CHAPTER 4

The Bonds of Empire

1660-1750
INTRODUCTION
4 major questions:
How did the Glorious Revolution shape relations
between England and its North American
colonies?
What were the most important consequences of
British mercantilism for the mainland colonies?
What factors explain the relative strengths of the
British, French, and Spanish empires in North
America
INTRODUCTION (CONT.)
What were the most significant results of the
Enlightenment and Great Awakening in the British
colonies?
REBELLION AND WAR, 1660-1713
Introduction
Until the restoration of the Stuart kings in 1660,
England made little effort to rule its overseas
territories
With the accession of Charles II (ruled from
1660-1685)
England sought to expand its empire and trade
Impose royal authority on its colonies
Regulate their economic activities so as to benefit
English commercial interests
ROYAL CENTRALIZATION, 1660-1688
Stuart kings wanted to become absolute
monarchs like Louis XIV
Rarely called parliament into session
Ignored the colonial legislatures
1684=Charles II revoked Massachusettss
charter
Between 1686 and 1688, James II consolidated
all of the New England colonies, NY, and NJ
into the Dominion of New England
Abolished their assemblies
Placed full power into the hands of his arbitrary and
dictatorial royal governor (Sir Edmond Andros)
ROYAL CENTRALIZATION, 1660-1688 (CONT.)
The colonists bitterly resented this denial of their
rights
Tensions ran particularly high in Massachusetts and
NY
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-1689
1688-1689=James IIs
high-handed, pro-
Catholic actions led to
the Glorious Revolution
in England
He was forced into exile
The throne went to
William and Mary
Agreed to a limited
monarch and promised to
summon Parliament
annually and respect the
civil liberties of English
people
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-1689
(CONT.)
When news of the Glorious Revolution
reached America in 1689, New Englanders
rebelled against Andros and his councilors
Massachusetts and other colonies appealed
to William and Mary for the return of their
charters
The new monarchs dissolved the Dominion of
New England and issued charters granting each
colony the right to have a representative
assembly
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-1689
(CONT.)
Massachusettss new charter did not give it as
much independence as it had formerly enjoyed
Its governors would be appointed by the crown, not
elected
It would have to tolerate and share power in the colony
with Anglicans
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-1689
(CONT.)
Leislers Rebellion in New York and John Coodes
uprising in Maryland also were inspired by the
Glorious Revolution
A GENERATION OF WAR, 1689-1713
British and French fought against each other in 2
wars
King Williams War (War of the League of Augsburg)
Queen Annes War (War of the Spanish Succession)
Most of the fighting was done in Europe
Some fighting happened in North America
A GENERATION OF WAR, 1689-1713 (CONT.)
Peace returned in 1713
France still controlled the North American interior
English colonist felt a heightened sense of British
identity and dependence on their mother countrys
protection from their powerful neighbor
COLONIAL ECONOMICS AND SOCIETIES,
1660-1750
Mercantilist Empires in America
Mercantilism=each nations power was measured by its
wealth, especially in gold
Followed by Britain, France, and Spain
The country should produce within its own empire as
much of what it needed as possible
Its exports to foreign competitors should exceed its
imports

MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
To achieve the goals of mercantilism
British Parliament passed a series of laws
known as the Navigation Acts
1651 to 1733
Required all trade to be conducted on British-
owned ships
Prohibited Americans from selling certain
products (tobacco, rice, furs, indigo, and naval
stores) to foreign countries unless they first
passed through England
MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
Navigation Acts (cont.)
Placed high taxes on products that Americans bought
from outside the empire (i.e. molasses from French
Caribbean)
Forbade colonials form competing with British clothing
manufactures
MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
Navigation Acts (cont.)
Parliament intended these laws to benefit only England,
the acts in practice did not unduly hamper the colonists
The laws cut into the profits of rice and tobacco planters
MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
Benefits of Navigation Acts
Shipping had to be done on British vessels and this
stimulated the growth of Americas merchant marine,
shipbuilding, and ports
Bounties paid to producers of hemp, lumber, and other
items under the Navigation Acts encouraged the
development of those industries in the colonies
MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
The restrictions on large-scale manufacturing did
little harm, since only home production and small
workshops were economically feasible in America
http://www.usahistory.info/colonial/Navigation-
Acts.html
MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
French and Spanish colonies in North
America did not develop nearly as robust
economies as the British
New France
Main export was furs
By 18th century furs did not bring much profit
French govt. even underwrote the fur-trading
with the Indians in order to keep on good terms
with their Native American allies
MERCANTILIST EMPIRES IN AMERICA (CONT.)
Spanish colonies
Colonists smuggled British and French products
Did very little manufacturing
Mercantilist principles did not work well for
France and Spain because they did not
have the large merchant class with liquid
assets to invest in the colonies and other
commercial ventures
Great Britain could do this
POPULATION GROWTH AND DIVERSITY
French and Spanish colonies in NA lagged behind
the British in population growth as well as economic
development
1750
British North America had 1.1 million
New France had 60,000
Spanish North America had 19,000
POPULATION GROWTH AND DIVERSITY
(CONT.)
Religion
British opened their colonies to all Europeans of
whatever religion
French and Spanish barred non-Catholics and made no
effort to attract settlers from countries other than their
own
The steady growth of the British colonies outpaced
not only their European rivals, but also Britain itself
POPULATION GROWTH AND DIVERSITY
(CONT.)
After 1700, British North America grew
rapidly from both natural increase and the
arrival of newcomers.
18th century immigrants came less from
England and more from other places (pg.
97)
Africans brought on slave ships
Scots-Irish, Irish, and Germans
Many of the Europeans came as indentured
servants
English colonies became more racially and
ethnically diverse (not always welcomed by
all English colonist)
POPULATION GROWTH AND DIVERSITY
(CONT.)
Most 18th century white immigrants were too poor
to buy land in the already developed coastal areas
so they pushed into the Piedmont region
Eastern slope of the Appalachians
By 1750 1/3 of colonial population lived there
Map on page 96
POPULATION GROWTH AND DIVERSITY
(CONT.)
From 1713 to 1754, the importation of slaves to the
mainland was greatly increased
Black colonial population rose from 11% to 20 %
Most slaves lived in the South
15% were in the colonies north of MD
African American population also multiplied
through natural increase
RURAL WHITE MEN AND WOMEN
Worked small farms
Depended on the labor of their sons
Supplemental production from wives and
daughters
Clothing
Vegetables
Poultry
Few inherited land
Young couples at first
Worked for others
Borrow $$$$ to buy own farms
COLONIAL FARMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Rapidly cut down the forests
Bring more land under cultivation
Uses of timber
Fences
Fuel
Buildings
Sold wood to townspeople

COLONIAL FARMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(CONT.)
Results of deforestation
Drove away large game
Greater extremes in temperature
Less dependable water levels in streams
Reduced amount of fish
Dried and hardened the soil

COLONIAL FARMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(CONT.)
Farmers grew tobacco and other soil-depleting
plants
Did not use fertilizer
No crop rotation or letting field lie fallow
Land lost fertility
Yields seriously diminished
THE URBAN PARADOX
1740--4% of colonists lived in cities
Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Charles
Town (Charleston today)
Thriving ports
Shipped livestock, grain, and lumber that
enriched the countryside
Escalating problems
Urban poverty, crowding, poor sanitation,
periodic epidemics of contagious diseases
THE URBAN PARADOX (CONT.)
Women in cities
Middle-class women ran complex households that
included servants, slaves, and apprentices
sewing, knitting, daily trips to public market, family
businesses, etc.
Most had at least 1 household servant
Help with cooking, cleaning, laundering
SLAVERY
The economic progress of colonial America
meant that most masters could afford to
keep their slaves healthier.
For the slaves=meant heavier workloads
and longer lives
Worked harder and longer and had lower
standards of living than whites
Masters generally spent 60% more to
maintain their white indentured servants
than their black slaves
SLAVERY (CONT.)
The number of slaves residing in cities
mounted
20% of population in NYC
Majority of population in Charles Town and
Savannah
urban racial tensions ran high
1739 Stono Rebellion in South Carolina
1712 and 1741 slave conspiracies in NY
Almost all rebellions by slaves were
suppressed by frightened whites
THE RISE OF THE COLONIAL ELITES
In the 18th century, class differences were
becoming more apparent in America
Wealthy rural gentry and urban commercial
elites attempted to imitate the fashions and
lifestyles of the European upper class
Bought expensive chinaware
Learned formal dances
Studied foreign languages
Cultivated the manners of the gentry
Some even sent sons abroad to study
Growing taste for British consumer goods
COMPETING FOR A CONTINENT, 1713-1750
France and the American Heartland
After 1713, France resumed building its empire in North
America
1718=founded New Orleans
Made it the capital of Louisiana province
Farming, hunting, fishing, trading with Indians
Alliances with the Choctaws in LA
Tried to win over Native American trading partners in the
Ohio Valley and Great Plains
FRANCE AND THE AMERICAN HEARTLAND
(CONT.)
Several French posts in the Ohio Valley became
sizable villages housing Indians, French, and
mixed-ancestry metis
Generally more successful in getting along with the
Indians than the British, the French also crushed
tribes that stood in their way such as the Natchez
NATIVE AMERICANS AND BRITISH EXPANSION
The Carolinians met resistance from the Indian
tribes on whose lands they were encroaching,
culminating in the Tuscarora (1711-1713) and
Yamasee (1715) wars
Those tribes were driven from the area
Tuscarora moved to upstate New York and joined the Iroquois
Confederacy
NATIVE AMERICANS AND BRITISH EXPANSION
(CONT.)
Covenant Chain
Series of treaties
Aided the colonists fight for lands
Solidifying Iroquois power among Native Americans
throughout the Northeast
http://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/covenantch
ain.htm

NATIVE AMERICANS AND BRITISH EXPANSION
(CONT.)
Pennsylvania coerced the Delaware Indians into
ceding their lands and moving into territory adjacent
to that of the Iroquois
Other eastern tribes also were pushed westward
they were used by the Iroquois as buffer between
themselves and the aggressive English
BRITISH EXPANSION IN THE SOUTH: GEORGIA
Georgia was the last of the
original 13 colonies to be
established on the North
American mainland
Only one to received some
financial support from the
British govt.
James Oglethorpe founder
Haven for English debtors
Outpost protecting the
Carolinas from the Spanish
empire to the south
BRITISH EXPANSION IN THE SOUTH:
GEORGIA (CONT.)
1733=Savannah was established
1740=2,800 settlers there
Most were not English debtors
1/2 were not English
German, Swiss, Scottish, Jewish
Society of industrious small farmers
Able to defend themselves from attack
Banned African slavery
Limited size of landholdings

BRITISH EXPANSION IN THE SOUTH:
GEORGIA (CONT.)
Settlers switched to rice cultivation to make a profit
Needed large farms and slaves
1750 restrictions were dropped
Attracted more settles and developed a booming
plantation-slave economy
SPAINS BORDERLANDS
Spain spread its empire throughout the Southwest
and part of the Southeast
European population in New Mexico grew very
slowly
Navajo and Apache raids ceased
Those tribes made an alliance with the Spanish against
the Utes and Comanches
SPAINS BORDERLANDS (CONT.)
Texas
Spanish established outposts and missions (including
the Alamo)
Indians in Texas traded more with the French
Did not like to farm for the Spanish
Periodic raids on the province by the French and
Comanches discouraged Hispanic settlement in Texas
As late as 1760, only 1,200 Spaniards lived there
SPAINS BORDERLANDS (CONT.)
The Spanish attempted to weaken the British
Carolinas and Georgia by offering freedom to
English-owned slaves who fled to their colony of
Florida
THE RETURN OF WAR, 1739-1748
War among the imperial rivals for North
America resumed in 1739
First war was between British and Spanish
over the Florida-Georgia border
This war merged with the larger War of the
Austrian Succession (King Georges War)
(1740-1748)
Only one battle on North American soil
during King Georges War
Battle of Louisbourg which was on the St.
Lawrence
THE RETURN OF WAR, 1739-1748 (CONT.)
New Englanders seized Louisbourg from the
French
In the peace treaty (Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle) the
British returned Louisbourg for an outpost the
French had taken in India
Many Americans felt lingering resentment over how
little England appreciated the lives they had
sacrificed to gain Louisbourg
PUBLIC LIFE IN BRITISH AMERICA, 1689-1750
Colonial Politics
Shift from royal governors and appointed officials
to the representative colonial assemblies
Most important political result of the Glorious Revolution
and the adoption of the English Bill of Rights in British
America
These legislative bodies exercised influence over
the governors by controlling their salaries,
authorized spending, imposed taxes, etc.
America (at least the upper class) became more
and more self-governing (except for trade
regulations, restrictions on printing money, and
declaring war)
COLONIAL POLITICS (CONT.)
Wealthy elites dominated colonial politics
Elected to the colonial assemblies
Appointed to the governors councils
Appointed to judgeships in the courts
Women, blacks, Indians could NOT vote or
hold office
Property qualifications excluded about 40%
of white males from voting and holding
office
Proportion of men who did have the vote
was higher than in England and Ireland
during the same time period
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
American intellectuals
were influenced by the
ideals of the 18th
century Enlightenment
Emphasized reason,
progress, science, and
capacity for human
improvement
THE ENLIGHTENMENT (CONT.)
Skeptical of beliefs not founded on science
or strict logic
Mostly in cities
Circulated the latest European books,
investigated nature, conducted experiments
Some were Deists (believed in a god who
created the universe and set it in motion
according to natural laws discoverable by
human intellect but who did not intervene
thereafter with miracles
THE ENLIGHTENMENT (CONT.)
Franklin and Jefferson were Deists
Formally attended church and called themselves
Christians
Enlightened intellectuals took a dim view of the
emotional excesses of the Great Awakening
THE GREAT AWAKENING
1740s
an outpouring of passionate Christian revivalism
Across all 13 colonies
Jonathan Edwards, William Tennent, Theodore
Frelinghuysen, George Whitefield
Colonists repented and seek salvation

GEORGE WHITEFIELD
THE GREAT AWAKENING (CONT.)
Many new colleges were founded to
educate ministers
Princeton (Presbyterian)
Columbia (Kings College) (Anglican)
Brown (Baptist)
Dartmouth (Congregationalist)
Insistence on the equality of all born-again
Christians in Gods eyes and the corruption
of unsaved upper-class leaders
CONCLUSION
By 1750, the British mainland colonies had:
grown prosperous,
established representative governments,
upper-and middle class intellectuals participating in the
developing of new ideas sweeping Europe known as the
Enlightenment
Anglo-American society was also torn by class,
race, and religious tensions
CONCLUSION (CONT.)
The imperial wars that Britain fought with the aid of
the colonists between 1739 and 1748 both drew
Americans closer to the mother country and
spawned some resentment about British lack of
appreciation for Americans contributions