Colonialism

I Definition and Precedents

            –establishing own citizens/subjects in foreign lands

            A) Precedents

1) Roman

                                    a) Idea of colonies having to be based around a city

                                    b) Idea of replicating the mother country abroad

                                    c) Idea of one man in control of the colony

                        2) Machiavelli

a) stated that colonies are one of the optimum ways of securing conquered territory

                        3) Ireland

a) convinced English that they could follow Roman precedents when engaged

 in colonization and helps explain why they so rigidly adhered to such

 precedents

                                    b) exhausted much of the colonizing energy (especially from Scotland)

II Effects of Colonization on Britain

            A) Population (378,000 emigrated to the colonies from 1630 to 1700)

                        B) In England there was a shift in how emigration was viewed                      

                        1) before 1660 colonies seen as a good place for excess population

                        2) after 1660 and rises in wages colonies seen as a population drain

            C) Economics

1) colonization (because trade with the colonies were generally unregulated) resulted in

 the growth of small trading concerns as opposed to the large companies that traded

 with the Levant and East India company

2) Colonization also resulted in lowered prices for consumer goods such as tobacco,

 chocolate, and sugar thereby helping to usher in the consumer revolution and the idea

 that demand was elastic

            D) Politics: Colonization resulted in:

1) an increase in royal revenue, thereby allowing Charles II and James II to rule

 without a parliament

                        2) Experiments in governing such as the Carolinas

            E) Religion

a) the colonies were a place where the religious radicals could have some freedom,

 many left England to go to the colonies thereby perhaps resulting in more stability in

 England

                                    b) Some of the religious radicals made there way back (more radical than when

                                       they left) this happened primarily during the English Civil Wars

III The Caribbean islands

            A) Origin of colony

1) Two separate patents which resulted in fighting among the colonists and an absence

 of clear authority–such lack of authority also resulted in:

                                    a) permanently settled community

                                    b) cash crop economy

c) The idea that propertied Englishmen have inalienable right to self

-government

            B) Sugar Production (introduced in 1643)

\           1) By 1650s Barbados alone produced £3 mil of sugar (called richest spot in the world)

                        2) resulted in emergence of planter elite

                        3) labor intensive nature of sugar production created a need for slaves

                        4) 1645 5680 slaves; 1698 42,000 slaves

            C) State and Colony

                        1) attempt to control trade with colonies

                                    a) Act of Navigation 1650 all trade in English ships

                                    b) Act of Navigation 1660 all trade must go through England

                                    c) Colonial sugar preferred (lower tariff than foreign sugar)

d) slave trade a monopoly of the Royal African Company (James II was one

 of the founders) after the monopoly collapsed in 1698 slave trade doubled

                        2) Tradition of Self-government

                                    1) 1639 assembly established

                        3) Politics

                                    a) English Civil War and Barbados

At first neutral and enjoyed the economic autonomy that chaos in the

 mother country brought about–in 1649, however, clear that they

needed to choose sides, and they choose the royalist side–cavaliers

gained control of the local assembly in a coup–In 1652 Parliament sent

 Sir George Asycue to subdue the colony–he blockaded the ports and

 after three months negotiated a settlement with the colony which

 gave them free trade and self government

b) 1685-88 James attempts to establish a government of viceroyalty, but it

 never gets off the ground in the Caribbean–some of his policies upset the

 islanders, most importantly his advocacy of a reduction of local political

 power, giving Catholics authority, and cultivating relations with the French–the

 islanders did not rebel (for the most part) upon hearing news of Williams

 entrance into England but gradually transferred allegiance–while they

 submitted to the government of William, they managed to obtain many

 material benefits

            IV New England

A) Economics

            1) Economic nature of New England very different from Chesapeake or

                  West Indies because originated not in desire for riches but rather for

             religious freedom. Therefore colonists sought competency: producing enough

             to live and a little bit more. This search for competency resulted in

 autonomous government (individual towns governed themselves independently of the

 central government) because individual families were financially independent.         

            2) Low age of marriage–financial independence easy to obtain because of

 large parcels of land

3) Most of foreign trade we t to the west Indies which New England provided

 with food

                        B) Religion very important

1) political rights came from being a member of the church–becoming a

 member of the church required a conversion experience

2) Sermons a key aspect of church worship every Sunday—sermons often

 lasted two to three hours              

                        C) Politics

                                    1) Mass Bay Company a little too independent for the Stuarts

A) Charles II at first threatened to and then issued(1684) a quo

 warranto to deprive the Mass Bay Co of their privileges 

B) James dissolved all of the existing colonies in the North East

 replacing them with one dominion presided over by Sir Edmund

 Andros

C) Upon hearing of the Glorious Revolution 2000 militiamen arrested

 Andros and declared New England loyal to William