Chapter 2 By the end of the 15th century northern Europe had experienced substantial commercial growth and population especially in the Hanse cities bordering the North Sea and the Baltic Accompanying the discoveries of new places and emergence of new trades was the accumulation of knowledge Greatest of the sea explorations from Europe took place within a little less than 35 years By the early 16th century the wealth and commerce of Europe had shifted to the Atlantic Spain and Portugal came to the New World followed by Holland France and England later on Half brothers Sir Humphrey Gilber and Sir Walter Raleigh were the first Englishmen to undertake serious ventures to America o Gilbert went to Newfoundland in 1578 and 1583 but failed to colonize the territory both times eventually losing his life on the return to England o Raleigh was granted to settle in Virginia and control the land with a 600 mile radius from any colony that he established o Raleigh brought two groups to the new continent First landed on an island of Roanoke off of North Carolina staying for less than a year Second was ordered to settle near Chesapeake Bay but Governor John White disagreed and landed in Roanoke He returned to England and when he returned back to Roanoke he didn t find a single person After a long war between England and Spain 1588 1603 England reattempted colonizing with two charters o Group of Londoners Could settle south of the English territory o Merchants of Plymouth and other western port towns Could settle over the northern part o Those who survived the winter in the northern colony gave up and went home and Jamestown won the hard earned honor of being the first permanent English settlement in America Jamestown settlers sent shiploads of mica and yellow ore in 1607 08 worthless Before they found out disease starvation and misadventure took 67 out of 105 of the settlers the first year 800 more settlers arrived in 1609 under Virginia Company o The following spring frontier hardships cut settlers from 838 to 60 An Indian attack took the lives of 500 settlers causing a royal investigation in 1623 o Reported of 6 000 settlers about 4 000 had died with a life expectancy averaging 2 years Virginia Company accumulated investment worth 200 000 22 million today all lost A permanent settlement was needed to be successful Discovery of cash crops or other items that could be produced in the colonies and exchanged commercially was essential rice and tobacco All of the joint stock companies excluding the Hudson Bay Company survived less than two decades Early Jamestown settlers were brought over by the company and given planter shares with profits to be divided 5 years later o Meanwhile they lived at the company s expense and work for the company o They worked collectively later they realized this encouraged individuals to work less and resulted in much discontent Stifled incentives to care for the land single men complained for earning same as married men 1609 1612 small garden plots of land were given to settlers 1614 land increased to 3 acres for a settler 1618 Headright System established Any settler who paid his own voyage was given 50 acres and 50 acres for every other person paid 1623 all land converted to private ownership 1625 Virginia was converted to a Crown colony British Empire in North America extended from French Canada to Spanish Florida and through to the sugar plantation islands of the Caribbean In the 17th century cost of the Atlantic passage was 9 10 person more than an average English person s yearly income Later dropped to 5 6 By 1775 more than half a million had traveled with about 350 000 by indenture contracts IOU o Prospective immigrants would sign articles of indenture binding them to a period of service that varied from 3 7 years 4 being the most common Slavery did not become an important source of labor until after 1650 first appeared around 1620 o South Carolina had the largest population 60 of blacks When Jamestown was founded 300 000 Native Americans existed Diseases and war caused the number to drop to between 50 000 and 100 000 Chapter 7 The Revolutionary War which began on April 19 1775 dragged on for more than 6 years o Foreshadowed a massive upheaval in the Western world About 1 3 of the colonists remained loyal to England 1 3 did little or nothing to help the cause There were few seamen and sea battles that it was ironic the war was finally won by naval strength from the French When legal restrictions were implemented by both the British and the colonists in 1775 nearly all American overseas commerce abruptly ceased 1775 Colonies faced acute shortages in such military essentials as powder flints muskets and knives Even salt shoes woolens and linens were in short supply Formal treaties of commerce with France in 1778 and with Holland and Spain shortly thereafter As exports and imports fell import substitution abounded and the colonial economy became stimulated the flows of overseas trade considerably more self sufficient 1780 All of the 13 colonies had their own individual constitutions and legally they were unified by the Articles of Confederation written as a source of early political agreement and to wage the war 1775 81 The war was financed by the issue of paper money in amounts great enough to result in a galloping inflation o Nearly 200 million in continental money more than 150 million in quartermaster and commissary certificates of the central government and another 200 million in paper money of the states was issued to defray war time expenses not enough tax to pay interest and hold value 1786 Virginia called for the Annapolis Convention to discuss trade regulations between states but ended up only recommending to Congress that another convention be called 1787 Convention in Philadelphia o George Washington president of the convention sent the completed document to the states for ratification o December 7 1787 Delaware ratified it almost immediately o June 21 1788 New Hampshire cast the crucial 9th vote March 4 1789 Congress declared the Constitution in effect Two years later the Bill of Rights was passed and put into effect With the adoption of the Constitution the power to tax was firmly delegated to the federal government states The Constitution also have the central government the sole right to mint coins and regulate coinage states not allowed and banned states from producing paper currency Another matter of great political and economic significance