English Empire Note in 1707 England and Scotland became unified and from then on known - PowerPoint Presentation

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English Empire

Note in 1707 England and Scotland became unified and from then on known as Britain

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Role of England

England weak, politically and economically in comparison to Spain.

Henry VII sponsored John Cabot’s voyages to Canada 1497

lost interest when NW passage not discovered.

Lack of political will, and military capacity to challenge Spain before later 16thC

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Ireland

Ireland conquered by Normans, but gradually England lost control.

Tudors show renewed interest.

Military expeditions during Elizabethan Age

led by soldiers & adventurers.

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Followed up by colonizers

Seeking land holdings and use of Gaelic Irish as serfs,

frequent atrocities and brutality towards Irish

About 200,000 migrants from GB to Ireland 1600-1670

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Ireland as a blueprint

Finance

Promotional literature

Attitudes towards native peoples

Individuals involved

e.g.

Richard Grenville,

Humphrey Gilbert,

Walter Raleigh.

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Video Questions 1

1. Shift in seventeenth century Virginia away from indentured servant labor was accompanied by

increasing tobacco production.

slowing rates of population growth.

accelerating movement toward democracy.

using race as a dividing line among the poor.

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Video Questions 2

2. Professor Karen

Kupperman

refers to property ownership in colonial Virginia as a "double-edged sword" because it

applied to both land and labor.

guaranteed both whites and blacks the right to vote.

Tended to destroy a sense of community.

Gave women a cause to complain about.

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English Imperial Ambitions

Motivation:

Envy of Spanish Colonial treasure

Wealth helped Spain become most powerful nation;

English policy:

Break the Iberian monopoly on America

fear that American wealth, after Henry VIII's split with Rome (1534), could be used against them.

English sanctioned

privateering

operations.

Captured Spanish treasure ships bringing gold & silver from New World.

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By 1580 increasingly dangerous to prey on Spanish shipping

American base needed.

American colonies also ease English reliance on southern Europe for citrus fruits, silks, and vines.

1st patent to settle in America granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert

half brother to Walter Raleigh,

settle anywhere between Florida and Northern Canada

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Early British Attempts

Initially England was not successful Martin FrobsierSearching for gold and a northwest passage3 failed journeys between 1576-1578

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Humphrey Gilbert Attempted to settle in Newfoundland – failed, Gilbert dies at seaJohn Hawkins and Francis DrakeSuccessful in the Caribbean But as pirates not settlersBut by 1580 England still had no permanent settlement in Americas

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Roanoke

3 English voyages to settle North America in 1580s.

First landed at Roanoke Island, North Carolina on July 13th, 1584,

short lived military expedition

found that the land was suitable for both cultivation and defence,

returned home to England with 2 local Indians, Manteo &

Wanchese

.

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Roanoke Island

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1585-6, 2nd English Voyage Ralph Lane, discovered Chesapeake Bayideal as naval base.Noted for the oil paintings of John White and the descriptions of Thomas Hariot. But, young male adventurers, with ambitions of land and wealth, not ideal colonists.

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Indian relations deteriorated, food supply from Indians cut off Drake arrived summer 1586, seeking re-supply, ends up providing food for colonists, eventually agrees to return them to England

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Third voyage 1587: different from previous ones Colonists were farmers not soldierscame in family groups. Intended to be a permanent settlement, self-sustaining and self-reproducing.John White Governor, returned to England for more supplies Leaving daughter and grand-daughter, Virginia Dare, at Roanoke.

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Unable to return until 1590

Due to Spanish Armada

When finally arrives, found settlement abandoned

colonists never seen again.

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Importance of Roanoke

3 voyages saw evolution of colonising thought

Roanoke seen as

A base for

privateering

,

Then a place where valuable raw materials could be shipped to England,

Third voyage aimed to settle permanently.

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Lessons of Roanoke were clear:

no colony could exist without full support from mother country in terms of men and supplies

for at least the first few years

clear goals needed to give direction and purpose to the colonisation effort

good relations with the Indians were necessary

to learn the best survival techniques in the American wilderness.

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Conclusions

Failure of Roanoke great setback for England imperial ambitions.

1600 still no permanent English settlement in North America

Yet England had taste for colonization, saw it was practical, possible and still thought it worthwhile & potentially profitable.

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After Roanoke

20 year wait for colonisation to restart

Nothing possible until succession decided, too much uncertainty

James I (1603-25) ends war with Spain 1604.

Ends

profits from

privateering

Leads to

reconsideration of colonisation

Importance of getting a charter, royal

sanction/support

sets

out claims, regardless of other powers

1606 charters given to

Virginia

Company of London and Virginia Company of Plymouth to settle between 34 and 45 degrees N latitude, (NC to Maine)

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Grant to Virginia Co.

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The Virginia Company

Made

up of

merchants and gentlemen

charter

talks of trade and bringing

Christianity

to natives.

Needs colonists as

traders

potential

soldiers to defend

against

Spanish

Offers free land for

settlers

144

young men to go on first voyage on board 3 ships (Godspeed, Discovery and Susan Constant)

Arrives

Chesapeake bay April 26 1607

Jamestown

May 1607

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James FortFirst Building in America by British

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VA Problems of Authority

Virginia has crisis of authority1st two governors lose control quicklyonly 38 of 144 original migrants still alive in Nov 1607.Solved by John Smith elected Gov in Dec 1608 introduced system of Martial Law moved colony inland learned survival techniques from Indians

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‘The Starving Time’

New fleet arrives June 1609, brings 900 new settlers.

Smith ousted, and returns to

England

No effective leadership during harsh winter of

1609-10

lack

of

planning – no

food

stockpiled

widespread starvation

some

cannibalism

.

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Spring 1610 only 60 survivors

Decide to return to England

Prevented by arrival of new Governor Lord De La

Warre

Laws Divine, Moral and Martial 1611

Response of Virginia Co

House of Burgesses

First elected body in North America, July 1619

Again before Pilgrims

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Migrants

Before 1618 all migrants:

Male

Most under 25

Free land offered

obvious

draw to poor, as well as to younger sons of gentry,

i.e

. those with little prospect of riches in

England

Main motivation

economic

, seeking fortune and

status

See Virginia

as

temporary home

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Importance of indentured labour

Main source of labour in Virginia before 1680

People were ‘sold’ for number of years in return for passage.

Possibility of land at end of service.

Problems of flight

seen as form of slavery,

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Suggestion religion had role in colonisationMentioned in charterUsed as recruitment tactic But little attention paid by colonists once there. Authority derived from either tradition (elders), law (officials) or charisma (dictators) First church built in 1639 32 years after arrivalRebuilt in 1907 on original spot

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Indians

Problems with Indians major factor in

Virginia development

Powhatan confederacy more powerful than

English

Numbers approx

10,000 in

1620

1000 English in 1624

Initial

antagonism – disputes

over

property

Smith’s role – situation calms in 1610s

Rolfe

marries Pocahontas

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Powhatan sees English as potential allies vs interior tribes.Irrelevant to broader region of Powhatan EmpireNever imagines they would be threat to him Trades for weapons etcPowhatan dies 1622

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Succeeded by brother

Opechancanough

more hostile to English

especially encroachment on lands

Role of tobacco in taking Indian lands

English authorities unable to prevent it

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Achieves total surpriseKills 347 whites out of population of 1200.Opechancanough thought English would leaveBut attack cements negative image of Indians among English makes their destruction easier to live with

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Attack on Good Friday (March 22) 1622

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Conclusions

Virginia in 1624 in turmoil

Politically

unstable

e.g. Virginia

Co loss of charter 1624

Endured disease, war, death.

Only about 1000 whites in

Virginia

after 17yrs of

colonisation

settlement

still in

balance

could

easily still fail.

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Economic Development

No economic purpose to early settlement 1612 planting of Trinidadian tobacco by John Rolfe.Rapid growth of production 2,000 lbs in 1615 1.5m lbs 1629by 1620 meant single farmer with no extra labour could make £200/yr profit.Also cause of instability.

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Larger plantation owners were able to survive through

Expanding length of indenture

Increasing punishments for infractions of contract

Renting land

Selling other crops and

From money earned from positions in the local government

Wealthy landowners also closed up

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Drop in profits led to a situation whereby Indentured servants Still the dominant labor forceHad little money or opportunity to set themselves up as plantation owners.Creates a group of landless freemen

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Into this problematic situation stepped Nathanial Bacon

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From Virginia we head west to New Mexico and the Pueblo Revolt

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Bacon

reputed

to have been sent to America by his family in a hope that it would mature him and make him into a Man.

29

year old Cambridge graduate

From wealthy

English

family, related

by marriage to

Virginia governor

Sir William

Berkley

Everything

looked good

Bacon given

a land grant and

a

seat on the council.

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Problems mentioned earlier had many people who were outside the wealthy group looking for scapegoats for their situation

In July 1675 a group was found.

A group of

Doeg

Indians raided the plantation of Thomas Mathews.

Mathews plantation was on the outskirts of the area controlled by the English

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Raid was not a random attack by “wild Indians”

But an attempt to get paid for goods that Mathews had obtained from the tribe.

Several Indians were killed in the attack as was the herdsman of Mathews plantation

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In revenge the local colonists went after the

Doeg

Indians and killed ten or more

However,

they also killed a number of

Susquehannocks

a

tribe that were at peace with and regularly traded with the English.

Governor Berkeley

stepped

in and attempted to restore order by ordering an investigation and set up a negation meeting between the English and the

Susquehannocks

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During this meeting the local militia killed the chiefs sent to negotiate

The

Susquehannocks

went on a series of retaliatory attacks along the James River

Bacon’s overseer was killed.

Governor Berkeley planned a series of forts to protect the outlying communities

These forts would be paid for out of taxes,

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Outlying planters financially strapped by low Tobacco prices and a stagnant economy preferred the cheaper option

An outright war to kill all Indians and seize their lands.

They elected Bacon as their leader

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Led 300 men on an attack on local Indian population on April 1676 – he found only friendly Indians

Killed them anyway

Bacon’s popularity led legislature

under Berkeley

To pass legislation that allowed Indians to be termed:

enemies if they left their village without permission from the English

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This allowed their lands and property to be taken.

How would you react if 1000 angry men – the size of Bacon’s following at this time – came charging towards your village?

Policy allowed in part as rich landowners thought they would be able to expand their wealth from these acquisitions

.

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The

governor realizing that this policy was not working ordered the end of hostilities

Bacon

returned at the head of his army and rode into Jamestown.

Chased

the governor away and burnt the capital

building

offered

freedom to any of Berkeley’s supporters, servants or slaves who joined them

.

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Just as Bacon and the rebellion that bore his name was at the height of its power

Bacon died

possibly of dysentery

and the rebellion was over.

Berkeley quickly regained control and punished Bacon’s supporters severely.

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Aftermath

English

government sent to troops to quell

uprising

Virginia

at peace long before they arrived.

Berkeley recalled

New

governor implemented some

reforms and hit

rebels

hard

Executed leaders

and

imprisoned

others

Sending a message

that rebellion was never justified, no matter what the provocation.

The long term effect for Indians was that the frontier was again pushed

back

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Possible Explanations

Instability

on

frontier

mixing

of freed servants, blacks, Indians; taxes high, discontent over spending priorities, so rebellion a symbol of class conflict

lower death rates and immigration of royalists meant social mobility

falling

Establishing

First Families of

Virginia

– even Bacon excluded

Bacon as popular democratic

hero

struggling

vs

tyranny

failure

leads to ‘end of American Independence’

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Back to the British colonies

Not VirginiaNot New EnglandBut the richest place in the British EmpireBarbados

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Barbados

Colonized 1630s

Important for two reasons

Wealth

Structure

Both transferred to mainland

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Annual sugar exports1650 -150,000 pounds1700 – 50 Million1680 planter in Barbados 4 times richer than tobacco planter in ChesapeakeAlso held 115 slaves

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Remember this man? Virginia and wider Chesapeake region was:Growing Losing attractiveness for Indentured servantsBut still needed Cheap labor 1650s Africans 3% of Chesapeake Majority population on Barbados

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1663 John CollertonBarbadian planterObtained charter to create colony south of ChesapeakeCarolina1670 settled in Charles Towne1712 split into two

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Campbell

/

Galenson

historical debate

over social status

Were migrants ‘middling people’ or ‘common sort’ ?

Problem

source materials

mainly

from

1650s

incompleteness

of

data

Probably reflected English population

mainly

poor (farmers, labourers, artisans), but not the truly

destitute

A

few merchants, aristocrats, or wealthy

people