Slavery and The Structure of an Empire

Salem witch trials

1629 outbreak of witchcraft accusations in a Massachusetts Bay puritan village marked by an atmosphere of fear, hysteria and stress. Spectral evidence was used frequently.

Dominion of New England

1686 - The British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Plymouth, east and west jersey and Connecticut into a single province headed by a royal governor (Andros). The Dominion ended in 1692, when the colonists revolted and drove out Governor Andros.

Backcountry

A colonial region that ran along the Appalachian Mountains through the far western part of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.

Society of Friends, or Quakers

A devout member of Society of Friends, or Quakers, Penn was particularly concerned with establishing a refuge for his coreligionists who faced increasing persecution in England. Explanation- Religious Society of Friends or better known as Quakers was a group of Christian in 17th century England who faced prosecution for their belief in equality of humans, rejection of the ceremonial practices of Church and need for purification of Christian society with good deeds. Remained in England they faced criticism from the orthodox sections. In 1861 William Penn was granted land in America( Pennsylvania ) which became the center for the propagation of their ideas. They played a key role in the abolition of slavery and women's rights movement.

English Toleration Act

A law of 1690 that allowed all Protestants to worship freely.

How did patterns of class and gender roles change in eighteenth century America?

America had no titled aristocracy as in Britain. It had not system of legally established social ranks or family pedigrees stretching back to medieval times. This was beneficial for most classes of people. As for gender roles, women were working as much as men but in different ways and jobs; their work never ended.

Why do the lawmakers believe this law is necessary?

Because the law was an early example of ideas, which recurred in later years, both that a white majority is desirable and that some whites are more desirable than others.

What is Franklins objection to the growing German presence?

Benjamin Franklin was particularly troubled by the large influx of new comers from Germany into Pennsylvania in the mid-eighteenth century. He wrote in a manuscript form in 1751 informing his friends by warning against the long-term affects of German immigration on the English culture of American colonies. He advocated increasing the number of English immigrants and expanding the colonies control over land to west to accommodate them ( a recipe for continuing conflict with native Americans).

What are the most important kinds of work done by Carolina women according to Lawson?

Carolina women had three important roles that were to be good housewifery, to be joyful mothers, and to help their husbands in any servile work. Carolina women could make a great deal of cloth of their own cotton, wool and flax.

What do these documents suggest about the limits of freedom in early colonial America?

Concepts of Freedom in Colonial America. Freedom is a constant theme throughout American history. The country was founded on this theme and continues to define the ideas of freedom today. The American government is based off this theme. It was a debate and issue of conflict among the settlers, Colonies, slaves, and within the Union.

What were the directions of social and economic change in the eighteenth century colonies?

The direction of social and economic change in the eighteenth century was becoming assimilated for religious diversity, Native American land was used for profit, and large industrial cities were created also for profitable reasons.

How strict do gender roles appear to have been in early Carolina?

The gender roles were very strict in early Carolina .The women should get married very young , some at thirteen or fourteen years. And if they get married until twenty, they are rehomed a stail maid which is very indifferent character in that warm country . The women must be fruitful and most houses have to being full of little one .

How do owners hope their fugitives will be identified?

The owners gave a description of their fugitives, and a reward if someone found them.

Why do you think Irish servants are exempted from its provisions?

The period of Irish indentured servitude had two main phases. The first occurred during the years 1641-1651. In 1641, Irish Catholic landowners attempted to overthrow the English-dominated government and restore the rights of Catholics. The rebellion failed and, as a result, England cracked down hard on Irish rights. Many people were killed by English troops or died of starvation, but many others were also forcibly removed and sent to British plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas.?

What were the meanings of British liberty in the eighteenth century?

Despite the slavery of the empire, eighteenth-century Great Britain prided itself on being the world's most advanced and freest nation. Britons believed that wealth, religion, and freedom went together. Central to this sense of British identity was the concept of liberty. British liberty was simultaneously a collection of specific rights, a national characteristic, and a state of mind.

What picture of life in Africa does Equaino present?

Equiano presents the side of Africa that is not mentioned often in the textbooks I have had. He shows how Africa is very simple and that people started to fear for the kidnappings of the slave trade at the age eleven.

How did the English empire in America expand in the mid-seventeenth century?

Europe continued to expand in America with financial profits. In the mid-seventeenth century it became apparent to the European countries that American Colonies would become an important source of wealth. European mother countries expanded in America through mercantilism and controlled trade to avoid trade deficit. America also expanded politically by creating proprietary colonies like Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Middle Passage

For slaves, the voyage across the Atlantic known-- as the Middle Passage. Because it was the second, or middle, leg in the triangular trading routes linking Europe, Africa, and America-- was a harrowing experience.

Plantation

In the Americas, slavery was based on the plantation, an agricultural enterprise that brought together large numbers of workers under the control of a single owner.

What factors led to distinct African-American cultures in the eighth century?

In the Chesapeake, the slave population began to reproduce itself making possible the creation of family-centered slave communities. Slaves were continuously exposed to white culture and soon learned English. On rice plantations, slaves lived in very harsh conditions and had a low birth rate. Northern slaves developed a culture more slowly due to the concentrated population, but they had more mobility and access to the mainstream of life.

Redemptioners

Indentured families or persons who received passage to the New World in exchange for a promise to work off their debt in America.

What was the impact of the Seven Years' War on imperial and Indian-white relations?

Indians were constantly being pushed into a "middle ground" between European empires and Indian sovereignty. With the removal of the French, the balance of power diplomacy that had enabled groups like the Iroquois to maintain a significant degree of autonomy was eliminated. The war deepened the hostility of western Pennsylvania farmers toward Indians.

What does Johannes Hanner seem to mean when he calls America a "free country"?

Johannes Hanner meaning in free country is that you don't have to pay taxes to a landlord for owning land. There is a lot of land all the way from canada to the Spanish border and you don't have to ask for permission when you buy or rent the land.

What does the Maryland law tell us about how the consolidation of slavery affected ideas about racial difference?

Maryland's laws provided legal backing for those working to keep or apprehend slaves. From colonial times to the Civil War, laws involving escaped slaves were continuously strengthened to make escape more difficult and to compel free whites to capture runaways. The laws attempted to make escape more difficult by punishing those who helped a slave escape. If an escaped slave was captured, it was often the courts who decided their fate.

What concepts and institutions dominated colonial politics in the eighteenth century?

Ownership of property was a common standard for voting in the colonies. Suffrage was much more common in the colonies than in Britain. During the first half of the eighteenth century the colonies were largely left to govern themselves. Elected assemblies became dominant and assertive in colonial politics. Freedom of speech was a relatively new idea and freedom of the press was generally viewed as dangerous.

How did the Spanish and French empires in America develop in the eighteenth century?

Spanish North America wasn't as vast as it seemed on paper. Despite establishing religious missions and presidios, the population in Spanish North America remained low. The French empire expanded in the early eighteenth century. The French tended to view North America as a place of cruel exile for criminals and social outcasts.

What elements of slavery does he seem to think will most outrage his readers?

That Olaudah's writings were very detailed when he was explaining the details of how they were treated. Olaudah used to be the son of the village chief in Africa. He was abducted and taken away from his family. During his abduction, he used to have this misconception of a good life when he was taken to the New World. However, his naivety made him realized that the life of a slave is never easy

How does it appear that people in Europe learn about conditions in America?

The Europeans learned about the American conditions via letters the settlers have sent back home. Back in the eighteenth century the only way to communicate with each other was to tell the people in person or to write letters.

How did the Great Awakening challenge the religious and social structures of British North America?

The Great Awakening enlarged the boundaries of liberty and inspired criticism of many aspects of colonial society. A few preachers explicitly condemned slavery, but most masters managed to reconcile Christianity and slave holding. It expanded the circulation of printed material in the colonies.

What major social and political crisis rocked the colonies in the late seventeenth century?

The right to vote was restricted more, increase in resistance by Indians, witchcraft, and the formation of Charles II's national rule, are all social and political issues in the colonies in the seventeenth century.

What does the document suggest about the limits of freedom in early colonial America?

Their concept of freedom included religious freedom, economic freedom, and independence. Although their ideas differ, early Americans defined the new world constructed on their concept of freedom. When Columbus began his journey, he wanted to explore the world to bring Christianity to foreign lands and cultures.

How did African slavery differ regionally in eighteenth century North America?

There were three distinct slave systems in the colonies: tobacco-based plantations in the Chesapeake, rice-based plantations in South Carolina and Georgia, and no plantations in New England and the Middle Colonies. In the Chesapeake, it was a slave society. In the South, slavery was big and the discrimination between blacks and whites increased during the eighteenth century. In New England, slaves had certain rights that were unknown in the south.

Bacon's Rebellion

Virginias shift from white indentured servants to African slaves as the main plantation labor force was accelerated by one of the most dramatic confrontations of this era, Bacon's Rebellion of 1676.

What does the Maryland law tell us about how the consolidation of slavery affected ideas about racial difference?

White people thought they were genetically superior to African Americans therefore they thought was justified

Staple crops

crops that are continuously in demand. Explanation- Is a crop that is eaten routinely and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well.

English Bill of Rights

document that gave England a government based on a system of laws and a freely elected parliament.

Yeoman Farmers

family farmers who hired out slaves for the harvest season, self-sufficient, participated in local markets alongside slave owners

What does Franklin's characterization of the complexions of various groups suggest about the reliability of his perceptions of non-English peoples?

none?

Alantic Slave Trade

slave trade would later be condemned by statesmen and general opinion as a crime against humanity.

Why does Elizabeth Sprigs compare her condition unfavorably to that of blacks?

the indentured servants were viewed as lower-class, they still were seen as being better than the slaves. Elizabeth appears to believe that she was being treated like a slave, instead of someone who temporarily agreed to work in return for her trip to be paid for. explanation- Indentured servants were people who could not afford to make the journey, but signed contracts agreeing to work temporarily for someone that could pay for them to make the trip.

Glorious Revolution

the overthrow of King James II of England

What do these advertisements tell us about relations between slaves and servants?

Slaves and servants really worked together to get out of the situation that they were in. Basically they were working together to get out of the same situation.

Lords of Trade

An English regulatory board established to oversee colonial affairs in 1675.

Walking Purchase

An arrangement in which the Lenni Lenape Indians agreed to cede to Pennsylvanian colonists a tract of land bounded by the distance a man could walk in thirty-six hours; a team of swift runners who were hired to mark out the area far exceeded the amount that the Indians had anticipated.

How was slavery established in the Western Atlantic world?

At the time race and racism were not fully developed terms or concepts. Europeans had always looked at alien people with disdain, including the Irish, Native Americans, and Africans, and described them as savage, pagan, and uncivilized. To the Europeans, they were considered "enslavable."