Hist 110American Civilization I

Instructor: Dr. Donald R. Shaffer

Upper Iowa University

Lecture 2 Spanish Colonies

Government of Spanish America Because of the vast wealth it

generated, Spanish monarchs tried to keep their American colonies under tight control

Colonies organized into “viceroyalties” under a “viceroyal” directly appointed by the king

The Catholic Church Bartolome de Las Casas: successfully

promoted the idea that the Indians had souls and should not be killed or enslaved

Missions had the dual purpose of converting the Indians to Christianity and “civilizing” them (i.e., turning them into good Spanish peasants)

Encomienda A grant of land and Indian laborers to

a Spaniard The Spaniard could make use of the

Indian labor, but in return was expected to work to convert the Indians to Christianity and civilize them

Early encomiendas involved the ruthless exploitation of natives

Lecture 2 French Colonies

The French moved gradually into North America in the 16th century

Like the Spanish, they initially came looking for treasure, but found none in what is today Quebec

They stayed, however, because they found it profitable to trade European goods with the Indians for animal furs

Like the Spanish they tried to convert the Indians to Christianity, but initially did not seek conquest

The fur trade worked best with a limited French presence, mostly traders

“coureurs de bois”: illegal fur trappers who established cultural ties with Indians, leading to creation of the Metis (mixed French-Indian people)

Eventually the French established larger settlements, but they were small compared to the English

Lecture 2 Dutch in America

Holland by the 17th century was a leading commercial power in Europe, making it a rival to England

In the process of gaining independence from Spain, it developed global colonial and trade interests, including in America

The Dutch established a colony in the Hudson River Valley trading for furs with Indians at Fort Orange (present-day Albany)

English takeover Holland’s small population and

prosperity meant few immigrants came to America making the colony vulnerable

The colony, especially its commercial capital New Amsterdam (late New York City) also attracted a diverse population with little loyalty to Holland

Hence, there was little resistance when the English invaded the colony in 1664, renaming in it New York after its new ruler the Duke of York (later James II)

The first successful English colony in North America was established at Jamestown in Virginia in 1607

Established by the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company charted by James I

The intent of the company was to emulate the Spanish model Live initially by exploiting the

Indians Find and seize Indian treasure This model did not work because

the Indians in the Chesapeake region were poor hunter-farmers

Most early colonists soon died from disease and starvation

Tobacco The salvation of the colony was

tobacco, brought in from the Caribbean

After the introduction of tobacco, Virginia prospered, although life remained rough and life spans short until the late 1600s

Lecture 2England: Establishing Virginia

“Thatnoxiousweed”

Lecture 2England: Life in the Early Chesapeake

Brutish and short Low life expectancy: 40% dead within

6 years of arrival; 2/3 dead within 10 years

Imbalanced sex ratio (men outnumber women)

Scattered, low density population Primitive living conditions Positives: more food, chance to own

land Maryland

Charles I established Maryland in 1632 as a refuge for English Catholics

Granted a proprietary colony to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore

Also developed a tobacco economy Toleration Act (1649): religious

toleration to all trinitarian Christians (meant to protect Catholic minority from the Protestant majority in the colony) This act was the first formal

legislation enacting (albeit limited) religious freedom in American history

Lecture 2England: Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia

Indentured Servants 80 percent of all 17th century

immigrants Main source of labor in the early

decades Worked 4-7 years in return for passage Young and poor, overwhelmingly male

If servants arrived before 1660 and survived they had a decent chance of becoming a land owning planter

A collapse in tobacco prices after 1660 made this goal unattainable

Former indentured servants in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon, pressured Gov. William Berkeley to confiscate land from Indians to provide them with plantations

When Berkeley refused, Bacon and his followers rebelled, burning Jamestown

Bacon’s sudden death and arrival of royal troops led to revolt’s collapse

After revolt, planters began to replace indentured servants with African slaves

Advertisement offering reward

for runaway indentured servant

Lecture 2England: Establishing New England Colonies

Unlike Virginia, the colonists in New England had religious motivations for coming to America

The English monarchy was increasingly hostile during the reign of Charles I to people who refused to follow the hierarchy of the Church of England

Plymouth Established by Separatist Puritans in

1620 near Cape Cod, Massachusetts These were the famous “Pilgrims” After difficult start, their colony a

success Massachusetts Bay

Congregationalist Puritans established the much larger colony in 1629

“Errand to the Wilderness” Tried to prove Puritan approach in

England by establishing an ideal Puritan society in America

Lecture 2England: Puritanism and New England

The Puritans tried to emulate what they saw as the simplicity and egalitarianism they saw in early Christianity

They rejected the hierarchy and practices of the Church of England as too similar to Catholic Church

Congregationalist Puritans did not formally renounce the Church of England but they hoped to reform from within

Separatist Puritans formally rejected the Church of England

Puritan Intolerance Despite being persecuted by the crown

in England, Puritans did not hesitate to persecute outsiders and their own people who deviated from Puritan orthodoxy

Roger Williams: banished from Massachusetts and then established Rhode Island

Anne Hutchinson: defied Puritan theological and male authority

Puritans walking to Sundaychurch services – all people

in Puritan New England were

legally required to attend church

Lecture 2 Life in Early New England

New England economy: more diversified than the Chesapeake (not dependent on a single crop or just agriculture)

Puritans came from ‘midling sort’ of English society, which meant they could finance their own passage to America

They also moved to America as families, meaning New England had a more balanced sex ratio than the Chesapeake

Puritans lived in compact villages rather than on the land they farmed

Village life reinforced religious beliefs by making all Puritans subject to scrutiny

Their housing was much more substantial than in the Chesapeake

Longer life expectancy than Chesapeake due to healthier lifestyle and climate

Old Deluder Act (1647) First formal provision for public

education in American history Puritans believed in witchcraft:

Salem Witchcraft Trial: (right click on the link to an outside website)

Puritan home built in 1668Salem, Massachusetts

An example of the substantial

housing built in New England

Lecture 2England: Puritans and Native Americans

The Puritans had an ambivalent attitude toward Native Americans

They coveted Indian land and believed Native Americans to be culturally inferior and under Satan’s control

Yet some Puritans like John Eliot also felt an obligation to try to convert Indians to Christianity

Praying Villages Communities of Native American

converts Converts adopted Puritan culture as

well as Puritan religion Metacom’s Rebellion (1675)

Wampanoags and their allies, feeling increasingly threatened by the English tried to wipe them out

Destroyed 20% of English villages and 5% of population before counter-attacks by English and their Indian allies prevailed