mercantilism & labors systems in british north america
TRANSCRIPT
RI NY PA MD
Mercantilism & Labors Systems in British North America
Religious intolerance Roger Williams
Challenged authority of the government to regulate the church – banished
Established new colony of Rhode Island (1636) Freedom of religion (for all)
Separation of church and state
Anne Hutchinson Challenged the concept of predestination Banished from MA
Henry Hudson sailed for the
Dutch West India Company and discovered the Hudson River valley
Colony established as a company town to capitalize on the fur trade
Aristocratic patroonships established
Repressive colony
New Netherlands (1623)
Peter Stuyvesant
The ‘wall’ of Wall Street
William Penn Established as a proprietary colony & safe
haven for the Religious Society of Friends = Quakers
Pennsylvania (1664)
PA ‘mass-marketed’ in Europe Attracted a diverse population – both a strength and
weakness – which spurred rapid growth Delaware, East Jersey, and West Jersey were formed
from ‘overflow’
Why were Quakers feared and prosecuted?
Quakers
Equality and mass participation
Church of England
Hierarchy for religious, economic, and political power
Why were Quakers feared and
prosecuted?Quakers
Simplicity & no state support
Church of England
Westminster Abbey - Power of the Church
of England and the King
Quakers
Pacifism and liberal political beliefs 1st group to
advocate abolition of slavery
Cooperation & peaceful coexistence with native Indians
Tolerance of all immigrants and religions
Why were Quakers feared and
prosecuted?
Political unrest in England (Charles I,
Cromwell, Charles II, blah, blah, blah) Land grant to 8 noblemen as gift for support of
King Charles II
The Carolinas (1670)
Cromwell
Charles II
Close economic ties with the West Indies Original settlers from Barbados Adopted slave codes – 1st colony to legally
establish slavery Main export – rice NC – SC split (1712)
NC = VA ‘rejects’ who often were squatters SC = aristocratic
The Carolinas
Mercantilism: Economic system designed to enrich the “mother”
country with raw materials and closed markets of its colonies.
Balance of Trade: Navigation Acts maintained a clash flow towards
England
Quickest way to individual riches: Trading & land speculation
North America
WestIndies
England
AfricaSlaves
Raw Materials
Manufactured Goods
Rum
SugarMolasses
Slaves
TimberFood
Manufactured Goods
Triangular Trade – not really a triangle
Tobacco – soil exhaustion
– conflict with Indians Headright System &
Indentured Servitude VA & MD colonists
received 50 acres of land for each paid passage
Birth of plantation system
Life on the Chesapeake
‘Eastern Shore’ of MD
Western settlers
(former indentured servants) were dissatisfied with the government in Jamestown Promise of land Indian policy Economic inequality
& disenfranchisement
Bacon’s Rebellion: VA (1676)
Rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon – burned Jamestown
Effect – planters looked for less troublesome labor source – African slaves
Gov. Berkeley
Riot or Rebellion?
How can this incident be
‘spun’ in either
direction?
Distribution of slaves
400,000 of 10 million in NA Most to West Indies and South America
Rise of slavery in America Slavery too risky/expensive in pre-Bacon colonies Rising wages in England = less indentured servants Bacon’s Rebellion Royal African Company loses British monopoly of
slave trade
Colonial Slavery
The Slave Chain
Africans were often treated like cattle during the crossing. On the slave ships, people were stuffed between decks in spaces too low for standing. The heat was often unbearable, and the air nearly unbreathable. Women were often used sexually. Men were often chained in pairs, shackled wrist to wrist or ankle to ankle. People were crowded together, usually forced to lie on their backs with their heads between the legs of others. This meant they often had to lie in each other's feces, urine, and, in the case of dysentery, even blood. In such cramped quarters, diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever spread like wildfire. The diseased were sometimes thrown overboard to prevent wholesale epidemics. Because a small crew had to control so many, cruel measures such as iron muzzles and whippings were used to control slaves.
Heading for Jamaica in 1781, the ship Zong was nearing the end of its voyage. It had been twelve weeks since it had sailed from the west African coast with its cargo of 417 slaves. Water was running out. Then, compounding the problem, there was an outbreak of disease. The ship's captain, reasoning that the slaves were going to die anyway, made a decision. In order to reduce the owner's losses he would throw overboard the slaves thought to be too sick to recover. The voyage was insured, but the insurance would not pay for sick slaves or even those killed by illness. However, it would cover slaves lost through drowning.
The captain gave the order; 54 Africans were chained together, then thrown overboard. Another 78 were drowned over the next two days. By the time the ship had reached the Caribbean,132 persons had been murdered.
When the ship returned to England the owners made their claim -- they wished to be compensated the full value for each slave lost. The claim might have been honored had if it had not been for former slave Equiano, then living in England, who learned of the tragedy and alerted an abolitionist friend of his. The case went to court. At first the jury ruled in favor of the ship's owners. Since it was permissible to kill animals for the safety of the ship, they decided, it was permissible to kill slaves for the same reason. The insurance company appealed, and the case was retried. This time the court decided that the Africans on board the ship were people. It was a landmark decision.
On another voyage, on another ship, a similar incident occurred. On La Rodeur in 1812, there was an outbreak of ophthalmia, a disease that causes temporary blindness. Both slaves and crew were afflicted. The captain, fearing that the blindness was permanent and knowing that blind slaves would be difficult if not impossible to sell, sent 39 slaves over the rails to their watery death. As with the captain of the Zong, he hoped that the insurance would cover the loss.
The Slave Markets
Slave Codes Servant v. Slave Slavery based on race, heredity, and chattel
The English / Americans invented a new chapter in slavery in human history. Race had never been a defining factor in
bondage – rather it was an economic or political institution.
“Slave market in Rome” by Jean-Leon Gerome
Slave Life Deep South – rice and indigo farming w/ harsh conditions Upper South – tobacco farming Culture - Language (Gullah), music, religion, and weaving
all show blending of Africa and America
Slave Revolts New York City (1712) Stono Rebellion, SC (1739) None equaled the size of Bacon’s rebellion, so African
slaves were seen as a ‘safer’ investment
Slavery exacerbated the gap between rich and poor Hierarchy
Merchant Planters & FFVs (First Families of Virginia) Small Farmers – largest social/economic class Landless whites and indentured servants Slaves & Indians
Plantation economy prevented growth of – Cities and a transportation network Merchant and professional classes Schools and Churches
Colonial Southern Society
Higher standard of living than Europe Close relationship with environment -
Disease, agriculture, weather Class distinctions grew with economic
growth
Generalizations of British America