Lecture 2 - Upper Iowa University

Hist 110 American Civilization I Instructor: Dr. Donald R. Shaffer Upper Iowa University

Lecture 2 Spanish Colonies 

Government of Spanish America  

Because of the vast wealth it generated, Spanish monarchs tried to keep their American colonies under tight control Colonies organized into “viceroyalties” under a “viceroyal” directly appointed by the king

 The Catholic Church 

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Bartolome de Las Casas: successfully promoted the idea that the Indians had souls and should not be killed or enslaved Missions had the dual purpose of converting the Indians to Christianity and “civilizing” them (i.e., turning them into good Spanish peasants)

 Encomienda  

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A grant of land and Indian laborers to a Spaniard The Spaniard could make use of the Indian labor, but in return was expected to work to convert the Indians to Christianity and civilize them Early encomiendas involved the ruthless exploitation of natives

Lecture 2 French Colonies 

The French moved gradually into North America in the 16th century 

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Like the Spanish they tried to convert the Indians to Christianity, but initially did not seek conquest 

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Like the Spanish, they initially came looking for treasure, but found none in what is today Quebec They stayed, however, because they found it profitable to trade European goods with the Indians for animal furs

The fur trade worked best with a limited French presence, mostly traders  “coureurs de bois”: illegal fur trappers who established cultural ties with Indians, leading to creation of the Metis (mixed French-Indian people)

Eventually the French established larger settlements, but they were small compared to the English

Lecture 2 Dutch in America  Holland by the 17th century was a leading commercial power in Europe, making it a rival to England In the process of gaining independence from Spain, it developed global colonial and trade interests, including in America  The Dutch established a colony in the Hudson River Valley trading for furs with Indians at Fort Orange (present-day Albany) 

 English takeover Holland’s small population and prosperity meant few immigrants came to America making the colony vulnerable  The colony, especially its commercial capital New Amsterdam (late New York City) also attracted a diverse population with little loyalty to Holland  Hence, there was little resistance when the English invaded the colony in 1664, renaming in it New York after its new ruler the Duke of York (later James II) 

Lecture 2 England: Establishing Virginia  The first successful English colony in North America was established at Jamestown in Virginia in 1607 Established by the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company charted by James I  The intent of the company was to emulate the Spanish model  Live initially by exploiting the Indians  Find and seize Indian treasure  This model did not work because the Indians in the Chesapeake region were poor hunter-farmers  Most early colonists soon died from disease and starvation 

 Tobacco The salvation of the colony was tobacco, brought in from the Caribbean  After the introduction of tobacco, Virginia prospered, although life remained rough and life spans short until the late 1600s 

“That noxious weed”

Lecture 2 England: Life in the Early Chesapeake  Brutish and short  Low life expectancy: 40% dead within 6 years of arrival; 2/3 dead within 10 years  Imbalanced sex ratio (men outnumber women)  Scattered, low density population  Primitive living conditions  Positives: more food, chance to own land  Maryland Charles I established Maryland in 1632 as a refuge for English Catholics  Granted a proprietary colony to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore  Also developed a tobacco economy  Toleration Act (1649): religious toleration to all trinitarian Christians (meant to protect Catholic minority from the Protestant majority in the colony)  This act was the first formal legislation enacting (albeit limited) religious freedom in American history 

Lecture 2 England: Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia  Indentured Servants 80 percent of all 17th century immigrants  Main source of labor in the early decades  Worked 4-7 years in return for passage  Young and poor, overwhelmingly male 

 If servants arrived before 1660 and survived they had a decent chance of becoming a land owning planter 

A collapse in tobacco prices after 1660 made this goal unattainable

 Former indentured servants in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon, pressured Gov. William Berkeley to confiscate land from Indians to provide them with plantations When Berkeley refused, Bacon and his followers rebelled, burning Jamestown  Bacon’s sudden death and arrival of royal troops led to revolt’s collapse  After revolt, planters began to replace indentured servants with African slaves 

Advertisement offering reward for runaway indentured servant

Lecture 2 England: Establishing New England Colonies  Unlike Virginia, the colonists in New England had religious motivations for coming to America 

The English monarchy was increasingly hostile during the reign of Charles I to people who refused to follow the hierarchy of the Church of England

 Plymouth Established by Separatist Puritans in 1620 near Cape Cod, Massachusetts  These were the famous “Pilgrims”  After difficult start, their colony a success 

 Massachusetts Bay Congregationalist Puritans established the much larger colony in 1629  “Errand to the Wilderness”  Tried to prove Puritan approach in England by establishing an ideal Puritan society in America 

Lecture 2 England: Puritanism and New England  The Puritans tried to emulate what they saw as the simplicity and egalitarianism they saw in early Christianity They rejected the hierarchy and practices of the Church of England as too similar to Catholic Church  Congregationalist Puritans did not formally renounce the Church of England but they hoped to reform from within  Separatist Puritans formally rejected the Church of England 

 Puritan Intolerance Despite being persecuted by the crown in England, Puritans did not hesitate to persecute outsiders and their own people who deviated from Puritan orthodoxy  Roger Williams: banished from Massachusetts and then established Rhode Island  Anne Hutchinson: defied Puritan theological and male authority 

Puritans walking to Sunday church services – all people in Puritan New England were legally required to attend church

Lecture 2 Life in Early New England  New England economy: more diversified than the Chesapeake (not dependent on a single crop or just agriculture)  Puritans came from ‘midling sort’ of English society, which meant they could finance their own passage to America 

They also moved to America as families, meaning New England had a more balanced sex ratio than the Chesapeake

 Puritans lived in compact villages rather than on the land they farmed 

Village life reinforced religious beliefs by making all Puritans subject to scrutiny

 Their housing was much more substantial than in the Chesapeake  Longer life expectancy than Chesapeake due to healthier lifestyle and climate  Old Deluder Act (1647) 

First formal provision for public education in American history

 Puritans believed in witchcraft: 

Salem Witchcraft Trial: (right click on the link to an outside website)

Puritan home built in 1668 Salem, Massachusetts An example of the substantial housing built in New England

Lecture 2 England: Puritans and Native Americans  The Puritans had an ambivalent attitude toward Native Americans They coveted Indian land and believed Native Americans to be culturally inferior and under Satan’s control  Yet some Puritans like John Eliot also felt an obligation to try to convert Indians to Christianity 

 Praying Villages Communities of Native American converts  Converts adopted Puritan culture as well as Puritan religion 

 Metacom’s Rebellion (1675) Wampanoags and their allies, feeling increasingly threatened by the English tried to wipe them out  Destroyed 20% of English villages and 5% of population before counter-attacks by English and their Indian allies prevailed 