Chapter 17 The Diversity of American Colonial Societies

Complex Colonial Societies What natives remained Was there a slave trade? What were the characteristics of the European country that colonized the area?

Columbian Exchange Demographic changes From isolation to connection Isolation had created a lack of immunity to Afro-Eurasian diseases Tough to know how many Amerindians died, but it is thought that population of central Mexico fell from 13 million to 700,000 in the century after the Spanish arrive Smallpox the most deadly, but measles, diphtheria, typhus, influenza were also big killers—often more than one pathogen arrived at a time Malaria from Africa arrived with African slaves and devastated European populations as well Disease made resistance to European settlement difficult

The Diffusion of Plants and Animals Settlers brought European plants such as wheat, olives, grapes, garden vegetables and Asian and African crops like rice, bananas, coconuts and sugar And took American crops especially corn and potatoes back to Afro-Eurasia Strangely, even with the mass die-off of Amerindians, these New World crops are thought to have made a net increase in world population possible after 1700 Domesticated animals—cattle, pigs, horses and sheep made massive changes in the New World environment Horses seemed to have the greatest impact on New World cultures

Spanish America and Brazil Colonies were based on the societies back home—those who fight, those who pray and those who work Incan and Aztec elites tried keep their elite states through marriage or less formal alliances Amerindian beliefs survived beneath Christianity Church and State Indians and Africans

State Colonies so far away Viceroys had considerable independence and power Until the 17 th century most colonial officials were born in Spain, but Spain struggled to avoid bankruptcy and they began to sell the positions to locals Portuguese slow to create a colonial government in SA— initially it looked like Africa (slaves) and Asia would offer more wealth But once sugar plantations and mines are established there was a good deal of money to finance intrusive colonial bureaucracy in LA, much more than in French and British colonies of NA Thwarted economic initiative and political experimentation

Church The Catholic Church the primary agent for the introduction of Christian belief and the Spanish language Both Spain and Portugal justified their American conquests by assuming an obligation to convert native populations to Christianity The small number of missionaries limited the quality of the conversion Most efforts limited to the indigenous elites Difficulties with heresies and persecution of those who secretly practiced indigenous beliefs

A Kind of Check and Balance At times the state acted as a check on cruelties of the church against native people And the church acted as a check on cruelties by the state against native people But after 1600 most resources were directed to the cities where the population was of more European descent Overtime the Church became the richest institution in the Spanish colonies Serving also as the society’s banker

Colonial Economies The silver mines of Peru and Mexico and the sugar plantations of Brazil dominated the economies of colonial Latin America The gold and silver greatly increased trade with Asia And contributed to the capitalist growth of all of Europe The legacy of mineral wealth and agricultural wealth will have a lasting effect on the economy of this region The greatest wealth was silver wealth from Potosi Where a means of extracting the silver was developed involving mercury

Colonial Society in Latin America A small number of peninsulares-people born in Iberia A larger group of whites born in the New World— creoles But the largest groups were individuals of mixed ancestry—mulattos, mestizos Amerindians, some former elites Those of African descent, including thousands born in Iberia who participated in the conquest

Slaves Always large communities of escaped slaves within Latin America Many worked as skilled artisans, musicians, servants, cowboys and soldiers The majority worked as agricultural workers The worst conditions were on sugar plantations Male slaves preferred so difficult strains on family life Africans and their descendants were by far the largest ethnic group in Brazil, and had a large influence on this society as a result Spanish and Portuguese law provided for manumission, slaves could buy their freedom Courts occasionally intervened to protect slaves from abuse The most common slaves to gain freedom were women, and their children were born free The free black population grew rapidly in Brazil

English Colonies Hoped to find exploitable wealth But established a century later than those in Latin America In a period of great commercial growth and warfare in Europe So never the big government colonial enterprise Much of development turned over to private companies or individual proprietors Strangely, the model for English colonies was Ireland, where private investors purchased “plantations” and then lined up settlers (landless poor from England and Scotland) to farm them

The South Jamestown founded in 1609 Thought 80% of colonists died from disease and Amerindian attacks No gold, no passage to Asia, no docile and exploitable native population In 1624 the English crown took over the colony and colonists slowly developed a more sustainable economy based on furs, timber and tobacco No cities of significant size in colonial Virginia, but plantations on the rivers of the coast Labor provided by Amerindians, who died or fled, then indentured servants 950 slaves in Virginia in 1660, 120,000 by 1756

Governed By A House of Burgesses and a crown appointed governor The Burgesses were elected from among local landowners—different from Latin America

Guns Trading animal skins for guns, Amerindians increasing disrupted the ecology of the regions And fought among themselves for remaining hunting grounds And dissatisfied with conditions of trade and increasing settlement used to attack English settlements Who retaliated and seized more Indian lands

Plantations and Slavery Move south into the Carolinas, where Africans were a majority in the areas around Savannah, in SC Power in South Carolina the most hierarchical of American colonies, with wealthy planters at the top On the frontiers mixed race children, in the cities mixed race children of slaves given some preference as house servants

New England Pilgrims came first and wished to break completely with the Church of England Puritans came later and hoped to reform the Church, not break from it The Puritans had a Royal charter which spelled out the rights of the new colonists, and what the crown could not control Settlers in New England also elected representatives, and by 1650 created a legislature Immigration initially different from southern colonies. In New England folks came with their families Soils were poor and rocky in New England, so from early times they diversified their economy—fur, timber, cod, shipping and overseas commercial ventures Individuals pursued these ventures, as there were no state controlled monopolies No cash crops meant no plantations, which meant less social stratification

The Middle Atlantic A Dutch colony in New York, until 1664 when taken by British Pennsylvania settled by Quakers Healthy climate and excellent soils, and relatively peaceful relations with the natives made Pennsylvania successful And a commercial center at Philadelphia

French America More like Latin America Committed to missionary enterprises Jesuits led the efforts to convert the Amerindians of Canada Fur trade the basis for this colony and they were dependent on native people for those furs The French tended to see native people as allies and partners rather than enemies Population growth slow

Global Conflict in North America Much greater population and prosperity in the colonies of the British The French and Indian War began in 1754 and led to the larger conflict, the 7 years war ( ) in which France and Britain fight globally The British win, and the French lose Canada to the British Native people of Canada will note that while they had been free nations under the French, they had to cede their lands to the British as terms of the peace