Chapter 3

Putting Down Roots

Colonial life was hard and often unstable

The Chesapeake Region Settlers were well-scattered

24 families in a 25 sq. mi. area That’s 6 people per sq. mi. as opposed to

New England where there were 500 people per sq. mi.

Isolation Many grew tobacco Ships could pull up to homes on river banks

Towns and cities were slow taking hold Indentured servants were used on many

farms Few women immigrated, so it was hard

to find brides Many female indentured servants

married prosperous farmers who paid off what they owed

Diseases killed many Malaria Typhoid Dysentery Salt poisoning from drinking polluted

water

Life expectancy in the Chesapeake area was 20 years fewer than the average age in New England Colder climate in New England Few mosquitoes 3 generations often

Colonists still saw themselves as British, although that would change in the 1700s

Colonists brought with them that English model of government England

King –vast authority, needed Parliament’s consent on money

Parliament – 2 houses, reviewed money issues and king’s actions

America When small, had local assemblies Later had appointed governors in both

royal and proprietary colonies By 1750, only 2 governors were

popularly elected: Rhode Island & Connecticut

Governors Were of high social standing Granted favors Sometimes corrupt Could veto actions of the assemblies Had great power that could go

unchecked in the colonies

Justice of the Peace Found in smaller towns Maintained order Had jurisdiction in criminal and civil

matters Similar to the duties of counterparts in

England

Church of England The official religion in many of the

colonies No matter what a colonist’s religion, all

had to pay a tithe to the Church of England

Few Anglican priests came to America, it wasn’t as powerful in the colonies

Local issues dominated political discussions, not the policies of the King

They paid attention to the King only when they absolutely had to Because of England’s wars Because of Native American policies

England was concerned with England Colonies were to enrich England

It got money from import taxes Imperial officials could be found primarily

in port towns where these taxes were collected

There was no effort to create an empire in America until Charles II (r. 1660 – 1685) took the throne of England

This was after the monarchy had been restored to England

Called the Restoration See handout

This Glorious Revolution and the changes that came with it upset some of the colonies: Maryland and New York had rebellions In Maryland John Coode forced

Baltimore’s governor, William Joseph, to resign. Catholics lost power when the king made Maryland a royal colony in 1691

Salem Making Massachusetts a royal Colony was a

blow to the Puritans’ morale They began to think that some grave sin

had made this happen This help lead to the Salem Hysteria in

1691 Salem had the region’s 2nd largest port in

1660s Trade made merchants more prosperous

than the farmers

Their equal society was no more 1681, the richest 1/10 of the population

possessed 62% of all wealth and much of the power

Farmers lost their standing and power Tensions grew between the merchants of

Salem Town and the farmers of Salem Village

Salem Town felt they were being punished for some sin

They felt someone must have made a deal with the devil when 2 young girls fell ill with fits; they must have been bewitched

Various people were accused: Tituba – a black from the West Indies where

voodoo was practiced An impoverished hag – senile An 88 year old cranky man An adulteress

Those from the wrong side of the tracks or the wrong side of a political argument were accused

When accusation were made against the prominent in society, authorities put an end to it

In all 139 had been accused 114 were charged 20 were hanged

The Salem Witchcraft Hysteria was the last witchcraft scare in the Western Hemisphere

King Philip’s War There was an escalation of violence

between whites and Native Americans in the 1670s Pressure on the land had increased Pressure on Native Americans to convert

increased 1675 – killing of a Christian Native by 3

other Natives who hadn’t converted Another Native was shot while

burglarizing a house

Metacom (King Philip) organized 2/3 of Native Americans into a fighting force

This started King Philip’s War 25 of 90 New England towns were

destroyed and 600 colonists were killed Puritan forces, in response, killed 6,000

Native Americans either in battle or from starvation

Native American resistance in New England was crushed

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 – Native American raids spread to the Virginia Frontier

When Governor Sir William Berkeley failed to retaliate, the settlers rose up against him

Background: In Virginia in second half of 1600s, it was

harder to get rich quick of off tobacco

Depression had hit the tobacco market Small farmers went bankrupt Some moved further west to the foorhills

of the Appalachians They ran into freed indentured servants

and frontiersmen also looking for land They also ran into Native Americans Settlers took land from the

Susquehannocks and the Potomacks

These tribes complained to Berkeley He tried to solve the problem but the

settlers weren’t satisfied It looked like war Berkeley didn’t want war because he

traded in furs with the Natives; he didn’t want to lose this income

Settlers, led by Nathaniel Bacon , rebelled against the Natives

Bacon and his followers attacked the Oconeechee who were a peaceful tribe

To Bacon and his followers – an Indian was an Indian was an Indian – all the same

Bacon then moved toward the capital where Berkeley had him arrested

Berkeley was forced to release Bacon because his followers were going to take over the Jamestown

Bacon left Jamestown and then returned later when circumstances hadn’t changed

He threatened to kill the Governor Berkeley fled to the eastern shore of the

Chesapeake until Bacon died in of an illness in 1676

This rebellion points out perceived differences between Native Americans and the colonists

It points out differences between rich and poor whites during a time of economic depression

After this rebellion, the Virginia aristocracy (Lees, Burwells, Byrds, Carters etc.) still dominated its politics, economy, & culture

Slave Trade from the West of Africa

Begun by Portuguese Needed labor for sugar plantations Later the Spanish, Dutch, English, and

some Americans got involved Almost 13 million Africans were taken

to the Americas Most went to Caribbean or to Brazil After 1700, many went to British North

America

First Africans came to Virginia in 1619 Dutch stole slaves from Spanish ship in

the Caribbean Some were slaves for life Some were treated like indentured

servants Some were allowed to purchase their

freedom Ex.: Anthony Johnson

Numbers of slaves were small untol end of 1600s; then numbers increased

At beginning of 1800s, Virginia declared slaves were slaves for life and so were their children

As numbers increased in 1700s, lawmakers created slave codes - racism

Blacks were seen as property to be bought and sold

If someone was mulatto, he/she was still considered black

Numbers varied from colony to colony South Carolina – 60% were slave Virginia – 40% Pennsylvania – 8% Massachusetts – 3%

Jobs for slaves varied – domestics, fieldworkers, blacksmiths

They tried to preserve their identities There was a mixing of African,

English, and American cultures Most adjusted; none liked it Periodic rebellions – Stono Rebellion

in September, 1739

150 blacks from South Carolina seized guns and murdered several planters

They then tried to get to Spanish Florida

Many were caught and killed by militia

Society of British North America

Gentry – money and political power Working Class Indentured Servants Slaves

Colonies differed from England Colonies differed from each other