Success of Plantation Economies in the 15th Century

Part A1 Do to the success of plantation economies in the 15 th century; America seemed to be a similar opportunity with much more land. These plantation economies rely heavily on slave labor to complete the backbreaking agriculture work. The English saw this as a direct line for trading to Asia in the late 15th century. Previous to that all trade ran through intermediaries. All these explorers were basically searching for an easier route to Asia. European and Africa disease coming to America wiped out large numbers of indigenous population and actually became and accidental ally insisting the English to take cover previous inhabited spaces such as Cape Cod. The primary motivation for the English to come to America was to play catch up. English saw the wealth Spain and France were building by the natural resources being brought back. This was therefore increasing their military and political power. The colonization was a natural sustainment of these new resources rather than go back and forth and lose their claim and also to keep their rivals from getting to it. They wanted to stake claim and have presence there in hopes to expand. (Norton, 2015) Part A2 England learned a lesson from its failed attempt to colonize Roanoke. After 20 years they tried something different and in 1606 had success; England sent a large number of men and women to establish agricultural colonies. One of the biggest drivers in the English immigration to American colonies was the extreme over population mostly due to the importation of the American crops. Jobs and economic opportunities existed in America that did not exist in the over populated England. There was pressure in England to conform to certain religious practices and some were in fear of arrest or imprisonment. Therefore several religious groups that were variations of the Church of England and Catholics fled to the Americas to practice religion freely. (Norton, 2015) 2 Part B Economic Systems Social Characteristics Political Sy Massachusetts Bay Town centers grew quickly Each family received land around John Winthrop e In three different ways. The center of town. Best Governor in 162 Costal towns became busy Pieces went to more distinguished Seaports, commercialized People and not so good plots Changed from a Agricultural towns grew and Went to lower end residents. Court to a coloni The access to water Legislature. Transportation allowed Before a young man could marry Farmers to sell a surplus He had to receive acreage from Voting was for a Of goods, and isolated His father and daughters needed Who were churc Agricultural areas helped Lots of household supplies. And also owned Maintain the community Lifestyle. Religion and moral conduct was Important. No card playing, Family labor was utilized, Dancing, cursing or getting But slaves were still Drunk. Common. Virginia Tobacco was the primary crop and source of income. Households were small and fragile due to high mortality Rates. Very labor intensive environment. Life was generally difficult for everyone, they didn’t have much besides the basics. They relied on indentured servants for labor. These servants work 4-7 to pay for their passage to America. The Carolinas Early on politica made up of imm Voting members property owning males. They lacked stro to the region and another making and contentious. Clothing and tools were imported. Farmers worked alongside their servants. Virginia planters developed Men were head of household The Albemarle region Over his wife, children, servants, Which became known And/or slaves. As North Carolina. Wives were expected to carry Tobacco and exported Children, not uncommon to Forest products were Have 10-12 children. Cultivated here. 3 Like the other tw The Carolinas ha Judiciary system Justice of the pe County courts an Appeals court. T Or proprietor ch People. Raised corn and cattle and Sold to Caribbean planters For their slaves. Exported Indian Slaves Women took care of all house Hold chores and the family Garden. The colonies als Local governing Religion was important and The people could be disciplined For disobeying. Part C Beginning in the mid 17th century, America was impacted by the Enlightenment. Enlightenment was a period of time when people began to think about politics, science and philosophy. They began to question rules or laws that had always been in place. One of the philosophies was 4 that a government had a responsibility to protect the rights of the citizens and failure to do so the government could be legitimately over thrown. Another factor is that by the late 18th century, America began a manufacturing industry that reduced the reliance on European goods. It began to build roads and other infrastructure to sustain settlements in the colonies. In the later 18th century, British Empire began to impose various laws and taxes on the colonies that the colonists felt were unfair. Some of the first include the Sugar Act and the currency act. The timing of the Sugar and Currency acts was bad because the American colonies were in a slight economic depression. The Sugar Act increased tax on imports of sugar from non British Empire countries basically giving the West Indies monopoly on sugar imports and the colonists found this unfair. The Currency Act effectively outlawed colonial paper currency because of complaints of the people paying their debts with highly inflated local currency. The Stamp Act was significant because it broke the tradition of self-imposed taxation on the colonial people. It also infringed on their right to trial by jury and helped to fund an unpopular standing British Army in the colonies. One of the most notable taxes of that time was the Tea Act, which basically mandated that the East India Company could sell 5 to tea to the colonies. Some of the colonial leaders believed this was an act that sought to legitimize the ability of the English to tax the Americans. Part D One of the focuses of the post revolutionary war in America was the expansion westward, which put the Americans in direct conflict with the Native American tribes. Many of the Indian tribes of the west conformed a confederacy and demanded negotiations with the Americans. Through various treaties and negotiations Americans moved further and further west taking over tribal territories. Native Americans were also excluded from census counts and afforded no representation in delegate counts. One of the nations stated goals was to “civilize” the Indian population and to teach them the European ways of agricultural and livestock and instill the idea of individual land ownership. Another point of contention in census counts was whether or not to include African slave population. States with larger slave populations wanted to count the slave population so they would have more delegates to represent their state. States with few slaves only wanted to count free people. Slavery began to be challenged almost immediately following the Revolutionary War. The first emancipation gradually took place in the 6 northern states as enslaved people begin to petition courts and challenge the language of the constitution, which stated that all men were created equal. Southern states whose colonies relied heavily on slave labor were against abolishment and northern states began to consider and proceed with abolishment. The free black population grew dramatically after the Revolutionary War. The beginnings of modern racism began with the rise of free former slaves and some of the slaveholders saw that people of African decent less human and inferior and the concept of race defined by skin tone developed. Throughout and immediately following the Revolutionary War, women were largely seen as subordinate to their husbands. Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, was one of the first to softly speak out and ask for women to not be forgotten in the new Republic. While she was not a women’s rights advocate she did get people thinking. Other women than began to speak out about women’s right. Gradually over the next couple of centuries women’s rights began to improve. Part E 7