Chapter 1 Colonial times.docx

Chapter 1 Colonial times Colonial Notes I. Exploration…know major explorers Protestant Reformation (1517) Martin Luther 95 Thesis John Calvin Calvinism English Reformation Church of England (Anglican) John Knox (Church of Scotland, Presbyterian) English Puritans Separatists (Pilgrims) Colonial rivals in North America Spain Fla, Gulf Coast, west France Canada, Miss. River Valley, Dutch Hudson River Valley (new York) Sweden Delaware England east coast of North America : The Winner! II. 1st English settlement Virginia Sir Walter Raleigh Roanoake (1585) disappeared Jamestown (1607) 1st permanent Virginia Company…joint stock company John Smith John Rolfe Pocahontas “the starving time” Chesapeake Va House of Burgesses (1619) 1st representatives assembly FFVs Carter, Randolph, Lee Md. (1634) Lord Baltimore (George Calvert) Act of Toleration Indenture headright system Bacon’s rebellion Puritan New England Plymouth Colony (1620)…merged with Mass. 1691 Pilgrims, William Bradford Mayflower Compact …baby step toward self-govt. (not a constitution) Mass. Bay Colony (1630) Puritans, John Winthrope The Great Migration (1630-1664)..> Barbados than Mass. town meetings General Court…rep. assembly elected by freemen Religion (Congregational Church) , Predestination, the “elect”, visible saints, freemen “City on a hill” Protestant work ethic John Cotton Half-Way Covenant (1662) Salem Witch Trials (1692)…20 executed Dissenters Roger Williams (banished 1635)est. RI (1636) Anne Hutchinson (banished to RI antinomianism Thomas Hooker Hartford Colony (1636) Conn. Fundamental Orders…model for later state constitutions New Hampshire Mason family grant merges with Mass (1641) Maine Gorges family grant merges with Mass. NOT ONE OF 13 ORIGINALS New England Confederation (1643) Mass, Ply, New Haven, Conn colonies…mutual protection 1st milestone in colonial unity Indian/ Puritan relations King William’s War (1675-1676)…Metacom NEC helped in defense during this uprising, then fell apart Restoration Colonies (1660) Carolinas (1670 ) 8 Lord Proprietors –1712 divided into North/South North most disgruntled Va. farmers, indep minded, anti-aristocratic tobacco South Rice, indigo, Indian slaves by 1710 majority slaves Charles Town major southern port III. British in America Mercantilism Navigation Acts (1660-1673) Dominion of New England (1686) Brit imposed Edmund Andros ended with Glorious Revolution (1688) William and Mary Slavery grew from society with slavery to “slave society” 7 mil to America 1700-1810 total 15 mil 1619…1st slave ships to Va. middle passage slave culture…few rebellions New politics thesis: The “salutary neglect” by Britain of her colonies prior to 1730 resulted in economic and political autonomy that challenged later attempts to strengthen control of British mercantilist policies. IV. Mid-Atlantic colonies NY, NJ, DE, PA New York…New Netherlands till 1664 Peter Stuyvesant patroonships New Jersey (1664) East and West Proprietorship Royal 1702 Delaware…originally Sweden merge with Pa 1682 Pennsylvania (1681) “Holy Experiment” William Penn Society of Friends (Quakers) beliefs “Penn. Dutch” Scots-Irish V. Enlightenment and Great Awakening (1740-1765) John Locke…social compacts Ben Franklin Pietism Jonathon Edwards George Whitefield John Wesley Black Protestantism Colonial colleges (see table) Timeline of Events 1539 - 1543      Coronado and DeSoto Explore Northern Lands After the conquest of Mexico, the Spanish moved north to explore the southern reaches of North America. In 1539-43 Henando De Soto attempted to invade and conquer Florida. In the southwest, Francisco De Coronado launched an expedition in search of the seven cities of Cibola. When he found only impoverished Zuni towns, he continued on to discover the Grand Canyon, encountered the Pueblo peoples, and even reached southern Kansas. 1565      Spain Establishes St. Augustine, Florida Spain established St. Augustine as a fort to secure the coast of Florida and subjugate nearby peoples. St. Augustine was the first permanent European settlement in North America, and provided a foothold that Spain used to control the Florida peninsula for the next two centuries. 1598      Acoma Rebellion in New Mexico When a Spanish military leader led an expedition to establish a trading outpost and fort among the Acoma people in New Mexico, and brutally seized supplies, murdered, and raped those who resisted, the Acoma people rose in revolt. The Acoma killed eleven Spanish soldiers. In retaliation the Spanish looted their land and massacred 800 men, women, and children. Then, confronted by a widespread revolt, the Spanish retreated. 1603 - 1625      King James I of England James promoted England as a colonial as well as a commercial and political power. Seeing a variety of benefits in the establishment of colonies in America, King James encouraged continued settlement in North America. He also, however, intensified persecution of Puritans and Presbyterians and exerted his "divine right" to rule. He thus increased the power of the state through colonization, while pursuing policies that assured many emigrants would be religious exiles. 1607      English Adventurers Settle Jamestown, Virginia Under a charter from James I, the Virginia Company of London established the first permanent English colony at Jamestown in the spring of 1607. Disorganized and without focus, the colonists sought gold rather than worry about food production. As a result, less than half of the settlers survived the first winter. Reinforcements, stronger discipline, and better organization enabled the colony to survive. 1608      Samuel de Champlain Founds Quebec The first permanent French colony in North America was established at Quebec by Samuel de Champlain. Isolated and very small, the settlement survived only by establishing an alliance with the Huron to protect it against the Iroquois. 1613      Dutch Set Up Fur-Trading Post on Manhattan Island Interested in the New World for commercial rather than spiritual purposes, the Dutch established a trading post on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the river Dutch explorer Henry Hudson had named for himself in 1609. It became the basis of the Dutch colony known as New Netherlands. From there the Dutch government expanded its fur trading stations throughout the middle Atlantic. 1619      First Africans Arrive in Chesapeake The first Africans in the English New World colonies were brought to Virginia as slaves. Chesapeake planters began to import African slaves to replace indentured servants, whom they had to free after a given time and who thus were less profitable. Virginia House of Burgesses Convened The Virginia Company tried to make the colony of Virginia work. In 1617 the company established the headright system. They also formed the House of Burgesses, a local legislative body that was given the power to make laws and levy taxes, though both could be vetoed by the governor or nullified by the company. By providing the incentives of land and local self-government, the company attracted a wave of new immigrants through 1622. 1620      Pilgrims Found Plymouth Colony Separatist Puritans left England to establish their own churches, spread the gospel, and, by example, purify the Anglican church. First they went to Holland, but then decided to make a pilgrimage to America – hence the name Pilgrims. They established their own government, and, after a harsh initial winter, worked hard to establish an orderly and thriving town on the coast of Massachusetts south of the current site of Boston. 1620 - 1660      Tobacco Boom in Chesapeake Colonies Growing demand in England for Virginian tobacco caused an escalation of prices and a boom in production. The boom came to an end in the 1660s when overproduction and oppressive duties imposed by England cut demand and prices dramatically. This decline in the market triggered a social and economic crisis in the Chesapeake colonies. 1621      Dutch West India Company Chartered The Dutch government established its presence in the Atlantic by chartering the Dutch East India Company. The company established a monopoly in the slave trade and plundered the coast of Brazil and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. It also took over Hudson river trading posts and set up new trading posts along the central coast of North America. The rising power of the Dutch in the Atlantic would eventually force the English to challenge them. 1622      Opechancanough’s Uprising The rapid influx of settlers to Virginia between 1617 and 1622 dramatically increased pressure on Indian lands. Colonists occupied lands the Indians had cleared and were still using. Alarmed, the Indian leader Opechancanough formed an alliance and launched a surprise attack on the settlers, killing nearly a third of the local population. The English waged war against the Indians, killing hundreds and, by destroying their crops and houses, leaving the survivors without food or shelter. 1624      Virginia Becomes a Royal Colony The massacre of 1622 convinced James I that the Virginia Company was badly managed. He dissolved the company and took over the colony. James I allowed the House of Burgesses, led by a governor, to remain. He also established the Church of England in the colony. Virginia became the model for all subsequent royal colonies. 1625 - 1649      King Charles I of England King Charles I, a strong supporter of the Anglican church, was also sympathetic to the Roman Catholic church and used his influence to push Anglican doctrine back towards Catholic doctrine. Appalled, a vocal Puritan minority in Parliament protested. Charles responded by dissolving Parliament and ruling by "divine right" for ten years. Having thwarted the Puritans in government, he then appointed William Laud to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud launched a campaign to oust hundreds of Puritan ministers from their pulpits. Charles’ and Archbishop Laud’s action convinced thousands of Puritans it was time to leave England. Those who stayed would later rise up in the English Civil War. 1630      Puritans Found Massachusetts Bay Colony Convinced that to purify the Anglican church they needed to leave England, 900 Puritans led by John Winthrop emigrated to Massachusetts Bay to create a "new" England. They established their own government. By requiring that those who could vote and hold office be members of a Puritan congregation, the Puritans linked church and state into a religious Commonwealth. About ten thousand Puritans and as many non-Puritans followed them to the "City Upon a Hill" by 1640. 1634      Maryland Settled King Charles I favored his friends with extensive land grants in North America. He made Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, proprietor of Maryland. As proprietor, Baltimore sold lands and encouraged settlement by Catholic refugees from persecution in England, as well as Protestants. The colony prospered during the tobacco boom. When religious friction between Catholics and Protestants threatened the peace of the colony, Lord Baltimore pressured the assembly to pass a Toleration Act. In general, though, Maryland would experience similar economic and social developments as its neighbor Virginia. 1636 - 1637      Pequot War As Puritans moved into the Connecticut River valley they encroached on the lands of the small Pequot tribe. The Pequots resisted by attacking settlers. The Puritans and their Indian allies retaliated by launching a brutal attack against the main Pequot town. Five hundred were killed and survivors were hunted down and sold into slavery. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson Banished Puritan theology upheld the sole authority of the minister to interpret the Bible for the congregation. By such meditation, each individual reaffirmed his or her participation in the covenant between the congregation and God. In 1635, the Puritans banished Roger Williams for challenging the establishment of the church and its power over members. He went on to found Rhode Island. Similarly, Anne Hutchison was tried for heresy in 1637, by arguing that she could directly communicate with God through his revelation, thus diminishing the role of the minister. Anne Hutchison moved first to Rhode Island, and then to Long Island, where she was killed in an Indian raid in 1643. Rhode Island continued to prosper as a democratic-minded enterprise. 1640s      Puritan Revolution in England In response to the arbitrary rule of Charles I and the religious persecution of William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Puritans rebelled in 1642 and fought a four-year Civil War against the king. Oliver Cromwell, leader of the Puritan forces, established himself as ruler of a republican commonwealth. In 1649, the Puritan Parliament had Charles I executed. When order broken down, Cromwell established himself as a dictator, weakening support for the republican experiment. Iroquois Go to War Over Fur Trade The Five Nations of the Iroquois of New York launched a long-term war against neighboring tribes to gain control of the fur trade between the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes. In the course of their efforts they nearly destroyed several tribes, and the remaining members of several more migrating west. When those refugees regrouped and formed an alliance with the French, they gradually weakened the Iroquois. The Iroquois were eventually forced to give up their plans to monopolize the fur trade and agreed to the Grand Settlement in 1701. 1651      First Navigation Act In the midst of political revolution, Parliament took action to wrest control of trade on the North Atlantic from the Dutch. Drawing on the theory of mercantilism, they excluded Dutch ships from trade within the British system, compelled the colonies to ship certain goods to London, and raised import duties. English goods, produced in English colonies, were traded through the English capital in English ships, which provided more money for English people. 1660      Restoration of English Monarchy When the dictatorial Oliver Cromwell died, Parliament re-instituted the monarchy, calling Charles II to the throne. The brief period of Puritan rule had ended, and the Church of England was restored. Poor Tobacco Market Begins The decline in the price of tobacco in the 1660s set in motion a number of forces that would lead to widespread social and political discord in Virginia. Lower returns on tobacco farming eliminated the opportunity for success for all but the largest planters. Freedmen were forced to become tenants or farm laborers with no prospect of social mobility. As some planters recouped losses with rents from tenants, economic differentiation and social and political tensions increased. 1675 - 1676      Bacon’s Rebellion In search of more land, disgruntled freedmen, yeoman farmers, servants, and laborers on the Virginian frontier launched an Indian war in 1675. When challenged by Governor Berkeley, Nathaniel Bacon, leader of the freedmen, rebelled against Berkeley and took over the colony. His sudden death enabled the governor to regain the upper hand. He defeated the rebel army and had its leaders executed. In response to the rebellion, the elite would dramatically change both the labor system upon which they relied and their style of political leadership. For this reason, Bacon’s Rebellion was a pivotal event in Virginia’s history Metacom’s Uprising The demand for land by Puritans in New England created similar pressures as in Virginia. Though some Indians were drawn into "praying towns" that the Puritans founded to convert them, many resisted this effort. In 1675, Metacom, leader of the Wampanoag tribe, formed an alliance of local tribes and launched an attack against Puritan settlement across the New England frontier. After two years of bitter fighting, the Puritans prevailed after nearly destroying the Indian population. 1680      Popé’s Rebellion in New Mexico In the seventeenth century Spanish settlers and missionaries moved into what is today New Mexico and established a tribute and forced labor system to control the Indians. The pueblos in which the Indian people lived were severely threatened. An Indian priest Popé launched a rebellion against the Spanish that they were unable to quell for a decade. Finally, a compromise was reached. The Indian people accepted Spanish rule, and in return the Spanish allowed them to practice their own religion, helped them to defend themselves against nomadic invaders, and did away with the forced labor system. 1692      Salem Witchcraft Trials As social and political pressures intensified in many New England towns and villages, an increasing number of Puritans became convinced that their calling was endangered. More began to see in the behavior of others the influence of evils spirits or spiritual forces. In Salem in 1692, these pressures boiled over when frustrated townsmen charged over two hundred people in the town with witchcraft. Things got quickly out of hand when local judges, accepting unsubstantiated evidence for indictments, arrested 175 people, put on trial many of them, and convicted and executed 20, nineteen of whom were women. This was the most serious, but also the last outbreak of alleged witchcraft in New England. Chapter 3: Timeline of Events 1660s Virginia Moves Toward Slave System In response to the disruptions of Bacon’s Rebellion and changes in the international labor market, planters across the Chesapeake gradually switched from white indentured servitude to black slavery as their labor system for cultivating tobacco. Virginians began to lower the legal status of African-Americans, whether they had gained their freedom and become planters or remained servants. After stripping them of many of their rights and prohibiting them from bearing arms, making contracts, receiving baptism, and marrying English persons, Virginians eventually defined all black residents as slaves and allowed only blacks who were slaves to enter the colony. These laws enabled Virginians to replace white indentured servitude with African slavery. 1663 Carolina Proprietorship Granted Charles II made a proprietary grant of the colony of Carolina, claimed by Spain, to eight aristocrats. Though the proprietors sought to create a manorial system in which powerful landlords ruled their tenants or serfs, the settlers would have none of it, and, after a rebellion in 1677, the proprietors were forced to abandon their claims. 1664 New Netherlands Captured / Becomes New York The British, after a brief war with the Dutch, occupied New Amsterdam and the colony of New Netherlands. The Dutch did not resist. Charles II granted the entire colony, as well as lands to the south, to his brother James, the Duke of York – later James II – who took control of the colony and renamed it New York. James gave his rights to the lands south of New York to two proprietors who named the colony New Jersey. 1681 William Penn Founds Pennsylvania In 1681, Charles II paid off a debt to the Penn family by granting the vast lands west of New York to William Penn. Penn instituted a radical form of government in his Frame of Government, allowing all settlers free simple ownership of the land, a voice in public affairs, and freedom of worship. Though he initially wanted the colony to be a refuge for Quakers, it became a magnet for other Protestants from England, Holland, and Germany. Eventually the colony attracted a mixed racial, ethnic, and religious population who lived in relative peace and prospered through Penn’s liberal social and economic policies. 1686 - 1689 Dominion of New England James II and his supporters, who wanted to enforce royal authority in the colonies, revoked charters in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey and established one large colony known as the Dominion of New England. Colonists protested vigorously and soon joined with James’s enemies in England to support his overthrow and exile. 1688 - 1689 Glorious Revolution in England Threatened by James II’s abuses of power, angry with his tendency to ignore Parliament’s advice, and fearful that he would restore Catholicism as the state religion, Protestant leaders in Parliament instigated a bloodless coup against him. Parliament elevated Mary, James II’s daughter by his first wife, and her husband, William of Orange, to the throne to guarantee a Protestant monarchy. In return for being named King and Queen, they gave up claims to divine right and agreed to rule as constitutional monarchs, accepting the premise of "mixed government" that divided power among three social orders – the monarchy represented by the king, the aristocracy represented in the House of Lords, and the people represented by the House of Commons. This reduction of royal power would weaken government control over the colonies and allow the power of colonial merchants to increase. Revolts in the Dominion of New England When colonists heard of the Glorious Revolution they rebelled against the oppressive systems at home. In Massachusetts, colonists expelled the governor, broke up the Dominion of New England, and sought a return to the original charter. In New York, both Dutch residents and English settlers ousted the lieutenant-governor and replaced him with Jacob Leisler. Though initially popular among all groups, Leisler quickly lost the support of the wealthy elite, who removed him from power and then had him executed. Government by representative assembly was restored, but ethnic and class conflict between English merchants and Dutch residents continued for decades. 1689 - 1713 England, France, and Spain at War England’s rising power and its renewed commitment to Protestantism drew it into a series of wars with France and Spain that would continue intermittently until the late eighteenth century. In North America, the expanding borders of the English colonies, as well as efforts by both sides to draw the Indians into alliances, dramatically increased tensions that quickly escalated into wars. The first of these was King William’s War (known as the War of the League of Augsburg in Europe), fought between the English and the French and their respective Indian allies to clarify the border between New England and New France. In 1702, the English fought along their colonial borders against the French in the north and the Spanish in the south in a war with no formal name. In the most active year of this war, 1704, an expedition of English allied with Indians pillaged Spanish missions across northern Florida, burned St. Augustine, and attacked Pensacola. That same year, a group of Iroquois Indians allied with the French attacked Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing 48 and taking 112 into captivity. The Spanish attacked Charlestown. Queen Anne’s War (known as the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe), like King William’s War, had both a European and a colonial front. It ended with the Treaty of Utrecht. Britain acquired Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the region around Hudson Bay from France, giving them access to the western fur trade. It also received Gibraltar, an island at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, and trading rights in central and South America from Spain. The Treaty of Utrecht increased Britain’s power in Europe and provided Britain with the opportunity to reform its thriving colonial empire. For political reasons, its leaders would not pursue that opportunity. 1696 Board of Trade Created In an effort to establish a uniform system of control over the American colonies, Parliament created the Board of Trade, staffed by officials familiar with colonial affairs. The Board would coordinate the various Navigation Acts and attempt to supervise and enforce the mercantilist system. However, Parliament gave the Board little coercive power to rule. Hence it had little impact on the administration of the colonial system. 1705 Full Legal Slavery Enacted in Virginia In 1705 the Virginia House of Burgesses completed a legal process they had been engaged in for thirty years. A statute of that year declared that virtually all Africans brought into Virginia, by reason both of their race and their religion, were slaves. The decision to establish slavery as the labor system of Virginia was complete. 1714 - 1750 The Rise of American Assemblies The Peace of Utrecht and a thriving commercial empire encouraged British officials during the reigns of George I and George II to focus on encouraging trade and maintaining the defense of the colonies, rather than directly supervising them. Meanwhile, the Americans for the most part governed themselves though increasingly powerful colonial assemblies. 1718 Spanish Establish Missions and Garrisons in Texas By the early 1700s, the Spanish began to feel threatened by the presence of the French to their north and east in Louisiana. To solidify their hold on the northern stretches of New Spain, the Spanish established Franciscan missions and military garrisons in Texas, with the first at San Antonio in 1718. 1720 - 1742 Sir Robert Walpole Chief Minister Robert Walpole, a Whig, developed a cooperative relationship between Parliament and the King by creating a strong court party in Parliament. His did this primarily through patronage. Walpole extended his patronage system to the American colonies. He filled colonial offices with mediocre "placemen" more interested in their salary than in developing a policy. As a result, he weakened royal bureaucracy in the colonies and fostered a low-key policy of "salutary neglect." The policy brought prosperity, but it also encouraged the rise of colonial assemblies and undermined British authority in America. 1720 - 1750 African-American Community Forms By the second quarter of the eighteenth century, African slaves in America began to fuse their tribal cultures with those of others slaves to create a new African-American culture. For example, in South Carolina, this fusion resulted in Gullah, a language combining African and English words and structures. The development of composite culture was supported and reinforced by natural population increase, which caused the development of families and kin networks. Over time, the number of slaves born in the American colonies steadily increased. Expansion of Seaport Cities Access to the South Atlantic began to dramatically affect the pace of economic development and growth in the American colonies after 1720. Seaport cities grew rapidly as farmers in the Middle Colonies and New England responded to the increased demand from the British West Indies for rice, tobacco, grain, livestock, and supplies. In both north and south, the South Atlantic system empowered elite groups who supported the rise of colonial assemblies and shaped the American response to any efforts by British to increase supervision of the empire. 1732 Georgia Chartered To provide a buffer to protect the Carolinas and the Chesapeake colonies from attacks by the Spanish and their Indian allies in Florida, King George II accepted James Ogelthrope’s petition to form a reform colony south of the Carolinas in the 1730s. The Spanish were outraged by this British expansion into territory they had claimed for nearly two centuries. Hat Act One in a larger set of restrictive Navigation Acts, the Hat Act prohibited the export of colonial hats for inter-colonial or British sale. Many similar acts were passed for other goods. 1733 Molasses Act When American colonists from the Middle Colonies produced more grain and livestock than the British West Indies needed, they began selling grain and livestock to the French West Indies. In doing so, they helped the French reduce sugar production costs, allowing the French to cut into the British share of a waning international market for sugar. To protect that market, Parliament allowed supply of the French islands to continue, but slapped a high tariff on French molasses imported into the colonies. Though the Americans protested and smuggled French molasses into the colonies, a resurgence in the sugar market brought back strong profits for both French and British producers, making the issue moot. Consequently, the Act was not enforced. 1739 War With Spain in the Caribbean (War of Jenkin’s Ear) Outraged at the founding of Georgia on land claimed by Spain, the Spanish governor of Florida plotted against the nascent English colony by enticing slaves to run away to Florida in return for freedom and land. When the Spanish assaulted a British sailor on a captured ship, war broke out between the Spanish and British. Both sides launched attacks on the other, neither having much effect. While Oglethorpe organized an attack on Florida, seventy-five slaves, responding to the Governor of Florida’s call, rose in rebellion and marched towards the border. The colonial militia suppressed the rebellion. The war continued for several years, resulting in no territorial gains, but establishing the security of Georgia and gaining further British trade access to the Spanish empire. 1740 Veto of Massachusetts Land Bank To assure an adequate supply of money, colonies often printed their own paper currency. After accepting this practice for some time in different colonies, in 1740 British officials refused to allow Massachusetts to issue currency. This action is considered an early sign of the increasing view of some British officials that more control over the colonies was needed. 1750 Iron Act Following their policy of prohibiting the same of colonial-made goods that competed with British manufacturers, the Iron Act added plows, axes, skillets and other iron products to the list of restricted items. As the American economies matured, artisans and manufactures would increasingly protest these restrictions on economic development. 1751 Currency Act To protect the interest of British creditors, who complained about colonials trying to pay debts with worthless colonial currency, the British restricted more and more land banks, prohibited the issue of colonial currency, and banned the use of bills to pay debts. Chapter 4: Timeline of Events 1700-1714 New Hudson River Valley Manors Created English governors granted titles to vast manorial estates along the Hudson River Valley to a few elite families. The control these, the families forced small farmers into tenancy, which dissuaded new migrants from settling in the area. 1720s German and Scots-Irish Migration Beginning in the 1720s and increasing through the 1750s, thousands of Germans, Scots, and Irish arrived in Pennsylvania. Though some came as indentured servants, the majority arrived with enough resources to purchase land and become farmers. Most settled across the western parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, where they acquired land and maintained their own cultural and social practices within a pluralistic society. Theodore Jacob Frelinghuysen Holds Revivals Frelinghuysen was among the first preachers to lead religious revivals in the colonies. A Dutch minister, he traveled from congregation to congregation among the German immigrants of the middle colonies, exhorting them to fervency with his emotional sermons. Enlightenment ideas Spread from Europe In the 1730s, the first influences of the European cultural movement called the Enlightenment reached the American colonies. The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that advocated the use of reason to analyze, understand, and change the natural and human world. In the colonies it quickly transformed what well-educated Americans thought about religion, science, and politics. 1730s More Religious Revivals William and Gilbert Tennett led Presbyterian revivals among Scots-Irish migrants. Jonathan Edwards preached in New England. During the same period, a religious revival from Europe that emphasized the need for more emotion and piety to achieve conversion experiences reinvigorated Protestant churches throughout the colonies. 1739 George Whitefield and the Great Awakening Possessing a remarkable presence, and speaking from memory in a highly emotional style, Whitefield drew large crowds and influenced the skeptical and faithful alike to strive for moral perfection. Itinerant preachers like Whitefield challenged the traditional organization of churches across the colonies. This time is known as the Great Awakening. 1740-1748 War of Austrian Succession Yet another war between Spain, France, and England, this time over the succession to the Austrian monarchy, was briefly fought in the American colonies as well as in Europe. In 1745, a New England militia captured Louisbourg, a French naval fort at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. The British were compelled to return it in the peace treaty signed in 1748. 740-1760s Great Awakening Creates Conflict Between Old Lights and New Lights The so-called Old Lights denounced the passionate, fervent nature of the Great Awakening revival and took steps in some places to suppress it. The so-called New Lights rejected the conservatism of Old Light preachers and denounced Old Lights as unconverted sinners. New Colleges Founded by Religious Denominations Presbyterian, Baptist, Dutch Reformed, and Anglican New Lights sought to expand education opportunities in the colonies. Their goal was to train ministers, not scientists or Enlightenment thinkers. One of the first of these new colleges was established in Princeton, New Jersey. Population Pressure on Land in New England Steady population growth in New England forced farmers to divide their lands and give their children smaller plots. By about 1750, many farms were too small to break up any further, so parents began to deed farms to first sons and provide cash and goods for the others. Those who received farms were compelled to develop ways to use their land more efficiently. Many introduced new techniques of farming and harvesting to increase yields. Others began to develop and tap the full benefits of household production by producing goods in the home and using them for exchange in the local barter economy. Farmers also demanded more currency. In these ways, those farmers with land tried to maintain their standard of living despite a declining supply of land. Increasing Inequality in Rural Communities Increasing demand for wheat from Europe transformed the Middle Colonies into the breadbasket of Europe, though tobacco remained the most important colonial export. This increase of production and trade sustained steady population growth and further economic development. As land values rose and competition increased, a class of agricultural capitalists developed above yeoman farmers, and more farmers found themselves pushed into tenancy or out of farming. Falling Birthrate Increases Women’s Options Married couples began to reduce the size of their families in the middle of the century. As this occurred, women had more time to devote their energies to household production, helping to maintain or even enhancing their standard of living. 1743 Benjamin Franklin Founds American Philosophical Society Enlightenment ideas motivated thinkers such as Ben Franklin to print books, magazines, and newspapers, and found hospitals, libraries, universities, and alms houses to improve society. In Philadelphia, Franklin was an innovator, inventor, and scientist. To promote "useful knowledge," he founded the American Philosophical Society. 1750s Americans Export More to Pay for British Imports Increased capital from its expanding world trade enabled British inventors to more aggressively replace imports with domestic production. New technology and work regimes enabled British manufacturers to produce better quality products than craftsmen in the colonies. British merchants marketed these goods to the colonies to get rid of surplus production. Offering better credit terms to American merchants, the British stimulated a "consumer revolution" in the colonies that raised the American standard of living. Though the colonists increased their own production and trade to pay for these goods, colonists increased consumption at an even faster rate, and thus went deeper into debt. Ohio Company Threatens French Claims in Ohio River Valley As settlers pushed west in search of land, eastern planters and investors began to recognize the value of western lands. Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia and a group of Virginia planters formed the Ohio Company and obtained a grant to much of the land in the Ohio River Valley. Both the Iroquois and the French objected to this claim. To mute the tensions between the Iroquois and British, the Board of Trade called for an inter-colonial meeting at Albany. Connecticut’s Susquehanna Company Seeks Land in Pennsylvania In response to the shortage of land in New England, settlers’ companies claimed land in the west and tried to settle it. In Connecticut, the colonial assembly established the Susequehannah Company and laid claim to Pennsylvania lands that had been claimed by the Penn family since 1681. Similar land disputes occurred across the region. Proprietors Assert Charter Rights to Lands In the Hudson River Valley and eastern New York, farmers, refusing tenancy, purchased titles from land speculators, who often did not have a clear claim on the lands in question. In each colony, as well as in New Jersey and Maryland, proprietors reasserted their control of the land against the claims of yeoman farmers. 1754 Albany Meeting and Plan To secure the cooperation of the Iroquois against the French, the British Board of Trade called an inter-colonial meeting at Albany. Aside from assuring the Iroquois that the British colonists had no designs on their lands, delegate Benjamin Franklin proposed that the colonists form a continental assembly to develop a coordinated policy with the Indians and facilitate colonial trade and defense. Neither the colonists nor the British liked the plan. 1756 Great War for Empire (Seven Years’ War / French & Indian War) Begins The French responded to the Albany meeting by constructing Fort Duquense at the site of Pittsburgh. In response, the Governor of Virginia sent George Washington and a small force to “encourage” them to leave. When the French captured Washington and his troops, the British, led by William Pitt, declared war. 1759 Fall of Quebec British forces led by General Wolfe attacked Quebec by way of the St. Lawrence River and defeated the French forces led by General Montcalm. The following year, the British completed the conquest of Canada by capturing Montreal. 1760s New England Border Conflicts Settlers continued to challenge the unclear border between Massachusetts and New York, challenging the titles of manorial lords in the Hudson River Valley. Regulator Movements in the Carolinas Settlers in western South Carolina, tired of the indifference of the colonial leaders to their needs and their lack of representation in the colonial assembly, established the Regulators as an extra-legal force to establish political control and make demands to the government. Though initially eastern elites resisted and even raised an armed force to discipline them, the two sides compromised and averted conflict in 1769. Baptist Revivals in Virginia Baptist preachers in the south continued to spread the enthusiasm of the Great Awakening through revivalist meetings. The preachers at these meetings used enthusiasm and emotion to attract a large following among yeoman and tenant farm families in Virginia. By doing so, they challenged the Anglican, aristocratic rule of the elite. 1763 Pontiac Leads Indian Uprising When the British occupied French forts across the frontier and then stopped the flow of French supplies to the Indians, Indians across the frontier, led by the Ottawa chief Pontiac, launched a full scale war against the British. Though initially the Indians succeeded in liberating most of the French forts, the British gradually wore them down. Pontiac was defeated at Detroit. Treaty of Paris Ends the Great War of Empire The Treaty ending the Great War for Empire established the Proclamation Line of 1763, beyond which no colonial settlers were supposed to make permanent settlements. This recognition of Indian land rights would not last long. In return for their military triumphs in the Great War for Empire, the British acquired all of French Canada and all the territory east of the Mississippi River, including Spanish Florida. Spain received Louisiana and Cuba in exchange. The French maintained a few sugar islands in the West Indies and two islands off the coast of Newfoundland, but was otherwise out of the North American picture. Britain’s vast acquisitions would transform the geopolitical context in which it administered the colonies of North America. Paxton Boys Go Crazy in Pennsylvania Scots-Irish farmers in search of land had been trying to push Indians out of western lands for decades, but failed to get government support. In 1763, a group of settlers took matters into their own hands and attacked Indians in western Pennsylvania. When the governor tried to arrest the farmers’ leaders, the Paxton Boys marched on Philadelphia. The revolt was quashed only by the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, who negotiated a fragile compromise. The same issues would reappear ten years later.