Creating a British Empire in
America,
1660-1750
Chapter 3
The Politics of Empire, 1660-1713
Imperial expansion and Aristocratic Power
The Carolinas
• Envisioned a traditional European society
• Manorial system
• Church of England
• Rebellions forced proprietors to abandon their dreams of a feudal society
• Recreated hierarchal slave society similar to West Indies
William Penn and Pennsylvania
• Refuge for Quakers
• Gender equality in Christianity
• Allowed all property owning men to vote and hold office
• Recruited settlers in Germany (religious toleration/land)
From Mercantilism to Imperial Dominion
The Navigation Acts
• England demanded the colonies to sell goods directly to them
• English or colonial merchants only
• Import from England only
• Export sugar and tobacco only to England
• Most laws were ignored by colonies
The Dominion of New England
• Strict royal control over colonial rights of trade
• NY, MA, RI, CT, ME, NJ, NY, Plymouth
• Enforced authoritarian model over colonial rights
• Enforced Church of England
The Glorious Revolution in England and America
• James II reverted to absolutism and Catholicism
• Glorious Revolution (1688-89)
• Declaration of Rights inspired by John Locke
Rebellions In America
• Encouraged anti-Catholic rebellions in America
• Began a new non-authoritarian political era in England and America
• England supported overthrowing of Catholic governments and allowed
restoration of some self-government
Imperial Wars and Native Peoples
• Seventy five percent of revenue on military expenses (France)
• War of Spanish Succession (1702-1713)
Indian Goals
• Remove English from New England
The Imperial Slave Economy
The South Atlantic System
• Sugar; Brazil & West Indies
• British transported 40% of Africa’s 6.1 million black people
England and the West Indies
• Latecomer to slave trade
• Sugar
• Fear and absolute coercive force
• Jamaica
The Impact on Britain
• Bought cheap; sold high
Africa, Africans, and the Slave Trade
• Between 1550-1870 the slave trade uprooted 11 million Africans
Africans and the Slave Trade
• Asante, Dahomey, and Oyo build “secondary empires” on slave trade
• Prisoners of war
• Social division
• Men
The Middle Passage
• 10% uprisings; 14% died
Slavery in the Chesapeake and South Carolina
• By 1705 Africans made up majority
• Disease from mosquitoes
• Heat exhaustion
• “re-Africanization”; high mortality rate
An African American Community Emerges
• White planters encouraged ethnic diversity. Why?
Building Community
• Language
• Family names and tradition
•
“jumping the broomstick”
Resistance and Accommodation
• Denied education, possessions, and associations
• More size, more violence
• Miscegenation with Indian tribes
• Sunday
• Rebellions
The Stono Rebellion 1739
• Florida instigated fugitive slaves
• 75 Africans killed whites near Stono River in route to FL
• White militia killed many of the rebels
• Result:
William Byrd and the Rise of the Southern Gentry
• Frustrated with reality of being an outcast of English society. Many white colonial elites like William Byrd
took out their anger on white yeomen, tenant farmers, and black slaves.
White Identity and Inequality
• To prevent uprisings like Bacon’s Rebellion, taxes were lowered
• Slave labor was encouraged. Why?
• Poor yeoman could vote
• Bribes
• Leading elite families used their support to limit power of royal governor
• Wealthy colonial aristocracy began to separate themselves from others
• Gentility
• Stable, ruling, well educated class formed. How?
The Northern Maritime Economy
The Urban Economy
• West Indian trade created merchant fortunes and first urban industries
• Ships were manufactured; sugar refineries
• Exports of wheat, fish, rice, and indigo
Urban Society
• Wealthy merchants dominated society
• Half of the population were artisans, shopkeeper families, and skilled workers
• Laborers were the lowest social class
The New Politics of Empire, 1713-1750
The Rise of Colonial Assemblies
• After the Glorious Revolution, English Whigs limited power of crown officials in England
• Only colonial elite could run for office
• Elite assemblies nor wealthy property owners could impose unpopular edicts on the people. Why?
Salutary Neglect
• British colonial policy during reigns of King George and George II allowed the rise of American selfgovernment. By product of pensions and appointments to supporters.
• Salutary neglect
• To preserve American liberty, the colonists strengthened the powers of the representative assemblies,
unintentionally laying the foundation for American independence.
Protecting the Mercantile System
Commercial Aggression
• General European conflict emerged to protect and conquer trade ports and routes
The American Economic Challenge
The Politics of Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts allowed colonists to build ships
• The Acts were ignored as merchants traded with French
• The Currency Act prohibited colonies issuing paper money to pay debts
• Britain vowed to reassert its power over the colonies in the late 1740s