AP U.S. History The British Empire in North America, Part II

Welcome back to www.educator.com.0000

In this lesson, we are going to talk about imperial wars and the slave economy.0003

The imperial wars involved England, France, and Spain, as they were really competing for empire,0010

trade opportunities and influence around the world, and especially, in North America and in the Caribbean.0019

Native Americans, as a result of this conflict, are going to be caught in the middle.0029

As a result, we are going to see increased tribalization.0034

Many of the groups are going to be divided in many ways.0041

Because the Native Americans are in the middle, they are going to be manipulated by Europeans.0047

These wars will be very destructive overall on the Native Americans.0054

In some cases, we will see Native Americans trying to play off the different European powers as well.0059

We are also going to talk about the slave trade, the South Atlantic system, and the sugar revolution.0068

We will also talk about resistance movements amongst Africans who were enslaved and African Americans.0078

We will also talk about how Africans adapted to North America and created an African American culture.0088

Despite their horrific conditions of slavery, we will see many Africans that are thrown together from different regions,0097

who spoke different languages, will forge a new identity and try to survive and create some kind of new culture,0107

despite the grim circumstances of being enslaved.0120

A lot to cover, let us get into it.0127

First, we are going to talk about the imperial wars and the effects on the Native people and how they participated in these wars.0130

We are going to see competition amongst the various European powers.0139

Between 1689 and 1815, particularly, Britain and France, fought several wars for dominance in western Europe.0143

That will certainly affect what is happening in North America, since they also have colonies in that region as well.0155

As the war spread to the Americas, they involved a number of Native American warriors armed with European weapons.0164

This is going to pull Native Americans into this complex and have a devastating effect on their societies,0172

as disease will continue to spread and their civilizations are being encroached upon by Europeans.0182

The war of Spanish succession that took place between 1702 and 1713 pitted Britain0194

against France and Spain, and prompted English settlers in the Carolinas to attack Florida.0201

This is one example of one of the imperial wars where we can see the tensions0210

between the different European powers is going to become a major problem or continue to be a major problem.0216

In addition, we are going to see that they might help to protect their English settlements, like in the Carolinas,0231

armed the Kiowa peoples to fend off the French and Spanish attacks.0238

We see the Kiowa has actually wanted to be the dominant Native American tribe in the southeastern part of the United States.0244

They are going to get caught up in this conflict.0255

That is going to kind of complicate relations amongst the Native American groups in that region.0265

In fact, the Kiowas, because they do attack a lot of the Franciscan missions in the south,0274

we are going to see that they end up capturing a lot of Apalachees whom they sold to South Carolina, slave traders.0283

They ended up getting enslaved.0293

This is just going to become a horrible situation for Native Americans in the southeastern part of what will become United States.0297

Moving to the northeast, we will also see Native Americans getting caught up in the conflicts.0308

Aided by the French, the Abenakis and Mohawks took revenge on the Puritans.0316

As you know, the Puritans had attacked, killed numerous Native Americans.0324

They are looking for retribution.0331

New Englanders responded by joining British forces and attacks on French strongholds in Nova Scotia and Quebec.0334

You can see this back and forth, especially, between the French and the British, and the British and the Spaniards.0343

That is going to pull in different Native American tribes in many ways and they will get divided as a result.0352

The New York frontier remained quiet because of the fur trade.0360

The fur trade was relatively peaceful.0366

Also, the Iroquois policy of aggressive neutrality where they were trading with the British and French but refusing to fight for either side.0370

In this way, we are seeing the Iroquois are kind of ahead of the game and they are taking advantage of the situation.0382

They are able to keep both European powers at bay while benefiting from the fur trade.0390

There were numerous wars in Europe that will affect relations in the Americas.0399

British will use the victories in Europe to win territorial and commercial concessions in the Americas.0407

Especially, a great example of that is in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.0416

Here we are going to see Britain gained more and more land.0423

They obtained Newfoundland, Acadia, the Hudson Bay region of Northern Canada.0427

They won these territories after beating France.0434

They will also be able to access the western Indian trade.0439

This is very significant because it solidified Britain's supremacy and brought peace for a while to North America.0445

Now we are going to get into the slave economy and talk about the overall, the triangular trade system,0462

sometimes known as the South Atlantic System.0470

Again, the South Atlantic system, its center was in Brazil.0474

Brazil was very important because lots of slaves were being imported there and sugar plantations were very profitable.0479

Remember, the Dutch who are previously involved in this and we are going to start to see more and more0493

that the British are going to start dominating this trade, as we talked about in the last lesson.0498

Its center was in Brazil and in the West Indies, and sugar was its main product.0504

Sugar was really the gold of the time.0512

This was a very profitable cash crop and in high demand at this time.0516

A little bit more about the South Atlantic System.0526

European merchants, investors, and planters, ran the system in that bay.0529

Provided the organizational skill, ships, and money needed to grow and process sugar cane.0536

To carry the refined sugar to the market and supply the plantations with the European tools and equipment.0544

They provide the infrastructure and the means to trade and transport the goods and so forth,0551

and ultimately, this will help facilitate this global trade system.0560

To provide labor for the sugar plantations, the British and French developed African-run slave catching systems0568

that extended far into the interior of Africa.0576

Africans were capturing other Africans, usually of enemy tribes, and were caught up in this awful slave trade.0580

We are going to see thousands of people, eventually millions of people will be enslaved.0593

At this point in time, we are going to see that they transported about 10,000 Africans per year to the Americas.0601

Sugar is going to be really instrumental, be revolutionary.0613

Yes, you could call this a sugar revolution.0618

Beginning with the 1620’s, Dutch merchants introduced sugar cultivation to the English and French settlements in the West Indies.0622

The sugar revolution quickly transformed their economies.0631

Very important, very profitable, in Europe and America.0635

As a result of the navigation acts that we talked about previously,0648

by 1750, free exports of American sugar and tobacco accounted for half of all British exports.0653

This was an extremely important cash crop to the British economy.0661

Ultimately, this system brought wealth to the European economy.0667

At the same time, we are going to see that this brought economic decline, political change,0675

and human tragedy to West Africa and parts of East Africa.0680

Again, thinking about the overall time period, we are starting to see Europe is growing tremendously, economically,0686

and then we will see technologically, really to the detriment of Africa, in particular.0698

We will also see other places around the world that eventually become part of the developing world.0706

This drain of human resources is going to have a negative effect on, especially West Africa.0713

The slave trade is definitely going to have a major effect on the world.0728

Not only we are going to see changes in demographics.0734

People being forcibly moved from one part of the world to another.0736

We are obviously going to see the huge drain from Africa.0743

The Europeans become very wealthy, as a result.0749

Those, especially, who are involved in the trade.0753

The slave trade changed the West African societies by promoting centralized states0757

and military conquest by kingdoms such as Marsali, Dahomey, and Ashanti.0763

Many of these African kingdoms participated in the slave trade, in order to gain wealth.0770

They made money too, those who were involved in the slave trade, and they also wanted power.0776

Other kingdoms such as Benin, opposed the trade in male slaves for over a century.0783

We did see certain kingdoms resist some of the slave trade.0793

In many African societies, there are several class divisions that hardened,0801

as people of noble birth enslaved and sold off those of lesser status.0807

And then ultimately, we are going to see that one of the effects of the slave trade is that0812

we are going to see an imbalance of the sexes that resulted from slave trading, allowed some African men to take several wives.0818

This is ultimately going to change the nature of marriage, ultimately,0828

the demographic makeup of both, we will see Africa and in the Americas.0836

Here is a map to show you what was happening between 1500 and 1870.0843

You could see that the Africans were being enslaved and taken from West Africa.0852

We will just say West Africa, the coast of West Africa.0864

Mostly transported to the Americas.0867

You can see South America, definitely to the Caribbean, where there were a lot of sugar plantations.0875

Brazil is going to be a major hub and also into British North America.0880

We will see, we oftentimes do not focus on the transport to other parts of the world, like in Europe and even the Middle East.0887

For our own purposes of this class, we are going to focus mainly on these regions.0899

I have a few visuals here for you to look at.0912

I want to say a few things about them.0915

This South Atlantic system, this triangular trade system, as it is sometimes simply called,0920

was much more complex than a simple triangle, as you already know.0929

But the passage, one thing I want to say about the first visual here, this is actually a diagram of a slave ship from the Atlantic slave trade.0934

Ultimately, you could see that they really packed in people like sardines, it was awful, and the conditions were horrific.0949

Many died on what they call the middle passage which was this trip, this voyage from Africa to the Americas.0958

This was really horrible, and many Africans that were enslaved are thrown together.0970

They are separated from their families and often spoke different languages.0977

Really horrific conditions, people will be vomiting and going to the bathroom, and dying.0983

It was really gruesome and inhumane.0991

It is considered one of the biggest tragedies in human history.0997

There is no doubt about it.1000

I really want to point that out and illustrate what a horrific trip that really was.1004

Part of this whole system, Africans brought to different regions in the Americas, and they would trade goods,1016

ultimately, that would be transported back to Europe or to Africa.1025

This chart here, you could also see the number of Africans arriving alive in the Americas and Europe, about 9,645,000.1032

Just taking a glance here, you will see several of the European countries that are involved in this slave trade.1047

The largest number to Brazil with 3,650,000.1055

You could see a pretty big percentage here about 14% died on slave ships, a pretty horrific process.1065

What happened once the enslaved people were brought to North America?1082

In the Chesapeake region and in South Carolina, we are going to talk about a little bit.1093

First, let us talk about Chesapeake.1099

In Virginia and Maryland, we will see a slave society was created.1100

We will see that slaves are increasingly being defined in racial terms.1109

When we first talked about the slaves coming to Virginia, we know that many of them actually came as indentured servants.1118

As time was passing in the late 17th century, we are definitely seeing that slaves are being defined in racial terms.1130

If you are African, African descent, you are automatically being labeled as a slave.1142

For instance, yes, you could see Virginia, most Africans were declared slaves.1151

Many historians like to point out that the conditions for slaves in the Chesapeake region were much better than they were in the Caribbean.1158

For instance, they have longer life spans.1168

Not to understate the situation in the Chesapeake region that is still horrible conditions being a slave.1173

You do not have your freedom.1185

In the West Indies, it was definitely much harsher and the slave masters were much more cruel to the slaves.1187

Again, despite these horrible conditions, families being ripped apart, you are being brought to a new land against your will.1200

We will see that human beings are tremendous in horrific conditions.1210

In many ways, we will be able to find ways to survive, in order to make the most of a horrible situation.1218

People do adapt and eventually we do see despite these horrific circumstances that an African American community does emerge.1230

Again, although most slaves initially saw themselves as members of specific clans and families.1243

Obviously, as different generations are established, we will start to see unity amongst different groups.1249

People try to forge some kind of normalcy, despite the horrific conditions.1260

Just a few more examples of that.1267

A common language was created, a new identity was created.1269

The Gullah dialect combined aspects of the African language, African words, depending on the region, and English.1274

This is a fusion of language that became distinctly African American.1287

We will also see that with a lot of customs and music, a lot of African music will be brought to the Americas and fused with European music.1296

People will make a hybrid of different cultural practices.1310

As more and more slaves are brought to North America, we are going to see a huge increase in the population of African Americans.1320

This is a good example, in South Carolina, especially, where there is a lot of rice plantation,1330

look at the rise in the population, 1700 to 1740.1338

Pretty significant, where there is a black majority.1343

That is going to have a huge effect on the social and demographic makeup of that region.1347

In fact, we will see that even the treatment of slaves will depend on the population breakdown.1357

In fact, the more densely populated colonies were of African slaves,1367

we will see that actually the treatment of those slaves was much worse.1376

A lot of that is because the masters felt threatened and wanted to keep their slaves in check, pretty horrible.1381

Some more images of the institution of slavery.1394

The first one I want to point to, it says Virginian luxuries.1400

Hopefully, you can take a look at this and see what is going on.1410

Who was in the painting, to what did the images refer?1414

If we look at the white man in both images, he represents a southern planter and slave owner.1421

The black woman is a slave, as is the black man.1432

In the images, as you can probably refer to slave owner sexual abuse of a black woman,1437

also, their physical abuse of their slaves, of African men.1448

Just to really show you how sick this whole institution was in the South and1456

how these slave owners viewed their slaves as their property, to do what they want with.1466

Pretty horrible, hard for us to wrap our minds around today.1478

Although, slavery is still around in many parts of the world, including, even in United States.1484

It has not completely gone away but it is not as in the open as it was during these times.1490

This picture here is pretty straightforward.1502

You can see that these were different traps and ways to restrain slaves.1505

That obviously get very inhumane and restrictive, and cruel.1515

Here, these two pictures actually are, one is more of a photograph and one really is showing more contemporary time,1523

I guess you could say since it is a photograph.1533

A picture here where you see African American women, I believe in both cases.1538

Although this is a little bit hard to see what sex the people are,1544

but they are harvesting rice to really illustrate that some of the work that they did.1548

Here we see, it says to be sold on Thursday, the third day of August.1555

A cargo of 94 prime, healthy Negros, consisting of 39 men, 15 boys, 24 women, and 16 girls,1563

just arrived in the brigantine Dembia from Sierra Leone.1571

Here you can see an advertisement for slaves to be sold.1577

Just to show you how entrenched and how much of a business this really was, and exploitative.1584

Obviously, the system is extremely cruel and many rose up against it.1599

There were drastic limits, to say the least, on African Americans.1605

Masters did not want their slaves to be educated.1610

They had few material goods and many were faced with violence,1615

especially, if they did not do as they were told or if they did not work as hard as the masters expected.1622

Again, the extent of violence depended on the size and density of the slave population.1632

Usually, the trend was that the more the slaves there were, the higher the population, the greater the violence that erupted.1639

I should also say the violence, especially, perpetrated on the slaves.1650

Nonetheless, we do see there were several slave protests.1656

It certainly would be tempting, if you were a slave and there were huge majorities, to band together and rise up.1659

Being assertive could result in whippings.1671

If you spoke up, if you said no or you questioned your master, you could face a kind of a violent backlash.1679

Some Africans fled to the frontier, ran away, to establish traditional villages or married into Indian tribes.1689

Some bartered for better terms of their bondage.1699

Some tried different work to try to have better circumstances.1706

Someone that work on Sundays or would work slowly, this is really a great example of how most slaves would show resistance.1713

Not so much, the most radical example of killing your master and having this huge insurrection.1727

Just finding little ways to undermine the institution overall.1735

Not work on Sundays or work slowly or steal, some would resort to killing their owners or officers.1744

Obviously, that is more radical, those who really wanted to just get out of the situation and wanted complete retribution.1750

There were some significant slave uprisings.1764

The most famous one in the 1700’s was the Stono rebellion, in 1739, that occurred in South Carolina,1770

while a war between England and Spain broke out.1780

It was an opportune time because of a little bit of instability.1784

75 Africans rose up in revolt and killed a number of whites near the Stono river.1789

I have a little sign here that commemorates it.1798

As you could see here, the largest slave insurrection began September 9, 1739.1802

Taking guns and other weapons, they killed two shopkeepers.1811

The rebels marched south toward promised freedom in Spanish Florida, waving flags, beating drums, and shouting liberty.1814

Here you can see the numbers are a little bit different than in my previous slide, but just to also to show you different sources,1822

oftentimes have different estimates of people involved; so make sure that you track your sources.1831

It is always an important thing.1847

We are going to talk about southern gentry, as well.1851

As the southern colonies became slave societies, life changed for whites as well as for blacks.1856

We do see in the south, a pretty solid patriarchal society.1863

There is certainly a planter’s elite that exercise authority over black slaves and yeomen, small farmers.1868

The American equivalent of oppressed peasants and serfs of Europe.1876

We talked about the manor system before.1881

Although, it had mixed results, depending on the region, in many ways that mindset,1883

the feudal mindset, did really take root much more in the south.1893

To prevent rebellion, the southern gentry paid attention to the concerns of middle class and poor whites.1900

This is where we are going to see the race does matter early on, especially in the 1700’s.1907

Especially, the poor whites but also some of the middle class whites,1918

do not have the opportunities and do not own slaves like the plantation owners.1922

In many ways, they are going to be manipulated by the planter class.1935

And also, feed into this racist ethos that kind of keeps black slaves in their place, something to keep in mind.1941

By 1770, the majority of English Chesapeake families owned a slave but not huge numbers,1957

giving them a stake in the exploitative labor system.1965

That is going to set the foundation for this inequality that is established in the southeastern part of the United States, especially.1969

Taxes were gradually reduced for poor whites and poor yeomen, and some tenants were allowed to vote.1981

They throw them a bone, so to speak, and made them feel like they had power and they were invested in this system.1988

This kind of kept it stable.1997

In return, the planter elite expected the yeomen and tenants to elect them to office and to defer to their power.2001

It is a very patronizing type of relationship that is seeking to create a stable system that benefits the gentry class.2011

We do see along the same lines.2028

By the 1720’s, the gentry took on the trappings of wealth, modelling themselves after the English aristocracy and practicing gentility,2030

refined but elaborate lifestyle that came to be highly prized among well to do English families after 1600.2039

They view themselves as upper class, although the British gentry do not view the American gentry as equals,2051

which gives perhaps the American gentry a bit of an inferiority complex.2062

Yet, they still will strive to come across as these aristocrats and to keep pursuing wealth.2071

Anyway, we will see the profits of the South Atlantic System helped to form an increasingly well-educated, refined, and stable ruling class.2082

That is the main point here.2097

This system will be stable and intact.2099

Now we are going to shift to the North.2103

Thinking back to that triangular trade and how all of these different regions, not only in North America2109

but also throughout the world are tied together.2117

Although, we certainly will see different economies emerging.2122

In the north, yes, it is going to be much more urban and less agricultural.2128

The economy is going to be based on shipbuilding and commerce.2135

We will see that is going to be a huge sector of the northern economy.2141

The South Atlantic System will tie the whole British empire together economically, in part through bills of exchange.2148

A form of credit offered by London merchants and used by planters to buy slaves from Africa,2159

and to pay North American farmers and merchants.2165

Here is the capital, if you will.2170

The form of credit that will help fund this whole system.2172

To pay for slaves, slaves will be used for labor.2179

Labor helps produce the goods, the goods will be sold.2182

As you can see, this is all connected as part of the whole system.2186

The West African trade created the first American urban industries such as shipbuilding and the distilling of rum.2193

Sugar that was produced would eventually be transported back to Northeastern cities, where they would refine it into rum.2201

With all of these industries growing, we will see eventually the expansion of the lumber industry,2217

as well as shipbuilding that will help the growth of cities and coastal towns, ultimately, urbanized the northeast.2224

There will be a strong merchant class that will have a huge control over the region, society, and economy.2234

Between 1660 and 1750, involvement in the South Atlantic System brought economic uncertainty,2248

however, as well as jobs to Northern workers and farmers.2254

It is kind of a mix bag.2261

On one hand, we are going to see that it is becoming more urbanized.2263

The system is becoming entrenched but it did not always benefit everyone.2267

Created a lot of uncertainty.2272

Politically, we are going to see that after the Dominion of New England and with the triumph of the South Atlantic System,2278

we are going see that the British were content to rule the colonies with a gentle hand.2292

The colonies were in a position, therefore, to start challenging the rules of the mercantilist system.2301

That had, historically, benefited Great Britain to the detriment of the colonies.2308

We know why the people start to question this unfair relationship.2317

We know the Glorious Revolution occurred.2323

We know that there was the Declaration of Rights in 1689 that helps strengthen the powers of the commons,2325

at the expense of the crown, the House of Commons, that is.2333

We are starting to see the people becoming more and more empowered.2338

This is going to influence the American colonies and American representative assemblies also wished to limit the powers of the crown.2343

They also wanted to control their own taxation and local appointments.2352

We will see the rise of colonial assemblies.2360

Not to say that this is a 100% democratic because it is not.2365

It is limited and it is elitist.2369

You had to have wealth, you had to be a property owner.2375

It was limited, obviously.2382

However, what was changing is that, as it says, that neither elitist assemblies2387

nor wealthy property owners could impose unpopular edicts on the people.2394

That is very significant.2400

We are starting to see the empowerment of the people and that they are willing to speak out,2404

and to speak up if policies were unfair and restrictive and unjust.2408

Yes, the power of the people began to grow.2420

Crowd actions were a regular part of political life and were used to help foster community values.2422

By the 1750’s, most colonies, as you could see, had political institutions that were responsive to popular pressure.2434

The majority, in other words.2445

They increasingly were becoming immune from British control.2448

They are questioning mercantilist policies, those navigation acts, for instance.2454

They are ignoring them, they are working around them.2460

They have their own agenda.2464

That is going to continue to occur in the colonies during the 1750’s and onward.2467

During this period of Locke's administration, what we call salutary neglect.2476

This policy when royal bureaucrats relax their supervision of internal colonial affairs and focus instead on defense and trade.2481

Instead of controlling the colonial affairs and trying to micromanage the ships, and so forth,2493

and really enforce the navigation acts, we are going to see that2505

the crown is going to start following the advice of Sir Robert Walpole who was a British Whig.2510

They were pretty progressive, I guess you could say, for this time period.2522

They opposed absolute rule and supported constitutional monarchism.2527

They also later advocated for free trade and the abolition of slavery.2534

Horace Walpole, who was a Whig was elected to the House of Commons in 1701, became an outstanding orator.2543

He was eventually appointed to the Secretary of War in 1708 and also the Secretary of the Navy in 1710.2553

He had some really important roles in government.2562

Although he was later accused of corruption, he made a comeback.2565

In 1715, he was made the Chancellor of the Exchequer and became known as Prime Minister.2570

That is very significant because he was the first in Great Britain's history.2579

Anyway, kind of worked his way to the top and was very influential.2584

I'm going to come back to him.2591

We will see that radical Whigs in 18th century factions...2592

They kind of split it like moderate Whigs and unradical Whigs, much more extreme.2597

Protested corruption in government.2603

The growing cost of the British empire and the rise of a wealthy class of government and related financiers,2605

argued that Walpole used patronage and bribery to create a strong party or court party.2612

There will be those who will criticize his policies.2619

Landed gentlemen argued that Walpole’s high taxes and bloated incompetent rule of bureaucracy2622

threatened the liberties of the British people.2627

Colonies maintaining that royal governors likewise, abused their patronage powers over provincial representative assemblies.2632

There will be those critics of his system and a lot of people believe that patronage was very corrupt,2642

giving jobs to your friends, family members, etc, was really immoral and wrong and inefficient, and so forth.2649

He will certainly feel the pressure.2661

Yet, we will see that his policies are going to be put in place and that will empower the colonies.2666

He does relax, laxly enforce the regulations, including the navigation acts.2674

It is really during this time period that gave the American colonies a degree of independence,2680

that will later directly lead to the revolutionary movement.2689

Yes, it will be extremely important in the outbreak of, leading up to the outbreak of the American revolution.2697

Why did he pursue this policy?2705

He wanted to protect British commercial interest in America, first and foremost, from the Spanish and the French.2708

He arranged for Parliament to subsidize Georgia, in order to protect the valuable rice colony of South Carolina.2719

I should also mention before I move on, I did not include it in the last slide.2731

He also did not believe that meddling and micromanaging the colonies was effective.2736

In fact, that fostered bad relations and that ended up hurting England in the long run.2746

He really believed that, allow the colonies to continue to trade and to not to be as restrictive,2757

that will in fact foster loyalty and will help the economic system overall in the long run.2768

However, we still will see that France and Spain will continue to be a threat to the British.2778

First, we are going to talk about Spain and we are also going to mention France in here too.2786

Resisting British expansion into Georgia and growing trade with Mesoamerica,2791

Spanish naval forces felt threatened and they sparked the war of Jenkins ear in 1739.2797

This was a famous war that was part of the war of Austrian succession that involves several European powers.2806

This is going to definitely play into the tensions, especially,2822

we will see between Great Britain and Spain, and also Great Britain and France.2827

But basically, what happened in the border of Jenkins ear, it has a really funny name,2833

is that one of the Spaniards actually sliced off one of the British captain, Captain Robert Jenkins.2838

He received this as a punishment for raiding one of the Spanish ships.2861

Jenkins actually brings back part of his severed ear to the British to really put pressure on the British government,2868

to do something about it and to fight against the Spaniards.2879

This will definitely help to provoke war, although, they are not very successful.2884

We will see even Oglethorpe ends up get going into Florida and he will try to seize several forts, but really is not that successful.2891

Anyway, this is an example of how tensions between Britain and Spain are continuing to be a major problem in the Americas.2903

In addition, the treaty of Aix-la Chapelle in 1748, will turn the French naval fortress of Luxembourg to France,2916

after its capture by New England militia men.2924

But the treaty also ultimately will reaffirm British military superiority over Spain, effectively giving Georgia to the British.2928

That is the outcome of that.2942

Lastly, we are going to see that because of the Locke's administration and because the navigation acts, that are not being enforced strictly,2947

colonial merchants are going to take advantage of different loopholes, especially, in the navigation acts,2961

and allowed Americans to own ships and transport goods.2968

This ultimately allowed colonies to cut dramatically into commerce into the Atlantic2972

which means they are making profits and they have power of the purse.2978

That is going to empower them to start speaking out and rebel against the British.2982

There were some laws, however, that are going to not be very popular.2993

The Molasses Act, for instance, of 1733, placed a high tariff on imports of French molasses to make British molasses competitive.2998

But sugar prices rose in the late 1730’s, so the act was not enforced.3007

Here we see British trying to restrict trade but it is not very effective, kind of backfired.3013

The Currency Act in 1751 prevented colonies from establishing new land banks3021

and prohibited the use of public currency to pay private debts.3026

We are going to start to see that because the issue at this point in time is that3034

they needed paper currency to pay for a lot of these goods.3041

The colonial currency was pretty worthless.3047

Britain was trying to benefit and make profits.3051

In this way, they are trying to control the capital and make sure that it has worth.3055

Anyway, more and more laws and restrictions are being placed on the colonial merchants, and that is going to become unpopular.3065

We are going to start to see a backlash in Great Britain to the salutary neglect policies,3074

as many really want to see Britain flex its muscle.3081

In the 1740’s, British officials vow to replace salutary neglect with rigorous imperial control.3086

We will get into that a little bit later on and we are going to see another turning point in this overall timeline of British colonial relations.3095

I think we are going to get into the practice questions.3109

This is the first one I have is an excerpt and this will be for multiple choice questions.3115

Let us get into it.3124

This is an excerpt from Olaudah Equiano.3126

I'm sure you have heard of him, if you have studied this topic.3132

He is extremely famous for his narrative where he writes about the slave trade in the South Atlantic system.3134

Anyway, here it goes.3148

Some of this has been deleted, this is just an excerpt.3150

I was sold and carried through a number of places till, at the end of 6 or 7 months after I have been kidnapped, I arrived at the sea coast.3156

Now I saw myself deprived of all chances of returning to my native country.3172

I was soon put down under the decks and there I received such a salutation in my nostrils, as I have never experienced in my life.3177

That with the loatheness of the stench and crying together, I became so sick and low,3188

that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste anything.3195

I now wish for the last friend, death, to relieve me.3201

But soon to my grief, two of the white men offered me edibles.3205

Now I’m refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands and tied my feet while the other flogged me severely.3210

I have never experienced anything of these before, his description.3220

I may just have given you the answer in my introduction.3234

Which of the following is Olaudah Equiano describing?3238

Life as a slave in America, The Stono rebellion, The middle passage, Or the Columbian exchange?3244

The answer is the middle passage.3255

Number 2, according to Vincent Carretta, a historian, Equiano’s story was fictitious.3261

Which of the following best explains why he would create such a fictitious story?3268

He was a slavery sympathizer.3280

He was an antislavery activist.3282

He wanted to start a back to Africa movement.3285

He wanted to incite a violent rebellion in South Carolina.3287

Which of the following best explains why he would create such a fictitious story?3294

The answer is this, he was an antislavery activist.3305

According to this historian, he ended up creating this work to advocate for the antislavery cause3312

and show how horrific the middle passage ultimately was, and how cruel the institution of slavery, the practice was.3325

How inhumane, cruel, and certainly unusual it was.3335

Let us move on to example 2.3346

This is an excerpt from Sugar Changed the World.3350

By 1753, British ships were taking an average, let us use our highlighter, 34,250 slaves from Africa every year.3353

By 1768, that number had reached 53,100.3366

The sugar that piled up on the decks near the plantations was something new in this world.3372

Pure sweetness, pure pleasure, so cheap, that the common people could afford it.3377

Cane sugar was the first product in human history that perfectly satisfied that desire.3382

The bitter lives of the enslaved Africans produced so much sugar that pure sweetness began to spread around the world.3389

Between the 1600’s and the 1800’s, sugar drove the entire economy like in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.3399

The true age of sugar had begun and it was doing more to reshape the world than any ruler, empire, or war has ever gone.3411

This is a short answer question.3425

With these questions, you have to answer every part, A, B, and C.3427

I will give you an example.3439

There are different ways of answering these questions.3441

I’m just going to give you an example so you can get an idea of how to formulate your responses.3443

Let us look at this, part A.3451

Identify and briefly explain how the sugar trade impacted enslaved West Africans.3452

There are different ways of approaching this.3461

You can read through all of them first or you may even want to just go one by one, it depends on your style.3462

This time, I’m going to actually read through all of them.3469

B, identify and briefly explain how the sugar trade impacted British merchants who invested in the sugar trade.3472

I’m rushing myself.3484

Identify and briefly explain how the sugar trade impacted enslaved West Africans.3485

Identify and briefly explain how the sugar trade impacted British merchants who invested in the sugar trade.3495

C, identify and briefly explain how the sugar trade reshaped American colonial society in the late 17th century and early 18th centuries.3504

I’m trying to highlight keywords that will help me stay focused on my answers.3518

I will give you an example for letter A.3525

You may want to pause so that you can come up with your own answers and check to see what I came up with.3529

For letter A, I came up with the sugar trade impacted enslaved West Africans between 1500 and 1870,3536

as over 10,000,000 Africans were uprooted and forced to migrate to the Americas to work on sugar plantations.3546

Pretty straightforward.3555

B, British merchants invested in the sugar trade became very wealthy.3557

Mercantilist policies ensured that they could make huge profits.3564

Lastly, letter C, because of the sugar trade, a slave society was established in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.3572

The population of African Americans grew tremendously during that time.3581

There are some examples for your short answer.3589

Here is our last example which is a long essay question.3596

This has a short quotation.3603

If no restrictions were placed on the colonies, they would flourish.3605

This is an excerpt from Robert Walpole who we just learned about.3611

Let us look at the question.3615

Based on the quotation above and your knowledge of U.S. history,3617

explain the British view of the American colonies between 1607 and 1763.3621

This is a pretty big time period, you have a lot of possibilities.3631

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to answer this.3637

There a lot of different approaches to this question.3640

As long as you have the evidence to back up your thesis which is really important.3644

Again, you can use several different examples because this is a broad time period.3654

I would certainly mention both ends of this time period.3660

1607 should hopefully trigger something in your mind.3667

You should remember the Virginia colony being established in that year.3674

This will actually be the year that is the end of the French Indian war, that we will talk about more next time.3682

But you could certainly talk about all the policies that we have gone over in this lesson and in the previous lesson.3688

This is getting you to pull together all the information that you have learned up to this point,3696

especially concerning British colonial relations, economic relations, in particular, and political relations too.3702

I’m going to give you a very succinct example of an introduction.3715

Then, I’m going to give you some suggestions for a few other body paragraphs.3721

Here it goes, by the early 17th century, the British looked to compete with other European powers and3728

establish colonies and create opportunities for British merchants and companies to lure English settlers and investors.3735

Early settlements included corporate, proprietary, and royal colonies that were under direct control.3746

In the 17th century, England adopted a policy of mercantilism in which the government would regulate trade and production.3763

Colonies were to provide raw material to the parent country, where the growth and profit of that country's industry.3773

The purpose of the colonies, therefore, was to enrich the parent country and to serve the mother country.3781

I put my thesis there at the end of the paragraph to emphasize my point.3790

In the first paragraph, I would suggest that you approach this chronologically.3799

You discuss the early settlements and perhaps talk about Jamestown3807

and Massachusetts Bay colony being established and how they were corporate colonies.3815

You can also talk about some proprietary colonies, if you want to bring in Maryland as well.3823

You may want to talk about what the goal was, that tobacco eventually became a profitable cash crop in Virginia and in Maryland,3835

and allowed both of those colonies to succeed and prosper, ultimately.3846

Although, we will see especially in Virginia when there were periods of instability,3855

that the British will also crack down on the Virginians and place some under direct control and establish a royal colony,3862

which will give them more control over that colony because problems arose.3873

Something along those lines, perhaps you could address in the first paragraph.3881

Kind of talking about the early history of British investment in the colonies and what the purpose of those colonies really was.3885

Not so much, you could bring in that some colonies were created because they were leaving, just persecution.3896

If it is talking about 1607, we know that religion is not as much of a factor.3910

You really want to bring in Virginia in that question, I think, in your response to that question.3916

The second paragraph, you could actually discuss the restoration period which we talked about previously,3924

and the navigation acts and how those restrictions were very indicative, that the British are looking to make profits,3932

and that they view the colonies as the children and it is a very patronizing relationship.3945

And of course, you can talk about how the colonies start to rebel against those policies and3957

how the restrictive policies are not very effective in the long run.3963

They start to work around them and trade with other powers like the French and the Spaniards.3972

What else could you include?3983

Also, in that second paragraph, you could talk about the development of the northeastern cities and industries like shipbuilding and rum distilleries.3985

And how the British will feel somewhat threatened by that success,3999

that ultimately they want to make sure that they do not flourish too much.4005

Kind of going back to your quotation that the profits are benefiting Great Britain and not the colonies.4011

That they are still British subjects, in other words, to the crown, the British crown.4023

The third paragraph, you could go into salutary neglect and Walpole, and how this will be a turning point,4030

in terms of British American colonial relations and this is a period of Locke's administration.4040

This will help the rise of self government in North America and that eventually this will backfire,4049

as many British will end up criticizing his approach and ultimately call for harsher policies that will restrict colonial trade.4059

We are going to get into, next time, we will talk more about the French Indian war.4077

But for the sake of this example here, I think you have enough to work with it, where you could organize your essay.4083

Again, kind of giving you several examples to address this time period,4093

to show that the purpose of the colonies was to provide cheap raw materials4100

and to play an important role in the South Atlantic system that ultimately the British were to benefit from this system and not the colonies.4110

With that, thank you for watching www.educator.com.4125