Michael S Guccione

Extra Credit:American Colonies

13 – Glorious Revolutions

In 1688, fearing a Catholic dynasty, some English asked William, the Dutch Prince of Orange, to intervene

William was both nephew and son-in-law to the Catholic King of England, James. This made him (sort-of) eligible for the crown, and most importantly, he was Protestant.

Colonial officials (appointed by James) tried to suppress the news, but instead instigated their own revolutions.

The Dominion was resolved by rebels, and New York’s governor was replaced by Leisler, a German immigrant with colonial Dutch support

Virginia and the West Indies did not experience revolution for varying reasons, but in large part for fear of their slave majorities.

13 - Resolution King William reached an easy agreement with rebel

Maryland, ousting the Catholic proprietor and making it a Royal Colony

He also removed Penn from power in Pennsylvania and appointed a military governor (who had trouble getting cooperation from the Quaker assembly)

With Massachusetts the King had to compromise. The colony now had both a Royal governor and an elected assembly.

In New York the King decided to rule against his Dutch subjects there, so as not to appear biased against his English subjects, and Leisler was replaced and executed

13 – Pirates Pirate crews of the era were essentially democratic, deciding

on even leadership by majority rule

Up to the early 17th Century, England utilized Privateers against the stronger Navy of Spain

By 1700, pirates had become a burden on the expanded English Empire.

Many pirates, such as Captain Kidd, lost the allegiance they once had from Colonial and Imperial backers

Captain Kidd was convicted and executed on May 23, 1701. His body was hung by the Thames River to rot and serve as an example of what happens to pirates.

By 1730 the empire had nearly eliminated Piracy in the West Indies and elsewhere, lowering the price merchants expended on defending their ships, and also lowering the price on maritime insurance.

14 - News As trade increased and shipping became more

stable, the flow of information between Europe and the Colonies steadied

From having no newspapers in English America in the 1600’s, the colonists had 13 by 1739

These newspapers primarily dealt with Atlantic commerce, and political news from London

The colonists became more tied than ever to the homeland as they became more wrapped up in her trade and her wars.

14 – Trade The Chesapeake and West Indian colonies sold more in sugar

and tobacco than they bought in manufactured goods.

These colonies accumulated credit that they exchanged for produce from New England

New England, in turn, generated credit by the shipping of this produce, and used it to buy manufactured goods from England

These extensions of credit also allowed trade with the Iberian peninsula, and there was a new boom in demand for wheat, which benefited the middle colonies

The colonial GDP expanded from 4% of England’s in 1700 to 40% in 1770.

The colonists also had cheap, accessible land, fertile soil, and slave labor and therefore had much higher standards of living than their compatriots back home.

14 – “New Negroes”

Most West African slaves were captured by African slave raiders and sold to Europeans

Some slaves became “Drivers,” who were entrusted with power over the other slaves and whipped them for the master

Mulattoes with white fathers often received less taxing assignments such as becoming house servants or artisans

Uprisings were more common were there were more blacks than whites, such as in the West Indies

In 1760, a West Indies uprising killed 90 whites, and its repression killed 400 blacks, mostly burnt at the stake.