Drake

                                                               i.      Encouraged by the ambitious Queen Elizabeth, hardy English buccaneers now swarmed out upon the sea

                                                             ii.      They plundered Spanish treasure ships and settlements (England and Spain were supposed to be at peace)

                                                            iii.      The most famous of these people was Francis Drake

b.      Sir Humphrey Gilbert

                                                               i.      Tried to settle in Newfoundland in 1583

                                                             ii.      Failed when he died

c.       Sir Walter Raleigh

                                                               i.      Tried to settle in Roanoke Island, off the coast of Virginia in 1585

                                                             ii.      Failed for unknown reasons

d.      Spanish Armada

                                                               i.      In 1588, the Spanish Armada of 130 ships went into the English Channel

                                                             ii.      A storm helped scatter and cripple the Spanish fleet

                                                            iii.      Spain would lose control of all of its colonies over the next 300 years

                                                           iv.      England would have naval dominance

e.       England is Ready to Explore

                                                               i.      England was no longer fighting Spain by 1604, when they signed a peace treaty

                                                             ii.      There was a vibrant sense of nationalism and national destiny

                                                            iii.      England now had a sense of religious unity

                                                           iv.      They had a strong leader in Elizabeth I

III.               England on the Eve of Empire

a.       Reasons To Explore

                                                               i.      Unemployment

1.      Population in England swelled from 3 million in 1550 to 4 million in 1600

2.      Landlords were “enclosing” croplands for sheep grazing, forcing many small farmers into tenancy or off the land altogether

3.      Thousands of unemployed farmers and the homeless ventured to the New World

                                                             ii.      Religious Freedom

1.      To escape persecution by Protestants of Roman Catholics

a.       Catholics could not get legally married in England

                                                            iii.      Adventure & Fortune

1.      Only eldest sons were eligible to inherit landed estates, so many younger sons went to the New World (primogeniture)

2.      Joint-stock companies provided people with the financial means to invest in the New World

IV.              England Plants the Jamestown Seedling

a.       Virginia Company of London (or London Company)

                                                               i.      Received a charter from King James I for a settlement in the New World

1.      He wanted to find gold

2.      He also wanted a passage to the Indies

                                                             ii.      Investors put pressure on the colonists to strike it rich quickly and return a profit.  Few thought of a long-term colonization

b.      Jamestown

                                                               i.      Three ships set sail from England in late 1606 (40 died)

                                                             ii.      Settled at Jamestown (in honor of King James I) on May 24, 1607.  The site was easy to defend, but mosquito-infested and very unhealthful

                                                            iii.      Settlers died by the dozens from disease malnutrition, and starvation

                                                           iv.      Many of the settlers were “gentlemen” and unaccustomed to fending for themselves.  They wasted valuable time looking for nonexistent gold when they should have been gathering provisions

c.       Captain John Smith

                                                               i.      1607 – Smith was kidnapped by Powhatan.  He was eventually released.  His daughter, Pocahontas became an intermediary between the Indians and the settlers

                                                             ii.      1608 – Smith took over the settlement and helped make it successful.  He said that anyone who didn’t work won’t eat

                                                            iii.      Winter 1609-1610 (Starving time) – Out of 400 settlers who made it to Jamestown, only 60 survived the winter.  Many had to eat dogs, cats, and mice (one even killed and ate his wife)

                                                           iv.      1610-1625 – Out of the 8,000 settlers who came to Jamestown, only 1,200 survived due to disease, starvation, frostbite, and the Indians

V.                 Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake

a.       Powhatan’s Confederacy

                                                               i.      Powhatan dominated the native peoples living in the James River area (a few dozen small tribes)

                                                             ii.      Powhatan thought that the English might extend his power over his rivals, but the relationship remained tense because the English raided Indian food supplies

b.      Lord De La Warr

                                                               i.      1610 – De La Warr Became governor of Jamestown

1.      He arrives with orders from the VA Company that amount to a declaration of war against the Indians

2.      De La Warr led troops on vicious campaigns against the Irish

3.      He raided Indian villages, burned houses, confiscated provisions, and torched cornfields

                                                             ii.      1614 – Peace settlement ended the First Anglo-Powhatan War

                                                            iii.      1622 – Indians struck back killing 347 settlers.  The VA Company issues new orders of war against the Indians

                                                           iv.      1644 – Indians begin the Second Anglo-Powhatan War, but are defeated again

                                                             v.      1646 – Peace treaty banished the Chesapeake Indians from white areas of settlement

                                                           vi.      1685 – By this time, the English considered the Powhatan peoples extinct

c.       Powhatans’ End

                                                               i.      Their end was caused by the three Ds:

1.      Disease – Native peoples were extremely susceptible to European illnesses (smallpox and measles)

2.      Disorganization – Lacked unity

3.      Disposability – The Indians provided no economic function for the VA colonists.  They provided no reliable labor source and had no valuable commodities to offer in commerce once the Virginians began to grow their own crops

VI.              The Indians’ New World

a.       Changes For the Indians

                                                               i.      The shock of large-scale European colonization disrupted Native American life on a vast scale, introducing unprecedented demographic cultural transformations:

1.      Some Indians had to move

a.       The Sioux were forest dwellers, but by the 18th century moved onto the open plains

2.      Disease was by far the biggest disrupter, as Old World pathogens killed the biologically defenseless Indian populations, causing clans to band together

a.       The Catawba nation was formed from splintered remnants of several different groups uprooted by the shock of the European’s arrival

3.      Trade changed – Traditional barter-and-exchange networks gave way to the temptations of European commerce

a.       Firearms, for example, conferred enormous advantages on those who could purchase them from Europeans.  The desire for firearms intensified competition among the tribes for access to prime hunting grounds that could supply the skins and pelts that the European arms traders wanted.  This led to escalating Indian against Indian violence

VII.            Virginia

a.       Tobacco

                                                               i.      By 1612, Rolfe had perfected methods of raising and curing the pungent weed, eliminating much of the bitter tang.  This helped save the colony because a tobacco rush swept over VA

                                                             ii.      Tobacco promoted the plantation system, which brought with it:

1.      A demand for fresh labor

2.      A demand for more land

b.      Slavery

                                                               i.      1619 – Sketchy records show that 20 Africans were sold as either slaves or servants, thus planting the seeds of the North American slave system

                                                             ii.      Indentured servants were also used – people who bound themselves to work for a number of years to pay their passage to the New World

                                                            iii.      1700 – Blacks made up 14% of the colony’s population

c.       Government

                                                               i.      1619 – The London Company authorized the settlers to summon an assembly, known as the House of Burgesses.  This was the first legislature to be in America

                                                             ii.      1624 – James I detested tobacco and distrusted the House of Burgesses.  As a result, he:

1.      Revoked the charter of the bankrupt Virginia Company

2.      Made VA a royal colony under his command

VIII.         Maryland

a.       Lord Baltimore (George Calvert)

                                                               i.      Was an advisor, friend of the king, and a recent convert to Catholicism

                                                             ii.      He received the charter of Maryland.  He wanted to:

1.      Reap financial profits

2.      Create a refuge for his fellow Catholics (Protestant England was still persecuting Catholics)

b.      2nd Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert)

                                                               i.      When George Calvert died before the charter was completed, Maryland went to Cecilius

                                                             ii.      He organized an expedition under his brother, Leonard Calvert, to send 200 people to settle in Maryland

c.       Leonard Calvert

                                                               i.      Landed at St. Mary’s in 1634

                                                             ii.      Served as the first governor of Maryland

d.      Tobacco

                                                               i.      Like VA, MD’s economy centered around tobacco

                                                             ii.      MD used indentured servants, then slaves

e.       Religion

                                                               i.      Originally, all religions were tolerated in MD

                                                             ii.      Because of an influx of Protestants, the 2nd Lord Baltimore worried that restrictions would be placed on Catholics

                                                            iii.      As a result, he supported passage of the Act of Toleration

1.      Act granted toleration to all Christians

2.      Jews and atheists who receive the death penalty

IX.              The West Indies (Caribbean Area)

a.       Spain

                                                               i.      Spain relaxed its grip on the West Indies because:

1.      Of its rebellious Dutch provinces

2.      Of military overextension

                                                             ii.      As a result, England gradually took control of the area

b.      Sugar

                                                               i.      Unlike tobacco, it could not be planted easily.  It had to be planted extensively to yield commercially viable quantities of sugar.

                                                             ii.      Extensive planting meant extensive land clearing

                                                            iii.      Cane stalks yielded their sugar only after an elaborate process of refining in a sugar mill

                                                           iv.      As a result, only wealthy growers with abundant capital to invest could succeed in sugar

c.       Sugar Lords

                                                               i.      Imported enormous numbers of African slaves

                                                             ii.      By 1700, black slaves outnumbered white settlers in the English West Indies by nearly 4 to 1

1.      As a result, the region’s population has remained predominantly black ever since

                                                            iii.      To control the vast amount of slaves, (Barbados slave) codes were made that deprived them of nearly all their rights and gave masters virtually complete control.  Masters could inflict serious punishments for the slightly infraction

d.      Trade Circle

                                                               i.      The profitable sugar-plantation system soon crowded out almost all other forms of Caribbean agriculture

                                                             ii.      Farmers migrated to the mainland colonies.  They sometimes brought with them slaves and the idea of the slave code

                                                            iii.      The West Indies increasingly depended on the North American mainland for foodstuffs and other basic supplies

X.                 Colonizing the Carolinas

a.       Civil War

                                                               i.      Charles I dismissed Parliament in 1629

                                                             ii.      When he recalled it in 1640, they were mutinous

                                                            iii.      Civil war erupted.  Oliver Cromwell led an army against the king and beheaded Charles

                                                           iv.      Colonization had been interrupted during this period

b.      Charles II

                                                               i.      The son of the decapitated king was restored to the throne in 1660

                                                             ii.      Empire building now resumed

                                                            iii.      Carolina was created in 1670, after the king granted to eight of his favorite nobles land

                                                           iv.      Purpose of the colony:

1.      Hoped to grow foodstuffs to feed the sugar plantations in the West Indies

2.      Export non-English products, such as wine, silk, and olive oil

c.       Economy in the Carolinas

                                                               i.      Carolina prospered by developing close economic ties with the West Indies

                                                             ii.      Rice eventually emerged as the principal export crop in Carolina

                                                            iii.      Rice was an exotic food in England

                                                           iv.      Rice was grown in Africa, so the Carolinas were paying high prices for African slaves

                                                             v.      1710 – Slaves made up a majority of the population in Carolina

d.      Indians

                                                               i.      Carolinians captured Savannah Indians to use as slaves as well

                                                             ii.      1707 – The Savannah Indians left for the backcountry of MA and VA

                                                            iii.      Carolinians decided to raid their tribes as they left and were nearly wiped out by 1710

e.       Spanish

XI.              The Emergence of North Carolina

a.       The People of North Carolina

                                                               i.      A ragtag group of poverty-stricken outcasts and religious dissenters moved to what would become North Carolina

                                                             ii.      They didn’t like aristocratic VA or SC

                                                            iii.      The newcomers were “squatters”, or people without legal right to the soil

                                                           iv.      They raised tobacco and other crops on small farms, with little need for slaves

                                                             v.      Following much friction with governors, North Carolina was officially separated from South Carolina in 1712, and subsequently each became a royal colony

b.      Indians

                                                               i.      The North Carolinians defeated the Tuscaroras and Yamasees and sold hundreds into slavery

                                                             ii.      Most Indian tribes in the southern colonies had been utterly devastated by 1720

XII.            Georgia

a.       Last Colony

                                                               i.      Founded in 1733, Georgia was the last of the 13 colonies

                                                             ii.      It was created 126 years after VA; 52 after the 12th – PA

                                                            iii.      Named after King George II of England

b.      James Oglethorpe

                                                               i.      Oglethorpe (and other philanthropists) and George II wanted colonize Georgia to:

1.      Serve as a buffer to protect the Carolinas against the Spaniards in FL and the French in LA

a.       Georgia was the only colony to receive money to defend themselves from England

2.      Produce silk and wine

3.      Serve as a haven for people imprisoned for debt

a.       Oglethorpe had a special interest in Georgia (and prison reform) because a friend died in a debtors prison

                                                             ii.      Oglethorpe saved the colony through his energetic leadership and by spending his own fortune

c.       Religion

                                                               i.      All religions except for Catholics were tolerated

                                                             ii.      Many missionaries hoped to work among debtors and Indians, such as John Wesley, who founded the Methodist Church

XIII.         Plantation Colonies

a.       Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia

                                                               i.      All these colonies shared some of the same features:

1.      Profitable staple crops

a.       Tobacco and rice

2.      Slavery

3.      Land was owned by only a few rich people

4.      Scattering of plantations and farms

a.       Retarded the growth of cities

b.      Made the establishment of churches and schools difficult and expensive

5.      Permitted some religious tolerance

6.      Staple crops took up a lot of land, causing the colonists to go west and be in confrontation with the Native Americans