Main themes important terms Topics highlighted by Professor 

When did the atlantic world begin?

HY-103 Notes

Week 1/2  

Main themes: 

1. The Birth of the Atlantic World

a. Early Encounters in Native North America

b. Europeans, Africans, and Origins of Atlantic Slave Trade

2. The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia, 1610s-1670s

a. Disasters at Jamestown  

b. Tobacco and Labor

c. The Ambiguities of Race and Slavery

d. The Changing Order of Virginia, 1640s-1660s

3. Profit and Providence in North America: Virginia and Massachusetts as Colonial Models a. Bacon’s Rebellion Don't forget about the age old question of what technique involves the packaging of an object's attributes and methods into a cohesive unit that can be used as an undivided entity?

b. Making Slavery, Making Race, Making Freedom

c. Puritanism: Roots and Ideals

d. Internal Tensions in America

What was the government like in colonial virginia?

Don't forget about the age old question of gwu final exam

Important terms: 

St. Augustine

Roanoke Island

Jamestown Don't forget about the age old question of Hat is a conceptual definition in research?

Factories

Plantations

Virginia Company

Jamestown

Powhatan Indians

Tobacco

Indentured Servants

Headrights

House of Burgesses

William Berkeley

Nathanial Bacon

First Families of Virginia

Church of England

Puritans

Massachusetts Bay Colony

“City Upon a Hill”

Roger Williams

Rhode Island

Anne Hutchinson

Introduction: The Birth of the Atlantic World 

What was the most significant result of bacon's rebellion in 1676?

1/15/17

1. The Birth of the Atlantic World 

a. Begins with European attempts to find trade routes to Asia and cut out the  Middle Eastern middlemen Don't forget about the age old question of biological science fsu

b. Spanish lead this exploration in search of wealth

c. Lots of gold found in Mexico, silver in Bolivia and Peru

i. So much is shipped back to Europe creating high inflation

d. Decimation of Native Americans- the greatest demographic catastrophe in  history for 2 reasons 

i. Natives are murdered because they are viewed as uncivilized savages ii. Disease (flu, measles, smallpox) kills roughly 90% of the Indian population  in a 100-year span- 1/7 of all people on Earth 

e. European presence is still very small north of Mexico

f. St. Augustine- founded in 1589 and is oldest settlement in the U.S. continuously  inhabited by European settlers

g. Portuguese claim Brazil

h. biggest competition in the New World is between Spain and England i. 2 main reasons to explore and develop in the New World 

i. terrible economy in the 1560s, large lower class, New World seems like  an opportunity to improve 

ii. international conflict/power struggle- hostility between Protestant  England and Catholic Spain 

j. Roanoke Island- in 1585 becomes the first settlement in the New World  i. almost everyone dead after a year from starvation

ii. try to resettle in 1587, but never heard from again Don't forget about the age old question of A theory is what?

k. Jamestown- 1607 first permanent settlement

2. Early Encounters in Native North America 

a. Natives believed the Europeans to be magical and divine

i. They have white skin, ride on never-seen-before horses, have very  powerful weapons, and “magically” kill off the native with disease

b. Europeans react with aggression and claim territory through force i. By 1600s the Native view of the Europeans shift from Gods into enemies 3. Europeans, Africans, and Origins of Atlantic Slave Trade 

a. Europeans want to cut out the Muslim middlemen in trade with Asia b. Africa has well developed trade relations long before Europeans do c. Africans typically defeat Europeans in battles

i. They are outnumbered and in unfamiliar territory so they eventually turn  to peaceful trade relations

d. Factories- small outposts, mix between a fort and trade depot along African  coast

e. Plantation- very large estate, usually agricultural, run with a non-paid labor forceIf you want to learn more check out radial and transverse components

f. African slave trade began mostly as P.O.W.s, but turned to a priority as the  Americas needed labor to exploit its valuable resources

i. Native Americans were ineffective for labor because they died quickly  from disease and were hard to catch when they ran away

ii. Africans had better immunity and could not survive, or were easily  recaptured in unfamiliar territory

g. By 1600, 75,000 Africans had been forcibly brought to the Americas h. 2 important concepts to remember 

i. the New World was a cruel place that did not develop with the ideas of  equality or democracy in mind. Europeans believed in a hierarchal society  determined by God’s natural order 

ii. there was no original vision of the United States and outposts in those  regions were insignificant at the time 

The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia, 1610s-1670s 

1/17/17

4. Disasters at Jamestown 

a. Virginia Company- founded 1606 in London and receives a royal charter from  King James to create a colony in North America

b. Jamestown- founded by the Virginia Company in 1607 becoming the first  permanent British settlement in North America

i. Built on a swamp, infested with malaria infested mosquitos, early settlers  are upper class English men not used to manual labor and are only

looking for adventure and easy money

c. Powhatan Indians- largest group of Natives near Jamestown

i. Settlers become desperate and begin raiding Indians for food, resources  ii. Indians almost wipe out the colony completely

5. Tobacco and Labor 

a. Tobacco- in 1617 the first successful tobacco crop grown and large opportunity  for wealth appears

b. smoking craze in Europe- large source of money and chance to save Jamestown c. plenty of land to grow tobacco but no one to work the land

i. solve this problem with 2 unpaid work forces

1. Indentured Servants- agree to come to America and work for  

someone else for a set period (usually 7 years) and in exchange  

their travel to America is paid for

a. Headrights- if you pay to bring an indentured servant to  

VA, head receive 50 acres of land

i. Allows wealthy to accumulate large estates

2. African Slaves

d. Virginia Company fails in 1624

6. The Ambiguities of Race and Slavery 

a. In 1619 the first Africans are brought and bought by Dutch traders b. English saw themselves as superior to Africans but their prejudice is not entirely  based upon skin color- this comes much later 

i. Considered heathens because they are not Christian

ii. English are very nationalistic and think themselves better than everyone iii. Racism evolves over time 

c. Slavery is not illegal and there is no legislation regarding African slaves yet d. By the 1660s stories of horrible treatment of indentured servants reach England  and reduce the number of them coming to America

e. At first, differences between slavery and indentured servitude is ambiguous  i. Slave labor is not utilized initially in the colonies because workers died  very quickly and it is cheaper to use indentured servants instead of  

buying slaves for life

ii. indentured servitude is dominant labor force because of headrights and  most workers died before 7 years anyway

f. there are no community, churches, schools, few women- outnumbered 3 to 1 7. The Changing Order of Virginia, 1640s-1660s 

a. Golden Age for small, independent farmers with the possibilities of economic  prosperity, but is short lived

b. 1670s brings warfare between English classes in Virginia

c. by the early 1700s, African slaves almost completely comprise labor force d. Life expectancy is now much longer in Virginia, but everyone is still growing  tobacco causing prices to fall

e. Corruption in government office is widespread

f. House of Burgesses- created in 1619, intended to be a democratically elected  assembly

i. Members got paid, but were already very wealthy  

ii. Control all funds and public policy

iii. Essentially institutionalized theft

g. By the 1660s, wealthiest men control the most profitable land and the  government  

h. Indentured servants have little opportunity to earn a living after completing their  indenture 

i. Most land is already taken and Natives occupy the rest

ii. Former servants survive by working for others or by hunting, gathering,  and stealing

iii. Move West

i. Small number of slaves, small number of rich planters, and growing middle class  of former servants with no stake in society

j. death rates drop and more opportunities for families and development,  communities form

Profit and Providence: Virginia and Massachusetts as Colonial Models 1/19/17

1. Bacon’s Rebellion 

a. William Berkeley- royal governor of VA

i. 1675 responds to Indian attacks and bars trading between colonists and  Indians and builds forts along boundary between two populations

ii. money for these forts will come from increase in taxes, causing uproar b. Nathanial Bacon 

i. despises the elites that run the Virginia colony

1. First Families of Virginia- first wealthy elites that ran the VA  

colony

a. Most had arrived in 1550s, 1560s already wealthy and  

become even more wealthy from plantation owners and  

being Berkeley’s cronies

ii. Felt all Indians were enemies

iii. Bacon’s Rebellion- 1676 bacon and his followers enter frontier and  murder every Indian in their way

iv. Berkeley denounces Bacon as a rebel and sends force to catch him, but  cannot find him and he continues moving west  

1. Enemies are the Indians and now Governor Berkeley

2. Berkeley flees

v. Bacon and his 1,300 men return to Jamestown and burn it to the ground  which turns into full scale battle for authority

vi. Fall of 1676, Bacon dies from dysentery, and influx of military power from  Britain quells the rebellion

1. Rebellion leads to increase tensions between colonists and Native  Americans and increased tensions among social classes

2. Political reform to reduce corruption, lower taxes

3. Planters stopped using labor of indentured servants and turn to  

African slave labor 

2. Making Slavery, Making Race, Making Freedom 

a. By 1750, nearly 50% of population are slaves

b. Ideas of racial superiority start to develop to explain why Africans should be  enslaved

i. English economy improves decreasing the number of English coming and  willing to work in America

ii. More slaves become available and worthwhile for purchase

c. Violent forms of slave punishment- castration, cutting off ears, toes, whippings  and beatings

d. Laws passed that give whites power over blacks

e. There is a necessity to distinguish between slaves and free people and a way to  explain why people are enslaved  

i. Skin color becomes this distinguishable feature

ii. Slaves became a permanent class of workers with no rights and passed  on through heritage

f. Slavery worsens white social class lines because only the rich can afford multiple  slaves

3. Puritanism: Roots and Ideals 

a. Come to America for spiritual reasons, not economic purposes 

b. Church of England- the Anglican Church, official church instead of Catholicism i. Many similarities to Catholicism

1. Hierarchy with bishops and headed by the king (Pope)

2. English government mandated attendance at worship services  

and taxes went to religious figures

3. Punishment for practicing different religions

ii. John Calvin – founded Calvinism and believed in predestination

c. Puritans- believe the Anglican Church needs to be purified from its Catholic  origins and aspects

i. Reject church hierarchy

ii. Emphasize importance of each person’s relationship with divine through  prayer and study of the Bible

iii. promote establishing holy communities that agree to share their lives  together and with God

1. Community was crucial to their ideology

iv. Believed most humans were natural sinners and God determined most  people were going to Hell, while others were predestined for Heaven v. Critical that every member of a Puritan community be devout, pious, and  adhere to moral codes  

vi. Church attendance is mandatory, ministers advise government leaders 1. Pilgrims were a Puritan group that fled England on the Mayflower  in 1620 and founded Plymouth  

d. King Charles attempts to oust all Puritan ideas

e. Massachusetts Bay Colony- founded by Puritans ousted from England and more  and more Puritans come flooding in

i. Founded another colony in New Haven, Connecticut

ii. John Winthrop- first governor of Mass. Bay Colony

1. “City Upon a Hill”- idea to build a community that is an example  

for the rest of the world of how to live a Godly, proper life and  

that this way is the only way to each salvation

a. gives Puritans a sense of purpose and unity for common  

goal

4. Internal Tensions in America 

a. Puritans would spy on each other and report sinning to the ministers causing  conflict and factions

b. Puritans were taught to read the Bible for themselves causing different  interpretations from teachings of the minister

c. Roger Williams- minister that believed the only way for the church to stay truly  pure was for church and state to be separate

i. Expressed his ideas and was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony ii. Rhode Island- Williams founds this colony as a haven of dissenters from  Puritan orthodox beliefs

1. Church and state are entirely separate

2. All religions are accepted as long as they respect the right of  others to practice the religion they desire

d. Anne Hutchinson- (not covered)