British+Southern+Colonies

Table of Contents:
 * Section 1: Questions Regarding the Southern British Colonies **
 * 1.1: Political **
 * 1.2 Economic **
 * 1.3 Social **
 * Section 2: General Vocab **
 * Section 3: General Notes **



Section 1:Questions

** 1.1: Political **

 * 1. What were the motives for settlement for your area and how did those impact the structure of government and relationship with the Mother country? **

“The men who petitioned the king in 1606 were divided into two groups, one from London, the other from Plymouth; and the king gave them a charter incorporating two companies for the colonization of North America” (Blum 16).

“In 1624 when James I appointed a commission to investigate [the company’s failure], the commissioners reported such shocking treatment of the settlers that the king dissolved the company and resumed control of the colony himself” (Blum 19).

“Like most of the original colonies, Georgia was founded for two purposes, one worldly and realistic, the other altruistic and hopeful. In order to defend its southern flank in America, England needed settlers. At the same time, an English gentleman with military experience and philanthropic motives wanted to do something for the poor” (Blum 57).

Virginia and the Carolinas were set up like businesses. People got investors to give them money to plant colonies, and those colonies then extracted natural resources and sold them to England. The colonies maintained a direct connection to the English government. Eventually, for various reasons (often because of failure of these businesses) the king took over these colonies completely. Georgia was set up for different reasons. It was established to be a haven for the poor and also a military stronghold. The setup of the government and pattern of takeover, however, were the same in Georgia as the rest of the South.


 * 2. How did geography and demography impact the political and social structures that developed? **

Headright system: A headright was 50 acres of land given to English immigrants to America. Because many people could not pay for their own passage to America, wealthy landowners who were already established in Virginia would pay for the passage of people to Virginia in exchange for indentured servitude. These immigrants pledged seven years of labor on the wealthy landowners’ tobacco plantations in exchange for their passage, and after this time they were allowed to work their own land.

“But if Virginia could grow tobacco, there must be other things it could produce, too” (Blum 18).

“Henceforth anyone who paid the fare to Virginia for himself or anyone else received a “headright” of 50 acres on which he would pay a “quitrent” of a shilling a year to the company” (Blum 18).

“And the ex-servants (“freedmen”) could at long last begin to enjoy the opportunities they had been helping to bring others. they could start small plantations, grow tobacco for export, and import servants of their own” (Blum 63).

“As a result Virginia and Maryland (where the same conditions [more freed indentured servants than opportunities for them] prevailed) acquired a growing class of indigent freedmen. They wandered from county to county, living from hand to mouth, dodging the tax collector, renting a bit of land here, squatting there, sometimes working for wages, sometimes trying to live from the land, hunting, stealing hogs, and enticing servants to run away with them” (Blum 63).

The geography was plantations (and be fore they were made, I guess just flat land with access to water where plantations could be built) and the demography was indentured servants, which led to a sort of class structure with this peasant-like class who were of no benefit to society. The rich plantation owners got richer, and the poor were unable to get ahead.

3. How did the political structure established lead to discontent in the future?
House of Burgesses: “In 1619 (before any other permanent English settlement had even been launched) Virginians met in their first representative assembly and passed their first laws. When James I took control of the colony in 1624, he did not provide for the continuance of a representative assembly; nor did his son Charles I, who became king in 1625” (Blum 19).

HOWEVER: “Although the English government in 1621 ordered all Virginia tobacco to be brought to England, the order was not enforced, perhaps because the English authorities considered it a mixed blessing for the nation to have its own private supply of smoke” (Blum 32).

Both of these things were problems with the roy al takeover. Virginia and the other southern colonies were used to not having to follow any of England’s rules. They had their own little governments, but all of a sudden the king took over. Then the navigation acts were passed, and they had even less freedom. This fueled their desire for independence.

** 1.2: Economic **

 * 4. To what extent did the socio-economic climate in your region lead to a wealth-gap. **

Freed indentured servants made up a large population of people who did not have enough money to move up the social ladder and start their own plantation. Slaves, in the long run, became more profitable than servants. After their servitude was over, servants who had acquired enough to set a foundation for themselves, hired more servants/ slaves. "Slaves remained permanently under the control of their masters. They could safely be denied that the English, servant or free could legally demand.They could be kept unarmed, unorganized, helpless to resist. And the fact that they happened to be black announced their probable status and made escape difficult" (Blum 64). Because servants were no longer being widely used, not many of them were freed to take up post as a master. But as more and more servants became free, they had nothing to do. They couldn't afford land of their own, neither could they find better employment. As the number of these freedmen (freed slaves) increased, their dilemmas deepened. So, when slaves were introduced, they helped reinstate stability in the socio-economic order of things. "By importing permanent black slaves instead of temporary white servants for their plantations, Virginians ceased to add to the band indigent freedmen, which gradually diminished. As the competition for the land stopped escalating and the interior became safer for settlement. A white man could once again get a foothold on the ladder that led up in the world" (Blum 64).

5.How oppressive was mercantilism to the settlers in your region?


Mercantilism was extremely oppressive to the settles in the southern British colonies. They established a booming agricultural system and harvested vast amounts of tobacco, indigo dye and rice. England saw this as a great asset to them, and tried to utilize it and take advantage of in every way possible. By limiting limiting and cutting off the trade of the colonies with other countries, England was able to use American resources to the fullest, even if it came at the cost of the economic welfare of the colonies, themselves. The Navigation Acts played a major role in this, and was one of the major causes for widespread discontents and eventually, rebellion again the British authority. “What they wanted was not merely to exclude foreign shipping from the colonies (as Cromwell had attempted in the acts of 1650 and 1651) but to direct colonial trade into channels profitable to the mother country” (Blum 34).

There were many modifications made to the navigation acts, they were mainly additions to the list of many commodities. “ The navigation acts were ostensibly favored to ensure that the mother country would benefit from the economic activities of the colonies” (Blum 34).

“And, indeed particular acts were often opposed by one group as much as they were favored by another” (Blum 34).

SO BASICALLY, the navigation acts were the restrictions on the trade of America. The southern British colonies were producing a great deal of goods, England sought control control and regulation over trade, so that it can benefit the greatest. So with these acts, any import and export from America to anyplace had to stop over and be mediated by England, and England had the upper hand and final say in all the matters ( like prices, etc) And this is one of the major things that ignited the American revolution.

6.What were the major labor systems that developed and how did they impact the structure of your society. Who was laboring?


“In the tobacco boom of the 1620’s, everyone was scrambling for labor. A number of successful Virginians at this time were able to gather crews of 10,20 or 30 men to grow tobacco for them. They were mostly Englishmen who had agreed to serve for up to 7 years in return to passage across the ocean to the new land of opportunity” (Blum 62).

“Between 1625 and 1640 some 1500 immigrants increased the population of the of the colony from around 1300 to only about 8000” (Blum 62). As, women were not needed as field workers, there were more men than women.

“As more and more men lived to complete their servitude, the added years of labor meant more profits to the masters. These ex-servants could then start small plantations, grow tobacco for export, and import servants of their own”

Thus, a cycle was started.

“Servants were arriving every year to man plantations; they were still becoming free every year in large numbers; and they still could not afford the land on which to sustain their freedom. It was under these circumstances that the traders with the West Indies with slaves began delivering them in larger numbers to the tobacco colonies.”

“As slave communities started growing and black women in the west indies would work alongside their husbands, they were also able to raise children. Southern slaves could thus enjoy some semblance of family life” (Blum 66).


 * 7. How were the indigenous populations (Native Americans) treated in your society and what impact did that have on future colonial development? **
 * Some were enslaved and put to work on the plantations. **

“They often sold their land or gave it away without realizing that it would no longer be theirs too. They used the land mainly for hunting and were willing to let the English hunt on it with them. But the English taking possession cut the trees, drove out the game, and evicted the Indians. Before the Indians realized what was happening, they were outnumbered” (Blum 53).

“Indians of the so-called Powhatan Confederacy in Virginia massacred 347 settlers in a surprise attack in 1622 (Indians victories in American History are generally known as massacres), but from that time on the Virginians pursued a policy of extermination that gradually eliminated the Indian menace in the tidewater area” (Blum 54).


 * 8. To what extent did your region separate church and state and allow freedom of religion? **

“There was no clearly defined community, no local nucleus of political, social, and religious life, apart perhaps from the tavern” (Blum 71).

“In colonies where the Anglican Church was supported by taxation (New York, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas), it organized parishes to keep pace with the westward advance, but they were too large in area to serve the widely scattered farmers, many of whom were not Anglicans anyhow” (Blum 71).

“By the middle of the eighteenth century, other denominations, especially Baptists, Presbyterians and later Methodists, moved to fill the gap by sending itinerant missionaries through the back country” (Blum 71).

Religion was there, and people were religious to an extent, but because plantations had to be so large, they were very far apart and isolated. Traveling to church on Sunday was hard for the plantation owners, and functioning as a single body over a large area was hard for the church. Religion was loose and mixed.

The Enlightenment period was a time when ideas of free trade become prominent. This encouragement of freed trade can be correlated to be the cause of discontent in the colonies. Free trade was restricted in the colonies due to the Navigation Acts. This restriction made the colonists mad. “To European peasants, following the footsteps of their ancestors, unable to read or write, with no voice in church or state, the Enlightenment meant little. But the ordinary American colonist had constantly to apply reason to new situations, whether in field or forest, church or state. The Enlightenment made a virtue of this necessity and encouraged Americans to lift their voices against unreasonableness wherever they met” (Blum 81).
 * 9. To what extent did intellectual movements (Baroque, Enlightenment) influence the development of your region. **


 * Vocabulary: **

__** Headright System: **__// A headright was 50 acres of land given to English immigrants to America. Because many people could not pay for their own passage to America, wealthy landowners who were already established in Virginia would pay for the passage of people to Virginia in exchange for indentured servitude. These immigrants pledged seven years of labor on the wealthy landowners’ tobacco plantations in exchange for their passage, and after this time they were allowed to work their own land. // __ ** House of Burgesses: ** __// The representative assembly established in Virginia by the colonists. The people of Virginia were not allowed to maintain this assembly when the king took over the colony. // __** Navigation Act: **__// T he navigation acts were the restrictions on the trade of america. The southern British colonies were producing a great deal of goods, and england sought control control and regulation over trade, so that it can benefit the greatest. So with these acts, any import and export from america to anyplace ////  had to stop over and be mediated by England, and England had the upper hand and final say in all the matters ( like prices, etc) And this is one of the major things that ignited the american re  //// volution. // // The proprietors had provided the settlers with a constitution designed to strike a balance between aristocracy and democracy[...] harrington believed that the structure of govt should match the distribution of property among the governed” (Blum 39) // // “The fundamental constitutions did not. [succeed] As in other colonies, the rep assembly[...] generally got in its way. But 1700 the fundamental constitutions were a dead letter and proprietary rule was faltering. (Blum 39) // __** Powhatan Confederacy: **__// Native American Organized government system in Virginia. // // “Indians of the so-called Powhatan Confederacy in Virginia massacred 347 settlers in a surprise attack in 1622 (Indians victories in American History are generally known as massacres), but from that time on the Virginians pursued a policy of extermination that gradually eliminated the Indian menace in the tidewater area” (54). //
 * Fundamental Constitution: **// T hey were adopted in march 1669 and aimed at protecting proprietary interests and preventing democracy. //
 * __Bacon’s Rebellion__: ** //Led by Nathaniel Bacon, revolt against the colonial government system, aimed to redistribute the wealth which was unbalanced due to the wealth gap caused by the freed indentured servants//



=**Prezi:**= [|http://prezi.com/yz-tfbt3caf5/the-southern-british-colonies-the-musical/#]

Notes pages 61-67: - a single cash crop for export was one of the main features of plantations (Virginia- tobacco, South Carolina- rice or indigo) - 1620’s tobacco boom in Virginia - few Virginians had their "homies" (about 10-30 people who were Englishmen agreeing to give service for 7 years in exchange for passage to the Americas) grow tobacco for them -these Englishmen were under indentured servitude- and they were often bought, sold, traded, and won/lost in card games -Dutch traders occasionally sent over blacks slaves but they were mor e expensive because they were bought to serve for a lifetime, black slaves didnt become common until later.. -after the indentured servants served for their term, they were freed - opportunities really started diminishing in the 1960s -extreme rise in production plus the passage of the Navigation Act restricted the market and the price fell to a penny per pound, yet the cost of production went up for beginners -the beginners became a large class group of people who had to roam from place to place -William Berkely, the governor of the colonies from 1641-1652, was afraid that eventually these indigent beginners would revolt, and this came true when some indian-fighters originally set to fight the Indians instead fought against the colonies’ rulers, this was called Bacon’s Rebellion, led by Nathaniel Hawthorne, all the servants and freed men in the colony band together against anyone who offered resistance, they burned the capital settlement at Jamestown and pushed the governor to the Eastern Shore -they redistributed the wealth but Bacon soon died and they had no long range solutions -slaves came into the picture -slaves took away the roaming freed slaves from indentured situation problem
 * General Notes: **

“the govt never doubted its right to exercise control, but it was slow to develop consistent directives or effective machinery for carrying them out” (Blum).

“Oliver Cromwell was the first ruler of England sure enough of his position at home to think seriously about fitting the colonies into a general imperial scheme” (Blum 34).

“But his legislation against foreign shipping led to war with the uncooperative Dutch” (Blum 34).

so, basically Cromwell failed in his goal of doing all this, but he planted the idea.

“The colonies, in spite of Cromwell's failures, had grown enough to require attention” (Blum 34).

“These so-called navigation acts(1660 and 1663) were modified from time to time during the ensuing century, but their basic principles remained the same:

(1) they forbade all trade with colonies except in ships owned and constructed there or in Eng and manned by crews of which at least ¾ were English or colonial (2) they forbade the transportation from the colonies to anyplace except Eng or another Eng colony of certain enumerated commodities, namely sugar, cotton indigo, dye woods, ginger and tobacco (3) with a few exceptions, they forbade the transportation and of European and Asiatic goods to the colonies from anyplace but England.

Adam smith, in coining the very name, “mercantilism”, was charging that Eng Policies were dictated by merchants at the expense of the rest of the community” (Blum 34).

“And, indeed particular acts were often opposed by one group as much as they were favored by another” (Blum 34).