HIST 1311 1st Edition Lecture 6Current LectureThe British and Spanish Colonies in the Eighteenth Century, 1689-1763The British Transatlantic Communities of Trade Regions of Commerce England’s colonies were divided into five distinct regional economies and a backcountry economy. Britain’s Caribbean possessions produced sugar. (Jamaica, Cuba) The Lower South produced rice. (Pirates are going after the ships) The Chesapeake economy centered on tobacco. (North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia) New England concentrated on fishing, timber, shipbuilding, and international commerce. (trade)The middle colonies focused on wheat and overseas trade. (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey)The backcountry had a subsistence-level economy. (farmers living on the edge) The Cords of Commercial Empire The colonies traded abroad widely. The majority of their trade was with England. The colonies also traded extensively with each other. Community and Work in Colonial Society New England Society and Culture A wealthy merchant elite arose in the seaport towns by the end of the seventeenth century. (Boston)Although economic success replaced older values, older attitudes toward education remained. Land became scarce in the eighteenth century. New Englanders moved to new farming regions or to commercial centers. (because farmland had been taken up in Massachusetts) New immigrants avoided settling in New England. Planter Society and Slavery Until the 1680s, much of the population consisted of indentured male servants (replaced by African slaves eventually) engaged to work in the tobacco fields. In the 1680s, however, the drawbacks to African slavery began to vanish. The Dutch monopoly on the slave trade was broken by the English and competition among English slavers drove prices down and ensured a steady supply of slaves. Dutch slave trade breaks up and British take over, 7 million salves, salves increase. The prosperity of the region depended upon slave labor. These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Slave Experience and Slave Culture The transit from Africa to North America was a brutal experience, especially on the middle passage. (2/3 slaves end up dead )Isolation on small plantations and continual new arrivals on larger ones made it difficult for a distinctive slave culture to emerge. Slave owners lived in fear of revolts. (1700s)The odds against a successful uprising were high, and few slave rebellions occurred; the Stono Rebellion was the most famous that did. The Urban Culture of the Middle Colonies The urban life of New York City and Philadelphia was what made the middle colonies distinctive.Urban problems included overcrowding, disease, and crime. (Yellow fever, typhoid, measles, small pox, chloral) Varied opportunities for _ HYPERLINK "http://get-faster.com/?go=employment" _employment_ were their major attraction. The highest concentration of African Americans in the northern colonies lived in New York City. Urban racial tension took the form of fear of slave uprisings and led to great violence. (pick pocketing, prostitutes) Life in the Backcountry (Appalachian mountains)Most immigrants in the eighteenth century settled in the backcountry. They were joined there by the sons of older families in the East, who were searching for land. Backcountry inhabitants were often in conflict with colonial governments. Disputes over Indian policy gave rise to conflict, as in the case of Pennsylvania’s Paxton Boys. South Carolina’s Regulators objected to insufficient government services in the backcountry. North Carolina’s Regulators began an armed rebellion because of corrupt government officials. Reason and Religion in Eighteenth-Century Colonial Society (Age of Enlightenment) The Impact of the Enlightenment American colonists were influenced by the ideas of the European Enlightenment, which stressedreason and progress. (believing in education, medicine, science)Some were drawn to deism. (Deism is where you believe in God but he doesn’t interfere with your life. God’s a machine and sets up everything up and then backs off.) Many accepted John Locke’s social contract theory. (Social contract between the ruler and rule. Has the right rule till he keeps the good for people he rules) Religion and the Religious Institutions Religious toleration grew as the number of Protestant sects in the colonies increased. Toleration did not extend to Catholics. Toleration was not defined as separation of church and state; established churches remained. Indifference to religion also grew. Women, however, tended to remain more involved in the churches. The Great Awakening This movement for religious revival stressed the importance of fiery preaching. The greatest preaching of all was that by the visiting George Whitefield. The revival movement caused conflict in colonial society.More traditional clergymen and the wealthy resented attacks on them; controversies broke out within churches and denominations; and religious affiliation often translated into political positions and to class tensions. New colleges were established. Government and Politics in the Mainland Colonies Imperial Institutions and Policies Reorganization of the British Empire in 1696 resulted in creation of the Board of Trade. In reality, authority over the colonies remained divided among many agencies in the British government. The British government’s policy for the colonies was one of salutary neglect. Local Colonial Government Each colony had the same governing structure: a governor, a council, and a representative elected assembly. Governors possessed extensive authority but often could not exercise it. The assemblies paid the governors’ salaries, among other reasons for their weakness. The assemblies continually broadened their powers. The members had the advantage of being from a small, intimate, and permanent elite. Conflicting Views of the