Lecture 4 The British and Spanish Colonies in the Eighteenth Century 1689 1763 I The British Transatlantic Communities of Trade A Regions of Commerce 1 England s colonies were divided into five distinct regional economies and a backcountry economy a Britain s Caribbean possessions produced sugar b The Lower South produced rice c The Chesapeake economy centered on tobacco d New England concentrated on fishing timber shipbuilding and international commerce e The middle colonies focused on wheat and overseas trade f The backcountry had a subsistence level economy B The Cords of Commercial Empire 1 The colonies traded abroad widely a The majority of their trade was with England 2 The colonies also traded extensively with each other II Community and Work in Colonial Society A New England Society and Culture 1 A wealthy merchant elite arose in the seaport towns by the end of the seventeenth century a Although economic success replaced older values older attitudes toward education remained 2 Land became scarce in the eighteenth century a New Englanders moved to new farming regions or to commercial centers b New immigrants avoided settling in New England B Planter Society and Slavery 1 Until the 1680s much of the population consisted of indentured male servants 2 engaged to work in the tobacco fields 3 In the 1680s however the drawbacks to African slavery began to vanish a 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 b The prosperity of the region depended upon slave labor C Slave Experience and Slave Culture 1 The transit from Africa to North America was a brutal experience especially on the middle passage 2 Isolation on small plantations and continual new arrivals on larger ones made it difficult for a distinctive slave culture to emerge 3 Slave owners lived in fear of revolts a D E III 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 1 The urban life of New York City and Philadelphia was what made the middle colonies distinctive a Urban problems included overcrowding disease and crime b Varied opportunities for employment were their major attraction 2 The highest concentration of African Americans in the northern colonies lived in New York City a Urban racial tension took the form of fear of slave uprisings and led to great violence Life in the Backcountry 1 Most immigrants in the eighteenth century settled in the backcountry a They were joined there by the sons of older families in the East who were searching for land 2 Backcountry inhabitants were often in conflict with colonial governments a Disputes over Indian policy gave rise to conflict as in the case of Pennsylvania s Paxton Boys b South Carolina s Regulators objected to insufficient government services in the backcountry c North Carolina s Regulators began an armed rebellion because of corrupt government officials Reason and Religion in Eighteenth Century Colonial Society A The Impact of the Enlightenment 1 American colonists were influenced by the ideas of the European Enlightenment which stressed reason and progress a Some were drawn to deism b Many accepted John Locke s social contract theory B Religion and the Religious Institutions 1 Religious toleration grew as the number of Protestant sects in the colonies increased a Toleration did not extend to Catholics b Toleration was not defined as separation of church and state established churches remained 2 Indifference to religion also grew a Women however tended to remain more involved in the churches C IV The Great Awakening 1 This movement for religious revival stressed the importance of fiery preaching a The greatest preaching of all was that by the visiting George Whitefield 2 The revival movement caused conflict in colonial society a 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 3 New colleges were established Government and Politics in the Mainland Colonies A Imperial Institutions and Policies 1 Reorganization of the British Empire in 1696 resulted in creation of the Board of Trade a In reality authority over the colonies remained divided among many agencies in the British government 2 The British government s policy for the colonies was one of salutary neglect B Local Colonial Government 1 Each colony had the same governing structure a governor a council and a representative elected assembly 2 Governors possessed extensive authority but often could not exercise it a The assemblies paid the governors salaries among other reasons for their weakness 3 The assemblies continually broadened their powers a The members had the advantage of being from a small intimate and permanent elite C Conflicting Views of the Assemblies 1 English authorities and colonists had very different ideas about the powers of colonial assemblies a The colonists saw a two level system England responsible for the British Empire the colonial assemblies responsible for local government b The English saw only a single system one in which the king and Parliament were supreme in everything V North America and the Struggle for Empire A Indian Alliances and Rivalries 1 Many Indian tribes had formed alliances with colonists to assist the newcomers protect their own safety and advance their own interests or defeat local rivals a Imperial rivalries however often took precedence over alliances with European newcomers B The Great War for Empire 1 The first four wars of five fought by England France and Spain angered the American colonists a Serious hostilities occurred in North America but the only outcomes were taxes inflation impressments of colonial sailors and greater commercial regulation 2 Worldwide conflict between England and France began in 1754 and lasted until 1763 a In the war s North American theater the French and their Indian allies attacked deeply into English territory b Britain eventually counterattacked in Canada and defeated the French at Quebec c All of New France fell to the English in 1760 with the capture of Montreal C The Outcomes of the Great War for Empire 1 France lost most of her possessions around the world a In North America France ceded Canada to the British 2 England emerged