Middle Colonies and Lower South (1670s – 1750)

Themes

• Middle Colonies: New York and Pennsylvania • Colonies of the Lower South: South Carolina

and Georgia • Your goals:

- Understand the early histories of these colonies - Describe slave life in the Lower South

The Middle Colonies(New York)

New York

• New York was not founded by English Colonists or French

• Founded by the Dutch• Henry Hudson explored Hudson River in 1609 • Dutch traders established Fort Nassau in 1614

near Albany• New Netherland was established in 1625 on

Manhattan Island

New York (Dutch West India Fur Company)

• Dutch West India Fur Company founded New Netherland

• Fur trade was key to regional economy

• “Patroonships” (large land grants) were awarded to individuals bringing 50 settlers to the colony

• Small group of elites began to dominate the area because of their accumulated wealth

New York

• About 9,000 lived in New Netherland by 1660s• Living space became a factor with English colonies to

the north and south of the area• England saw Dutch as interlopers; tension grew

between powers • King Charles II orders James, Duke of York, to kick out

Dutch from the area• Gov. Peter Stuyvesant surrendered to English in 1664

without a shot fired • New Netherland became known as New York

Dutch Legacy in New York

• Diverse Population: - Dutch and English, German, French,

Scandinavian, African slaves - Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims• No organized places of worship for many years• Dutch customs and Influence: Place names

such as Brooklyn and Harlem; painting Easter eggs and making waffles

The Middle Colonies(Pennsylvania)

Pennsylvania (Background)

• William Penn, and father Admiral Sir William Penn were close to King Charles II

• To pay back the Penn family for remaining loyal to the king, Charles II in 1681 granted Penn a charter to establish a colony west of the Delaware River

Pennsylvania (William Penn)

• Two Goals: 1. Establish a haven for Quakers 2. Penn hoped to make money

- immigration to Pennsylvania was successful. By the late 1680s over 8,000 traveled from Europe to the colony

• Immigrants from England, Whales, Germany, Ireland, Scotland

• Colony offered religious toleration • Colony’s port (Philadelphia became one of the most

successful ports in the Colonies)

Pennsylvania (Quakers)

• Quakers – Society of Friends • Founded by George Fox in mid-1600s• Faced persecution in England • Everyone had an “inner light”• Egalitarian: - no clergy – body of people ordained for religious

duties - Women were involved with church policy and

decision making

The Settlements of the Lower South

• Charles II granted land south of Virginia to supporters in 1663

• Region was named Carolina

• Capital (Charleston) had a very serviceable harbor

• In 1729 South and North Carolina were officially divided

Background

• South Carolina’s settlement began in 1670. 50 years after the Pilgrims landed Plymouth Colony

- Many came from colonies in the Caribbean (Bahamas) • During the first half of the 17th Century around

110,000 English migrated to the West Indies to avoid persecution

• Many settled in Carolina because most of the other land had already been taken

• South Carolina’s main crop: RICE

The Caribbean Colonies

The Caribbean Economy

• Sugar production was key to Caribbean economy

• Industry was very labor intensive • African slaves emerged as the dominant labor

force • Black slaves outnumbered whites by a ratio of

4:1 by 1700

South Carolina and Labor

• Because Rice was a labor intensive crop, settlers began looking for cheap labor

1. Native Americans – many ran away or fought back

2. Indentured Servants – white servants; many became sick and died

3. African Slaves

Why Switch from Servants to Slaves?

1. Even though they cost more money, slaves were slaves for life

2. African slaves had a great deal of knowledge of rice cultivation

3. Health reasons: Malaria and yellow fever were deadly to Europeans

- Many Africans had natural immunities to these diseases

Black Majority

• By 1710s, blacks outnumbered whites in South Carolina

• A great resource for more information: Black Majority, by Peter Wood

Slave Trade

• Up to about 10 million Africans were involved in the slave trade

• 400,000 came to live in British North America • Largest forced migration in human history • Middle Passage: The voyage from Africa to

“New World”

African Origins of North American Slaves, 1690 – 1807

African Slavery, Inland Trade • Slavery was common in African long before Portuguese

trades became involved with the slave trade• For centuries, slaves were often criminals or captives of war

between tribes • Slavery was temporary in Africa however when British

traders became involved slavery was permanent • Both foreign slave traders and African slave traders played a

major role in the slave trade• African slave traders would march captured slaves to the

west coast where ships would take them to their destination

Black Slavers in Africa

Slave Ship and Middle Passage

• Slaves ships were unsanitary and packed as many African slaves as possible

• Slaves were seen as cargo not people • Different shipping companies would compete

with one another to see which could pack in more slaves; meant more profit

• Death Rate: 10%-20% through the Middle Passage

Slave Ship and Middle Passage

Life under Slavery

• Conditions in South Carolina were unique: - Culture shock - Type of work often involved rice cultivation - Blacks outnumbered whites

Life under Slavery (Work Patterns: Lower South)

• Task System 1. Slaves were given a “task” each day; once

completed their work day was over 2. On a daily basis, slaves often did not work

closely with whites3. Gave slaves time to raise the little crops that

they could

Life under Slavery(Work Patterns: Chesapeake Bay)

• Gang System1. Grouped by gender or age2. Slaves worked in smaller groups3. Whites were ever watchful of slaves 4. They often worked from sunrise to sunset

Life under Slavery (Brutality)

• Slaves were bought and sold like animals

• Worked long hours and could be whipped for no reason

• Lived in 1 room shacks and dirt floors; ate corn and salted pork

Life under Slavery(Holding Onto African Heritage

• Blacks did not live close to whites1. Children were given “African” names 2. Music reflected African origins3. Gullah – A language made up of English and

African words

Life under Slavery (Slave Resistance)

• Completely Submissive and Obedient – small in number

• Completely Resistant – small in number • Subtle Resistance – occurred quite often

(sometimes on a daily basis)

Life under Slavery (Slave Resistance)

• Subtle Resistance:- Breaking tools, faking illnesses, pretending not to know English or how to use tools, etc.- Escape for short periods of time. Slaves majority of the time were brought back because of the color of their skin and their lack of knowledge of geography

Stono Rebellion (Background)

• Whites always feared a major slave rebellion. Remember slaves outnumbered whites in most areas; in 1739 their fears came true

• Context: - Yellow fever outbreak in Charlestown

- Hostilities between Spain and England

Stono Rebellion: Beginnings (1739)

• Rebellion began on a September morning in 1739• 20 slaves, led by a slave named Jimmy, broke into a

store• Slaves cut off their heads and put them on display • They traveled south, stopping at plantations along the

way, involving between 60 – 100 slaves• Would kill slaver owners who treated their slaves bad

and spared owners who treated their slaves well• They were on their way to Spanish Florida when local

militia stopped their advancement

Stono Rebellion

1. Militia surrounded the rebels and slaughtered them

2. Twenty whites and over 100 slaves were killed

3. Militia put their body parts on display throughout the south, as a warning

• Largest slave rebellion of colonial era

Aftermath of the Stono Rebellion

• A new Slave Code was passed:1. Slave patrols were expanded2. Tighter security on slaves 3. Slave owners faced fines if they did not

control their slaves

Georgia: Background

• Georgia was founded in 1732 and named for King George II

• Goal: A buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida

Georgia: Goals

• A group of Trustees was charged with ruling the colony for the first two decades

• One Trustee, James Oglethorpe, was key to the colony’s early history

• They hoped the colony could serve as a haven for English debtors who would choose to live in the colony and work rather than go or stay in prison

• Slavery and alcohol were prohibited; landholdings were limited to 500 acres

Georgia: Early History

• By 1740 nearly 3,000 colonists had arrived

• Many settlers came from Germany, Switzerland, England, and Scotland

• Missionaries attempted to spread Christianity including John Wesley who founded the Methodist Church

Georgia: Early History

• Population remained small and early goals were not reached

• The limits of landholding proved to be impractical

• Changes were implemented and slavery was legalized; conditions became similar to those in South Carolina with the rise of a few elite plantation owners who demanded slave labor

Review

• Middle Colonies (New York and Pennsylvania) vs. Lower South (South Carolina and Georgia)

• Compare and contrast key events and people who shaped the colonies

• Describe African slave trade and life under slavery