Test 1

Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry.

Royal attempts to control colonies

They created and nurtured them. Like children, the American colonies grew and flourished under British supervision. Like many adolescents, the colonies rebelled against their parent country by declaring independence. But the American democratic experiment did not begin in 1776. The COLONIES had been practicing limited forms of self-government since the early 1600s. The great expanse of the Atlantic Ocean created a safe distance for American colonists to develop skills to govern themselves. Despite its efforts to control American trade, England could not possibly oversee the entire American coastline. Colonial merchants soon learned to operate outside British law. Finally, those who escaped religious persecution in England demanded the freedom to worship according to their faiths.

Miles Standish

Was an English military officer hired by the Puritans as military adviser for Plymouth Colony; He accompanied the Puritans on their journey on the Mayflower and subsequently played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony from its inception; on February 17, 1621, the Plymouth Colony militia elected him as its first commander and continued to re-elect him to that position for the remainder of his life; served as an agent of Plymouth Colony in England, as assistant governor, and as treasurer of Plymouth Colony; one of the first settlers and founders of the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts.

Native American Aspects: Settlements

West Virginia and Native Americans were forced west. Many of the tribes were destroyed by constant warfare and catastrophic diseases. At the same time, trade with the Europeans proved a strong attraction, enabling the Indians to acquire valuable new products, such as guns, steel hatchets, cloth, and kettles. The fur trade in particular made many tribes powerful and more aggressive. The Indian nations successfully played one European power against another. For instance, the British formed an alliance with the Iroquois Confederacy to cut the French out of the lucrative fur trade. However, the Six Nations also negotiated treaties and traded with the French.

slave life in the americas

When Africans were taken from their homes and forced into slavery, they were separated from mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers and were torn from extensive kinship networks. Enslaved in the British colonies of North America or the free states of the American Union, the ability of Africans to reestablish nuclear families and familial support systems depended on many factors including the needs and desires of the slave owner. As the circumstances of slavery changed across time and place, the opportunities for slaves to marry, have children, and create stable family units fluctuated. Rendition of United States Slave Trade United States Slave Trade, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Slave trade to the original thirteen colonies was slow and sporadic. In places like New York and Virginia, where small farming units were the norm, slaves were bought by handfuls rather than shiploads. The preference for male laborers limited the ability of most black slaves in early colonial society from developing relationships with black women. Among the Atlantic Creole population in New Amsterdam, however, a more balanced male to female ratio made as many as twenty-six marriages possible

Declaration of Independence

When armed conflict between bands of American colonists and British soldiers began in April 1775, the Americans were ostensibly fighting only for their rights as subjects of the British crown. By the following summer, with the Revolutionary War in full swing, the movement for independence from Britain had grown, and delegates of the Continental Congress were faced with a vote on the issue. In mid-June 1776, a five-man committee including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin was tasked with drafting a formal statement of the colonies' intentions. The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence-written largely by Jefferson-in Philadelphia on July 4, a date now celebrated as the birth of American independence.In March 1776, North Carolina's revolutionary convention became the first to vote in favor of independence; seven other colonies had followed suit by mid-May. On June 7, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies' independence before the Continental Congress when it met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee's resolution and called a recess for several weeks. Before departing, however, the delegates also appointed a five-man committee-including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York-to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain. That document would become known as the Declaration of Independence.

proprietary colony

a colony owned by an individual person, rather than a joint-stock company

Royal Colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the British overseas territories. Crown, or royal, colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by the monarch.

Martin Luther

A German monk, priest, and professor, who posted his "95 thesis" in protest against the corruption of Catholic officials, believed people could only receive salvation and be forgiven for their sins through a direct personal relationship with God

John Rolfe

Grew Chesapeake tobacco for export to Britain, learned trade from the Indians

George Grenville

"A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity." George Grenville came from a family of politicians. He became First Lord of the Treasury during a period of considerable political turbulence in the 1760s. His imposition of new duties on the American colonies helped provoke the outbreak of the American War of Independence.

Thomas Payne

"These are the times that try men's souls." This simple quotation from Founding Father Thomas Paine's The American Crisis not only describes the beginnings of the American Revolution, but also the life of Paine himself. Throughout most of his life, his writings inspired passion, but also brought him great criticism. He communicated the ideas of the Revolution to common farmers as easily as to intellectuals, creating prose that stirred the hearts of the fledgling United States. He had a grand vision for society: he was staunchly anti-slavery, and he was one of the first to advocate a world peace organization and social security for the poor and elderly. But his radical views on religion would destroy his success, and by the end of his life, only a handful of people attended his funeral.

Townshend Act

A series of measures introduced into the English Parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies. Townshend hoped the acts would defray imperial expenses in the colonies, but many Americans viewed the taxation as an abuse of power, resulting in the passage of agreements to limit imports from Britain. In 1770, Parliament repealed all the Townshend duties except the tax on tea, leading to a temporary truce between the two sides in the years before the American Revolution.

Aspects of Native Americans: Accomplishments

Achievements by Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans include: -stayed healthy because they bathed regularly and ate well. Europeans were having plagues from filthy living conditions and frequent famines. -native people were using medicinal plants and things like aspirin, syringes, and surgeries when Europeans were still doing blood letting and other questionable practices. -built cities larger than most in Europe at the time -with functioning sanitation systems -while Europeans were dumping chamber pots out of windows onto the streets below. -successfully created cultures where everyone was taken care of -from the very young to the old and infirm. Europe had class systems where the very rich feasted while the very poor starved. -had complex forms of governments. The Haudenasaunee People's Confederacy (Iroquois) served as the model and inspiration for the US Constitution.

French and Indian War

Also known as the Seven Years' War, this New World conflict marked another chapter in the long imperial struggle between Britain and France. When France's expansion into the Ohio River valley brought repeated conflict with the claims of the British colonies, a series of battles led to the official British declaration of war in 1756. Boosted by the financing of future Prime Minister William Pitt, the British turned the tide with victories at Louisbourg, Fort Frontenac and the French-Canadian stronghold of Quebec. At the 1763 peace conference, the British received the territories of Canada from France and Florida from Spain, opening the Mississippi Valley to westward expansion.

Thomas Hutchinson

American colonial politician, judge and historian Thomas Hutchinson (1711-1780) was born into a prominent Boston family. He began his career in local politics in 1737, and was named speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1746. Hutchinson later simultaneously held a series of posts, including chief justice of the Superior Court of Judicature and lieutenant governor of the state. A supporter of parliamentary authority, he became the last civilian royal governor of Massachusetts in 1771. However, he struggled to establish control during increasingly turbulent times and was replaced by General Thomas Gage in 1774.

First Continental Congress

Americans were fed up. The "Intolerable" Acts were more than the colonies could stand. In the summer that followed Parliament's attempt to punish Boston, sentiment for the patriot cause increased dramatically. The printing presses at the Committees of Correspondence were churning out volumes. There was agreement that this new quandary warranted another intercolonial meeting. It was nearly ten years since the Stamp Act Congress had assembled. It was time once again for intercolonial action. Thus, on September 1774, the First Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia.

paleo-indians

Ancient Siberians who crossed the Bering Strait near the Arctic circle on the treeless land connecting northeastern Siberia and Alaska some 12,000 to 15,000 years ago; nomadic, spear-wielding hunters were the ascendants of the paleo-indians who drifted south in pursuit of large game animals

James Oglethorpe

As visionary, James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, was a forward-thinking visionary who demonstrated great skill as a social reformer and military leader. This portrait is a copy of Oglethorpe University's oval portrait of Oglethorpe, which was painted in 1744. The portrait was discovered in England by Thornwell Jacobs and brought back to Atlanta to hang in the president's office at Oglethorpe University. James Oglethorpe social reformer, and military leader, James Oglethorpe conceived of and implemented his plan to establish the colony of Georgia. It was through his initiatives in England in 1732 that the British government authorized the establishment of its first new colony in North America in more than five decades. Later that year he led the expedition of colonists that landed in Savannah early in 1733. Oglethorpe spent most of the next decade in Georgia, where he directed the economic and political development of the new colony, defended it militarily, and continued to generate support and recruit settlers in England and other parts of Europe.

Bacon's Rebellion

Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. The colony's dismissive policy as it related to the political challenges of its western frontier, along with other challenges including leaving Bacon out of his inner circle, refusing to allow Bacon to be a part of his fur trade with the Native Americans, and Doeg tribe Indian attacks, helped to motivate a popular uprising against Berkeley, who had failed to address the demands of the colonists regarding their safety

Humphrey Gilbert

Began english efforts to colonize America; established royal permission to establish a colony in America; set out to settle present day Rhode Island, but instead landed in Newfoundland (Canada) and took possession of the land for Queen Elizabeth; on his return trip home he vanished and was never seen again

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States

Lexington and Concord

Britain's General Gage had a secret plan. During the wee hours of April 19, 1775, he would send out regiments of British soldiers quartered in Boston. Their destinations were LEXINGTON, where they would capture Colonial leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock, then CONCORD, where they would seize gunpowder. But spies and friends of the Americans leaked word of Gage's plan. Two lanterns hanging from Boston's North Church informed the countryside that the British were going to attack by sea. A series of horseback riders — men such as Paul Revere, WILLIAM DAWES and DR. SAMUEL PRESCOTT — galloped off to warn the countryside that the REGULARS (British troops) were coming.

General Cornwallis

Charles Cornwallis led several successful early campaigns during the American Revolution, securing British victories at New York, Brandywine and Camden. In 1781, as second in command to Gen. Henry Clinton, he moved his forces to Virginia, where he was defeated at the Battle of Yorktown. This American victory and Cornwallis' surrender of his troops to George Washington was the final major conflict of the American Revolution.

Charles II

Charles II, second son of Charles I and Henrietta Marie of France, was born in 1630. He spent his teenage years fighting Parliament's Roundhead forces until his father's execution in 1649, when he escaped to France. He drifted to Holland, but returned to Scotland in 1650 amid the Scottish proclamation of his kingship; in 1651, he led a Scottish force of 10,000 into a dismal defeat by Cromwell's forces at Worcester. He escaped, but remained a fugitive for six weeks until he engineered passage to France. Charles roamed Europe for eight years before being invited back to England as the Commonwealth dissolved. He married Catherine of Braganza, but sired no legitimate children. His oldest child, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, made a failed bid to capture the crown at the time of his father's death and was executed by James II, brother of Charles II and Uncle to Monmouth. Charles II died in February 1685 from complications following a stroke.

Charles Townshend

Charles Townshend, (born August 27, 1725—died September 4, 1767, London, England), British chancellor of the Exchequer whose measures for the taxation of the British American colonies intensified the hostilities that eventually led to the American Revolution.

English Attempts at American Settlements

During the early and mid-sixteenth century, the English tended to conceive of North America as a base for piracy and harassment of the Spanish. But by the end of the century, the English began to think more seriously about North America as a place to colonize: as a market for English goods and a source of raw materials and commodities such as furs. English promoters claimed that New World colonization offered England many advantages. Not only would it serve as a bulwark against Catholic Spain, it would supply England with raw materials and provide a market for finished products. America would also provide a place to send the English poor and ensure that they would contribute to the nation's wealth. During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the English poor increased rapidly in number. As a result of the enclosure of traditional common lands (which were increasingly used to raise sheep), many common people were forced to become wage laborers or else to support themselves hand-to-mouth or simply as beggars. After unsuccessful attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland and at Roanoke, the famous "Lost Colony," off the coast of present-day North Carolina, England established its first permanent North American settlement, Jamestown, in 1607. Located in swampy marshlands along Virginia's James River, Jamestown's residents suffered horrendous mortality rates during its first years. Immigrants had just a fifty-fifty chance of surviving five years.

puritans

English religious group that sought to purify the church of England, founded in the Massachusetts Bay colony under john winthrop in 1630

General Braddock

General Edward Braddock (January 1695 - 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War (1754-1765) which is also known in Europe as the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). He is generally best remembered for his command of a disastrous expedition against the French-occupied Ohio River Valley then in western Virginia or Pennsylvania (depending on which Royal grants) in 1755, in which he lost his life.

Battle of Trenton

General George Washington's army crossed the icy Delaware on Christmas Day 1776 and, over the course of the next 10 days, won two crucial battles of the American Revolution. In the Battle of Trenton (December 26), Washington defeated a formidable garrison of Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. A week later he returned to Trenton to lure British forces south, then executed a daring night march to capture Princeton on January 3. The victories reasserted American control of much of New Jersey and greatly improved the morale and unity of the colonial army and militias.

General William Howe

General William Howe is one of most well known British generals from the Revolutionary War. As is the case with all generals, General Howe had his ups and downs over the years. He was very successful toward the beginning of his career in America, but toward the end, his reputation had become damaged due to a great deal of losses.

George Calvert

George Calvert, Baron of Baltimore helped found the North American province of Maryland. He sought new land to practice Catholicism freely. George Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, was born circa 1578. He served in the House of Commons beginning and was knighted in 1617. He converted to Catholicism in 1625. In 1628, he moved to Avalon, a New World colony, but was not accepted due to his beliefs. He returned to England to request land, what would later become Maryland, so he could practice Catholicism. He died in 1632 before permission was granted

quakers

George Fox founded this religion in 1647; they rejected the use of formal sacraments and ministry, refused to take oaths, and embraced pacifism; fleeing persecution, they settled and established the colony of Pennsylvania

Sir Walter Raleigh

Half-brother to Gilbert; persuaded queen to renew american colonizing mission under his own name; discovered the outer banks of North Carolina and landed at Roanoke Island; named the area Virgina after Queen Elizabeth "Virgin Queen"

conquistadors

Hernan Cortes' soldier-adventurers; military entrepreneurs willing to risk their lives for a share in the expected plunder and slaves- received no pay; part of the most dramatic European conquest of a major Indian civilization in Mexico were prevented from deserting by the burning of their ships

First Settlement of the Americas

ISABELLA was a small town that Columbus ordered his men to build on the northeastern shore of Hispaniola (in present-day Dominican Republic) during his second voyage to the New World in 1493. Hunger and disease soon led to mutiny, punishment, disillusion, and more hunger and disease. Isabella barely survived until 1496 when Columbus ordered a new town built on the island as the Spanish capital (now Santo Domingo). Isabella was the "first of the Indies," declares Antonio de Herrera, the seventeenth-century historian who compiled this history of early New Spain from state archives.JAMESTOWN is justifiably called "the first permanent English settlement" in the New World—a hard-won designation. As historian Alan Taylor recounts, of the first 104 colonists who landed in April 1607, only thirty-eight survived the winter. Of the 10,000 who left England for Jamestown in its first fifteen years, only twenty percent were still alive, and still in Jamestown, in 1622. The first months of the colony were chronicled by John Smith, Edward Wingfield, and in this selection by George Percy, who twice served as the colony's governor. After writing several accounts to justify his actions as governor, Percy left Jamestown for good in 1612. (John Smith, who also felt compelled to defend his leadership, had left for good in 1609.)PLYMOUTH. To American schoolchildren of many generations, the term "colonist" spurs images of stalwart Pilgrims setting sail on the Mayflower to land at Plymouth Rock—an epic tale of adventure and determination. And it's true. Unlike the single men—the courtiers, soldiers, and adventurers—who built Isabella, Jamestown, and many other early European settlements, the Pilgrims were skilled, hardworking, and self-disciplined. In addition, they settled as families for the most part, unique in Atlantic coast settlement at this point. Here we read from the journal of the colony's longtime governor, William Bradford, of the colonists' hard first year after landing in November 1620 to the first harvest in autumn 1621.

Founding of Georgia

In 1732, James Oglethorpe was given a charter from King George II to create a new colony which he would name Georgia. This was located between South Carolina and Florida. It had two main purposes: to serve as a place where debtors in prison could go to start anew and it served as a barrier against Spanish expansion from Florida.

James II

James was a Stuart king of England, Scotland and Ireland who in 1688 was overthrown in the 'Glorious Revolution' by William III. James was born on 14 October 1633 to Charles I and his French wife, Henrietta Maria and was named after his grandfather, James I and VI. During the English Civil War he was captured but fled to exile on the continent. He distinguished himself a soldier, returning to England at the Restoration of his brother, Charles II, in 1660. He commanded the Royal Navy from1660 to1673. In 1660, James married Anne Hyde, daughter of Charles II's chief minister and they had two surviving children, Mary and Anne. In 1669, James converted to Catholicism and took a stand against a number of anti-Catholic moves, including the Test Act of 1673. This did not impede his succession to the throne on Charles' death in 1685.

Jamestown settlement

Jamestown Settlement tells the story of 17th-century Virginia; from the arrival of English colonists in Jamestown in 1607 to the cultural encounters and events that planted the seeds of a new nation. The world of Jamestown, America's first permanent English colony, comes to life through film, gallery exhibits and outdoor living history. Expansive gallery exhibits and an introductory film describe the cultures of the Powhatan Indians, Europeans and Africans who converged in 17th-century Virginia, and trace Jamestown's beginnings in England and the first century of the Virginia colony. Climb aboard replicas of the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607, and explore life-size re-creations of the colonists' fort and a Powhatan village. In the outdoor areas, costumed historical interpreters describe and demonstrate daily life in early 17th century Jamestown.

John Adams

John Adams (1735-1826) was a leader of the American Revolution, and served as the second U.S. president from 1797 to 1801. The Massachusetts-born, Harvard-educated Adams began his career as a lawyer. Intelligent, patriotic, opinionated and blunt, Adams became a critic of Great Britain's authority in colonial America and viewed the British imposition of high taxes and tariffs as a tool of oppression. During the 1770s, he was a delegate to the Continental Congress. In the 1780s, Adams served as a diplomat in Europe and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris (1783), which officially ended the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). From 1789 to 1797, Adams was America's first vice president. He then served a term as the nation's second president. He was defeated for another term by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826).

Lord Dunmore

John Murray, the fourth earl of Dunmore and royal governor of Virginia at the start of the American Revolution, was simultaneously one of the most hated and most revered men in the colonies. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, Virginia patriot Richard Henry Lee derisively dubbed him the "African Hero" for his boldly strategic gambit to offer freedom to any enslaved African or Indian who joined the British forces. As liberation fever traveled throughout Virginia and beyond, black mothers named their newborn babies "Dunmore."

Roanoke Disaster

John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply-trip to England to find the settlement deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. Among the missing were Ellinor Dare, White's daughter; and Virginia Dare, White's granddaughter and the first English child born in America. August 18 was to have been Virginia's third birthday. The only clue to their mysterious disappearance was the word "CROATOAN" carved into the palisade that had been built around the settlement. White took the letters to mean that the colonists had moved to Croatoan Island, some 50 miles away, but a later search of the island found none of the settlers. The Roanoke Island colony, the first English settlement in the New World, was founded by English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in August 1585. The first Roanoke colonists did not fare well, suffering from dwindling food supplies and Indian attacks, and in 1586 they returned to England aboard a ship captained by Sir Francis Drake. In 1587, Raleigh sent out another group of 100 colonists under John White. White returned to England to procure more supplies, but the war with Spain delayed his return to Roanoke. By the time he finally returned in August 1590, everyone had vanished. In 1998, archaeologists studying tree-ring data from Virginia found that extreme drought conditions persisted between 1587 and 1589. These conditions undoubtedly contributed to the demise of the so-called Lost Colony, but where the settlers went after they left Roanoke remains a mystery. One theory has them being absorbed into an Indian tribe known as the Croatans.

Columbus

Learned his trade in the school of Portuguese seamanship; born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451; eager to spread christianity across the globe and garner Asian riches, he developed a bold plan to reach the spice trade ports of the Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic, persuaded Ferdinand and Isabella to award him a tenth share of the Asian spices coveted by Europeans, Chartered the "Nina," "Pinta," and the "Santa Maria"

John Winthrop

Led the Massachusetts Bay Company; a lawyer animated by profound religious convictions; made colony as a refuge for persecuted puritans; became the first governor of the Massachusetts bay colony "city on a hill"

Loyalists

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men; Patriots called them "persons inimical to the liberties of America."

Condition for English colonists in America

Many of the ships were lost in storms, many passengers died of disease, and infants rarely survived the journey. Sometimes tempests blew the vessels far off their course, and often calm brought interminable delay. To the anxious travelers the sight of the American shore brought almost inexpressible relief. Said one chronicler, "The air at twelve leagues' distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden." The colonists' first glimpse of the new land was a vista of dense woods. The virgin forest with its profusion and variety of trees was a veritable treasure-house which extended over 1,300 miles from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. Here was abundant fuel and lumber. Here was the raw material of houses and furniture, ships and potash, dyes and naval stores. "Heaven and earth," wrote John Smith in praise of Virginia, the colony he helped found, "never agreed better to frame a place for man's habitation." Of his colony, William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, said: "The air is sweet and clear, the heavens serene." As inviting as the climate were the native foods. The sea abounded in oysters and crabs, cod and lobster; and in the woods, there were turkeys "fat and incredible of weight," and quail, squirrels, pheasants, elk, geese, and so many deer that in places "venison is accounted a tiresome meat." Fruits, nuts, and berries grew wild everywhere, and it was soon discovered that more substantial fare like peas and beans and corn and pumpkins could be easily cultivated. Soon the newcomers found that grain would grow and that transplanted fruit trees flourished. And sheep, goats, swine, and cows throve in the new land.

Pequot War

Massacre in 1637 and subsequent dissolution of the pequot nation by Puritan settlers, who seized their lands

Aspects of Native Americans: Religion

Native American religion is hard to explain. This is because there were very many tribes the religious principles were passed down verbally. Many of these groups had their own beliefs though many of them were similar in the major aspects. Native American religion tends to focus around nature. The landscape, animals, plants, and other environmental elements play a major role in the religion of Native Americans. Many of the legends passed down were an attempt to explain events that occurred in nature. Native American religion includes a number of practices, ceremonies, and traditions. These ceremonies may be in honor of a number of events. The practice of taking certain hallucinogens was commonly used to gain greater insight or communicate with the gods. Ceremonies may include feasts, music, dances, and other performances.

North England and southern colonies (differences)

New England Harsh rocky soil made farming difficult, led to subsistence farms New England Land was granted to a group and towns were subdivided among families New England Fishing including whaling (lighting oil) New England Shipbuilding and small-scale factories New England Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Conneticut, New Hampshire Southern Plantation system developed Southern Export crops: "cash crops" such as tobacco grown Southern Larger slave population was needed as labor Southern Farms tended to be scattered, less urban development. Southern Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia

English seizing of New Netherlands

New Netherland was a Dutch colony from 1614 to 1664, about 50 years. In 1664, the English took the colony from the Dutch by force—even though the two countries were not at war and few if any shots were fired. Even after New Netherland became an English possession, Dutch settlers remained, and life in the colony did not much change. It remained distinctively Dutch. Decades after the English seizure, many settlers continued to speak the Dutch language and to live as they had in the past. In the former New Netherland, Dutch influence can still be felt. Many famous Americans—including three US presidents—are descendants of those early settlers. We can also thank the Dutch for cookies, Santa Claus, pancakes, and coleslaw, traditions that they began centuries earlier and that we still enjoy today. Most importantly, a distinctive culture of diversity, entrepreneurship, religious tolerance, and global engagement remains in the region where the Dutch once ruled.

French Alliance

Nowhere was the victory at Saratoga more noted than in France, which had been tentative in its efforts to assist the Americans. France's interest in the American fight for independence stemmed from France's humiliating defeat during the Seven Years War at the hands of its ancient enemy, England. As French historian Henri Doniol has put it, "Almost immediately after the peace of 1763, it (the French Government) sought in the tendency of the English colonies to revolt against their mother country the occasion by which we would avenge ourselves upon England and tear up the treaty of Paris".

Founding of Pennsylvania

On March 5, 1681, one day after receiving his royal charter for Pennsylvania, William Penn wrote that he believed God would make his colony "the seed of the nation." Penn wanted his Pennsylvania to be a land where people of differing languages and customs could live together, where men and women could worship as they pleased, where men could participate fully in their government. Such a land, Penn believed, would indeed be blessed.The founding of Pennsylvania, about 40,000 square miles, was confirmed to William Penn under the Great Seal on January 5, 1681. Penn induced people to emigrate, the terms being 40 shillings per hundred acres, and "shares" of 5,000 acres for 100 pounds. These generous terms induced many to set out for the New World.

indentured servitude and african slavery

One of the places we have the clearest views of that "terrible transformation" is the colony of Virginia. In the early years of the colony, many Africans and poor whites -- most of the laborers came from the English working class -- stood on the same ground. Black and white women worked side-by-side in the fields. Black and white men who broke their servant contract were equally punished. • Arrival of first Africans to Virginia Colony • Africans in court Anthony Johnson was a free black man who owned property in Virginia All were indentured servants. During their time as servants, they were fed and housed. Afterwards, they would be given what were known as "freedom dues," which usually included a piece of land and supplies, including a gun. Black-skinned or white-skinned, they became free. Historically, the English only enslaved non-Christians, and not, in particular, Africans. And the status of slave (Europeans had African slaves prior to the colonization of the Americas) was not one that was life-long. A slave could become free by converting to Christianity. The first Virginia colonists did not even think of themselves as "white" or use that word to describe themselves. They saw themselves as Christians or Englishmen, or in terms of their social class. They were nobility, gentry, artisans, or servants.

Founding of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth

September 1620, during the reign of King James I, around 100 English men and women-many of them members of the English Separatist Church-set sail for the New World aboard the Mayflower, a three-masted merchant ship. The ship landed on the shores of Cape Cod, in present-day Massachusetts, two months later, and in late December anchored at Plymouth Rock, where they would form the first permanent settlement of Europeans in New England. Though more than half the original settlers died during that grueling first winter, the survivors were able to secure peace treaties with neighboring Native American tribes and build a largely self-sufficient economy within five years.

indentured servants

Settler who signed on for a temporary period of servitude for a master in exchange for passage to the new world; Virginia and Pennsylvania were largely peopled in the 17th and the 18th century by these people.

Paul Revere

Silversmith Paul Revere took part in the Boston Tea Party and famously alerted the Lexington Minutemen about the approach of the British in 1775.Born January 1, 1735, Paul Revere was a silversmith and ardent colonialist. He took part in the Boston Tea Party and was principal rider for Boston's Committee of Safety. In that role, he devised a system of lanterns to warn the minutemen of a British invasion, setting up his famous ride on April 18, 1775.

Henry VIII

Split the Catholic church after he declared himself the supreme head of the church of England when his cardinal wouldn't annul his marriage, was married and divorced several times, started the "Holy Church of England"

Enlightenment

The 18th century is known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. Historians do not necessarily cut off historic periods strictly by dates, and the portion of the 18th century known as the Age of Reason generally refers to the period from 1715 through 1789. The year 1715 was the last year the reign of Queen Anne and the end of The War of Spanish Succession. The year 1789 saw the beginning of the French Revolution. Dates aside, the Age of Reason was an age of extraordinary intellectual ferment. The scientific revolution, which had begun approximately a century earlier, transformed the way people looked at problems, not only in the realm of science, but in the general realm of public affairs. The principle behind the Age of Reason was that through the application of human intellect, reasonable decisions could be made about how people and nations were to conduct their business. Societies could be restructured for the betterment of all citizens through rational application of ideas. The Age of Reason, or Enlightenment, altered people's view of religion as well. Revealed religion, the belief that human events are controlled by a divinity, and that truth can be acquired by divine revelation, was either discarded or modified into a belief system based on the idea that the world was a rational place that could be controlled be adherence to rational processes.

Surrender at Yorktown

The British Surrender at Yorktown October 19, 1781 America declared its independence in 1776, but it took another five years to win freedom from the British. That day came on October 19, 1781, when the British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his troops in Yorktown, Virginia. General Cornwallis brought 8,000 British troops to Yorktown. They expected help from British ships sent from New York. The British ships never arrived. That was lucky for General George Washington and the Continental army. The thirteen colonies found their opportunity to beat the world's largest empire. George Washington had help from the French. The French navy kept British ships from entering through the York River or Chesapeake Bay. French troops led by General Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau also joined General Washington. Rochambeau and Washington gathered an army of 17,000 soldiers to take Yorktown back from the British in early October. The army continued a siege on Yorktown. They surrounded the town. The siege cut off supplies. After awhile, the British ran out of food and ammunition. They could not continue fighting.Surrounded by French and American troops, General Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender. The two sides signed the formal agreement of the British surrender on October 19. This meant the end of the fighting and the beginning of American independence. According to one legend, when General Cornwallis and his British troops marched out of Yorktown, they played a tune called "The World Turned Upside Down." Can you think of other times in history where the underdog turned things "upside down"?

Joint Stock Company

The English formed these for profit and as a mode for global expansion; private investors shared the risks and profits associated with maritime exploration and colonial settlement; in the late 16th century, some of the larger ones managed to get royal charters that entitled them to monopolies in certain territories and even government powers in such outposts

Founding of other New England Colonies

The FOUNDERS of the New England colonies had an entirely different mission from the Jamestown settlers. Although economic prosperity was still a goal of the New England settlers, their true goal was spiritual. Fed up with the ceremonial Church of England, Pilgrims and Puritans sought to recreate society in the manner they believed God truly intended it to be designed.

Glorious Revolution in America

The Glorious Revolution of England was a blood-less coup which led to the overthrow of King James II in 1688 and the establishment of William and Mary as monarchs. The Glorious Revolution of England, also called the English Revolution, the Revolution of 1688, or the Bloodless Revolution. The Glorious Revolution was so-called because it achieved its objective without any bloodshed. Political and religious issues produced a chain of events that led to this revolution. The Glorious Revolution abolished absolutism and established a constitutional monarchy in England in which parliament had basic sovereignty over the king. The Glorious Revolution led to the 1689 English Bill of Rights which was quickly followed by the 1689 Mutiny Act which sought to limit the maintenance of a standing army during peacetime to one year.The Glorious Revolution led to a spate of short-lived rebellions in the colonies which can be seen as precursors to the American Revolution. The English Bill of Rights, that followed the Glorious Revolution, also had a massive influence on the colonies in North America and the Constitution of the United States.

Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by separatist Congregationalists who called themselves "Saints". Later they were referred to as Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers. They were fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England.

renaissance

The Renaissance (UK /rᵻˈneɪsəns/, US /ˈrɛnᵻsɑːns/)[1] is a period in Europe, from the 14th to the 17th century, considered the bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the Early Modern Age. The Renaissance's intellectual basis was its own invented version of humanism, derived from the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said, that "Man is the measure of all things." This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe.

Stamp Act

The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British government. The act, which imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies, came at a time when the British Empire was deep in debt from the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and looking to its North American colonies as a revenue source. Arguing that only their own representative assemblies could tax them, the colonists insisted that the act was unconstitutional, and they resorted to mob violence to intimidate stamp collectors into resigning. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but issued a Declaratory Act at the same time to reaffirm its authority to pass any colonial legislation it saw fit. The issues of taxation and representation raised by the Stamp Act strained relations with the colonies to the point that, 10 years later, the colonists rose in armed rebellion against the British.

Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris of 1783, negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. The Continental Congress named a five-member commission to negotiate a treaty-John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens. Laurens, however, was captured by a British warship and held in the Tower of London until the end of the war, and Jefferson did not leave the United States in time to take part in the negotiations. Thus, they were conducted by Adams, Franklin, and Jay.

European Exploration and Expansion

The Vikings were the first Europeans to land in North America. In the year 1000, they tried to settle in what is presently Newfoundland, now a province of Canada. This was long before any other European explorers reached North America. This Age of Discovery saw the rise of colonial empires on a global scale, building a commercial network that connected Europe, Asia, Africa, and the New World. The contact between the Old and New Worlds produced what is known as the Columbian Exchange: the wide transfer of plants, animals, foods, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and culture between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. By the middle of the 17th century, there were European settlements throughout South, Central, and North America—interests around which the events of the ensuing centuries would revolve. European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires, the growth of which was driven by expanding trade and the development of capitalism out of the European Renaissance. French and British exploration was precipitated by Spain's successful attempts to reach and establish settlements in and trade routes with the New World. The contact between the Old and New Worlds produced the Columbian Exchange: the wide transfer of plants, animals, foods, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and culture between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

Aspects of Native Americans: Culture

The teepee, totem pole, peace pipe, and moccasins are just a few examples, but each of these symbols were actually integral pieces of a larger picture that wove together the tapestry of Native American life. Everything from native plants and animals to housing to the weather became a part of the culture in Indian life. The animals were revered as spirits, and although they were hunted and killed, their skins and hides were used as clothing and drums, their meat was never wasted, and their spirits lived on in the mind of the tribes. Plants were cultivated and harvested, and used for various things such as dyes for blankets. The rain and sun were considered to be Gods, giving a sign to the Indians as the seasons changed.

Maryland and the Carolinas

This chapter traces the history of English colonies in Southern States. Cecil Calvert became the second Lord Baltimore and founded the colony of Maryland in 1634. The large numbers of Puritans and other Protestants arriving in Maryland exceeded the number of Catholics by a great deal. Not until seven years later, in 1670, did the first settlers establish a colony in the Carolinas. Whereas the Virginia colonists grew tobacco and those in Barbados grew sugarcane, the moneymaking crop in South Carolina became rice. In 1732, King George II granted a group of trustees a charter to establish the proposed colony. The area was named Georgia after the king. Slavery and alcoholic drinks were illegal in the new colony--another way Georgia was different from the other colonies at its beginning.

General Gage

Thomas Gage, (born 1721, Firle, Sussex, England—died April 2, 1787, England), British general who successfully commanded all British forces in North America for more than 10 years (1763-74) but failed to stem the tide of rebellion as military governor of Massachusetts (1774-75) at the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, a spokesman for democracy, was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801-1809).

Navigation acts

Throughout the colonial period, after the middle of the seventeenth century, the one great source of irritation between the mother country and her colonies was found in the Navigation Acts. The twofold object of these acts was to protect English shipping, and to secure a profit to the home country from the colonies. As early as the reign of Richard II steps had been taken for the protection of shipping, but not before 1651 were there any British statutes that seriously hampered colonial trade. The Long Parliament, in 1642, exempted New England exports and imports from all duties, and a few years later all goods carried to the southern colonies in English vessels were put on the free list.

Second Continental Congress

Times had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Lexington and Concord had changed everything. When the Redcoats fired into the Boston crowd in 1775, the benefit of the doubt was granted. Now the professional imperial army was attempting to arrest patriot leaders, and minutemen had been killed in their defense. In May 1775, with Redcoats once again storming Boston, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. The questions were different this time. First and foremost, how would the colonist meet the military threat of the British. It was agreed that a CONTINENTAL ARMY would be created. The Congress commissioned George Washington of Virginia to be the supreme commander, who chose to serve without pay.

Coercive Acts

Upset by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property by American colonists, the British Parliament enacts the Coercive Acts, to the outrage of American Patriots, on this day in 1774. The Coercive Acts were a series of four acts established by the British government. The aim of the legislation was to restore order in Massachusetts and punish Bostonians for their Tea Party, in which members of the revolutionary-minded Sons of Liberty boarded three British tea ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 crates of tea—nearly $1 million worth in today's money—into the water to protest the Tea Act. Passed in response to the Americans' disobedience, the Coercive Acts included: The Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid. The Massachusetts Government Act, which restricted Massachusetts; democratic town meetings and turned the governor's council into an appointed body. The Administration of Justice Act, which made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in Massachusetts. The Quartering Act, which required colonists to house and quarter British troops on demand, including in their private homes as a last resort. A fifth act, the Quebec Act, which extended freedom of worship to Catholics in Canada, as well as granting Canadians the continuation of their judicial system, was joined with the Coercive Acts in colonial parlance as one of the Intolerable Acts, as the mainly Protestant colonists did not look kindly on the ability of Catholics to worship freely on their borders. More important than the acts themselves was the colonists' response to the legislation. Parliament hoped that the acts would cut Boston and New England off from the rest of the colonies and prevent unified resistance to British rule. They expected the rest of the colonies to abandon Bostonians to British martial law. Instead, other colonies rushed to the city's defense, sending supplies and forming their own Provincial Congresses to discuss British misrule and mobilize resistance to the crown. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and began orchestrating a united resistance to British rule in America.

Reformation

When "protestant" dissidents challenged the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestants persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and killed each other in large numbers

Makeup and conditions of American armies

When Washington assumed command, the Continental Army truly was not even an army. Rather, it was a loosely and poorly coordinated band of militias and citizen-soldiers under control of the individual states. There were no established protocols for exercising coordinated authority, for supplying and feeding the troops, for transportation, or any other of the myriad tasks necessary for a field army. Because eighteenth century communication was very poor and maddeningly slow, gaining the Continental Congress' required approval for anything took long periods of time. Under these conditions fighting the powerful British army was a gargantuan task. Despite these impediments, Washington organized this seemingly motley amalgamation into three divisions, six brigades, and thirty-eight regiments. He initially employed one state's militia - Major General Philip Schuyler's ten regiments in New York - in an unsuccessful attempt to invade Canada. When it became clear that the Crown wanted to crush independence, Congress lengthened enlistment terms and ordered States to contribute regiments in proportion to their population.

British and American attitudes after

While only a gray point between the French and Indian War, the repeal of taxes, and the Revolutionary War the Proclamation of 1763 had a significant effect on the attitudes of the colonials toward the British. After the French and Indian War and the treaty of Paris, the Proclamation of 1763 was one of the first documents issued to govern the colonies. This proclamation simply stated that no further settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains was allowed. To the colonists it was a direct blow to their confidence. The colonists interpreted this proclamation as putting an off limits sign on the Ohio River Valley which the whole war had started over. The proclamations misinterpretation was a big key to the view of the colonials. With some convincing a colonial could be shown that since the French and Indian War the acts, taxes, and proclamations have been directed to repress the colonial growth and extend a firmer grip over North America. The real purpose for the Proclamation of 1763 was to temporarily solve the Indian problem. The Indian's rights and property were being violated and the British government realized this and took action. They had just ended a costly war and couldn't afford small skirmishes and conflicts 3000 miles from home. The effects of the proclamation were small but the connotation of them resonated its way through to the revolution. With Britain's failure to clearly identify its intentions to the colonials it simply began a chain of events that would lead to a revolution. The mighty Britain was not a force that one would want to reckon with in the 1700s. Their demise was partially brought upon themselves when they developed a characteristic character flaw. Their strength in numbers or magnitude caused this flaw which would lead them to their downfall. This flaw made the waves of the splash exponentially bigger than the actual splash. The grand scale of a big war caused a multitude of repercussions that sacrificed Britain to its colonies. <previous - next>

William Penn

William Penn (October 14, 1644-July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. Ahead of his time, Penn also published a plan for a United States of Europe, "European Dyet, Parliament or Estates."

William Pitt

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, known as 'the Great Commoner', dominated the political scene influencing government from within and without. He is remembered for his vocal criticism of harsh British policy levied against the American colonies and his skills as a wartime leader during the Seven Years' War.

Sam Adams

a genius of revolutionary agitation, he believed that parliament had no right to legislate for the colonies; he also organized the sons of liberty, as well as protests in Boston against the British

Patrick Henry

atrick Henry was a brilliant orator and a major figure of the American Revolution, perhaps best known for his words "Give me liberty or give me death!"Born on May 29 (May 18, Old Style), 1736 in Studley, Virginia, Patrick Henry was an American Revolution-era orator best know for his quote "Give me liberty or give me death." Henry was an influential leader in the radical opposition to the British government, but only accepted the new federal government after the passage of the Bill of Rights, for which he was in great measure responsible.

George Washington

commander in chief of the Continental Army; had previously served as an officer in the french and indian war, but had never commanded a large unit; later he was elected the first president of the United States, and stepped down peacefully after two terms

Nathaniel Bacon

defied governor berkley's authority by assuming command of a group of frontier vigilantes; led a rebellion of servants, small farmers, and even slaves against Virginia's wealthiest planters and political leaders against governor berkley and Jamestown

Spanish settlements in the Americas

eginning with Columbus in 1492 and continuing for nearly 350 years, Spain conquered and settled most of South America, the Caribbean, and the American Southwest. After an initial wave of conquistadors—aided by military advantages and infectious diseases that decimated the native populations— defeated the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas, Spain organized a huge imperial system to exploit the land, labor, and mineral wealth of the New World. The Spanish empire became the largest European empire since ancient Rome, and Spain used the wealth of the Americas to finance nearly endless warfare in Europe, protecting the Americas with a vast navy and powerful army and bringing Catholicism to the New World. The growth of a racially mixed society eventually caused rifts to develop between Spain and its American colonies, and by 1824, all of Spain's New World colonies except Cuba and Puerto Rico had fought for and won their independence.

crusades

he first of the Crusades began in 1095, when armies of Christians from Western Europe responded to Pope Urban II's plea to go to war against Muslim forces in the Holy Land. After the First Crusade achieved its goal with the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the invading Christians set up several Latin Christian states, even as Muslims in the region vowed to wage holy war (jihad) to regain control over the region. Deteriorating relations between the Crusaders and their Christian allies in the Byzantine Empire culminated in the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Third Crusade. Near the end of the 13th century, the rising Mamluk dynasty in Egypt provided the final reckoning for the Crusaders, toppling the coastal stronghold of Acre and driving the European invaders out of Palestine and Syria in 1291.

Boston Tea Party

his famed act of American colonial defiance served as a protest against taxation. Seeking to boost the troubled East India Company, British Parliament adjusted import duties with the passage of the Tea Act in 1773. While consignees in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia rejected tea shipments, merchants in Boston refused to concede to Patriot pressure. On the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. This resulted in the passage of the punitive Coercive Acts in 1774 and pushed the two sides closer to war.

William Bradford

led the ship "Mayflower" set out for cape cod; formed the mayflower compact; reached harbor on December 26, 1620 at a place the pilgrims named Plymouth; celebrated thanksgiving with the indians; became Governor of Plymouth

George III

ngland's longest-ruling monarch before Queen Victoria, King George III (1738-1820) ascended the British throne in 1760. During his 59-year reign, he pushed through a British victory in the Seven Years' War, led England's successful resistance to Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, and presided over the loss of the American Revolution. After suffering intermittent bouts of acute mental illness, he spent his last decade in a fog of insanity and blindness.

Lord North

ord North was Prime Minister of Great Britain from January, 1770 to March, 1782. His early successes as Leader of the House and his efforts to cut the national debt brought him the confidence of a faction-ridden Parliament and the favor and friendship of King George III. But his failure to subdue the American colonies and the subsequent loss of the Revolutionary War brought an end to his ministry and forever darkened his name in history.

Sons of Liberty

organized by Samuel Adams, these were the colonists with a militant view against the British's control over the colonies

pilgrims

puritan separatists who broke completely with the Church of England and sailed to the new world aboard the "mayflower", founding Plymouth colony on cape cod in 1620

Europeanization

refers to a number of related phenomena and patterns of change: The process in which a notionally non-European subject (be it a culture, a language, a city or a nation) adopts a number of European features (Westernization).

Charles I

succeeded his father James I as the king of England in 1625; defended absolute royal power; disbanded parliament from 1625 to 1640; levied taxes by decree, and allowed systematic persecution of puritans

James I

succeeded queen Elizabeth as the leader of England following her demise; was king of Scotland previously; promoted the theory of divine right

Ferdinand and Isabella

the Spanish monarchs who funded Columbus' voyage to the New World, agreeing to allow him 1/10th of the treasures he found there when Columbus returned they sent him on a second voyage saying, "treat the Indians very well and lovingly and abstain from doing them any injury" used the Pope to get a better deal in the Treaty of Tordesillas, allowing them the land west of Africa including most of the Americas; wanted to solidify their legal claim against Portugal

"poor man's country"

the author seeks to focus on ideology and practices of the different groups who moved to the area. He also stresses that most of his work deals with those who he felt represented the largest number of settlers, the liberal middle classes, defined as those who placed individual freedom and material gain over that of public interest. In the first section of the book, Lemon studies the factors that determined where early European immigrants settled; existing settlements, land quality, accessible water, and others. The factors that most clearly determined a settler's choice of land were date of arrival and the location of the nearest available unoccupied land. The latter part of the book focuses on the application of two geographical theories--central place and von Thunen's model of concentric agricultural zones--to settlement in southeastern Pennsylvania. Regarding the first, Lemon concludes that county seats established in the backcountry prospered because they served as nodal central places relative to Philadelphia, while those located within thirty miles of the city failed. [S. Trail]

mercantilism

the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism. economic theory and practice common in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic counterpart of political absolutism. Its 17th-century publicists—most notably Thomas Mun in England, Jean-Baptiste Colbert in France, and Antonio Serra in Italy—never, however, used the term themselves; it was given currency by the Scottish economist Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations (1776).