American Colonization Visual Lecture Remind the students to listen carefully. Any words repeated or written on the board should be copied down - they are important! Take notes as you listen…

Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer who found an all-water route to Asia (for spices, silk, and tea) by circumnavigating Africa in 1497.

Christopher Columbus Financed by Spain. Made a total of four voyages to the Americas. Set sail west in 1492 and “discovered” the Caribbean islands later called the West Indies. Financed by Spain.

Christopher Columbus

During the 150ss, European nations like Portugal, England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands explored and claimed land in the Americas. Colony - - A place that is settled at a distance from the country that controls/rules it. By 1700 several European nations established large colonial empires in North America. Colonial Empire – A group of colonies all controlled/ruled by the same home country. Examples include England, France, and Spain.

What were the goals of colonization? Motives (Push and Pull Factors) Push – Religious persecution, lack of political freedom, lack of land, lack of opportunities, etc. Pull – Religious freedom, political freedom, glory, resources, gold, cash, crops, land, etc. Impact Development of colonial empires, enslaved Africans brought to America, Native Americans devastated by disease, competition between the colonial empires, development of trade, etc.

What were the goals of colonization?

Sugarcane Molasses Rum During the 1500s Spanish colonists began importing large numbers of Africans to work the sugar plantations in the West Indies. By the 1600s, thousands of captive Africans were brought into the colonies each year and sold into slavery. Rum

Tobacco The crop that saved Jamestown was tobacco. Native Americans introduced the plant and the concept that it could be smoked to English colonists. It quickly became popular. However, tobacco is a labor intensive crop, meaning it takes a lot of workers to plant it and harvest it. These workers do not have to be particularly skilled. At first, English colonists tried to enslave Native Americans. That was not successful because the Natives could easily run away, since they knew the land and had others to help them escape. In addition, Native Americans had never been exposed to European diseases and they died in great numbers. Those Natives that survived often became hostile as more colonists came and took their land. Battles between colonists and natives usually ended with colonial victories, since the natives were outnumbered and outgunned. Often indentured servants worked the tobacco crop. These were poor people from England who promised to work for a set time period (usually 7 years) in order to pay for their trip overseas. The problem with indentured servants is that they became free after their indenture was up and became competitive. Colonists desperately wanted workers and in 1619 the first Africans were brought to Jamestown as indentured servants.

Slave Trade What do you see? Who is leading group? Where do you think they are going? Feelings? Over the years, the Africans brought to the colonies as indentured servants became seen as an ideal labor force. The supply of white English indentured servants had become smaller (low birth rate, migration elsewhere) and the price of indentures was up. Colonists turned to Africans as a labor source because they were cheaper and the supply was more dependable. African slave traders would capture Africans in wars or kidnap them and sell them to Europeans. Slavery had existed in Africa and Europe for thousands of years. The system was looser and slaves could become part of the family and raise their status through work. However, with the expansion into the Western Hemisphere, slavery became more based on race. The colonies began to limit the indenture of Africans and create a permanently enslaved labor force. In the mid1600s colonial governments passed laws to make slavery life-long and hereditary (passed down). This is known as chattel slavery.

Slave Ship A huge slave trade began to develop. No actual numbers are known, but as many as 30 million Africans may have been taken captive. Most were taken to sugar plantations in the Caribbean and South America. Others were taken to the American colonies - all colonies had slaves. The diagram above shows how 482 men, women, and children tightly packed into the Brookes’ hold. The accompanying description stated that, according to records, as many as 609 slaves had been transported within the same space on the same ship. This horrible journey across the Atlantic was known as the “Middle Passage.”

The 13 English Colonies By 1732, there were13 of English colonies strung out along the Atlantic seaboard. There were royal colonies controlled by the king and proprietary colonies owned by one person. Joint stock companies owned other colonies. Several colonies were also used as penal colonies for criminals from England. These colonies were tightly controlled by England under the policy of mercantilism.

Why Have Colonies? The colonies were very tightly controlled by England. The Navigation Acts passed by the English Parliament said that the colonists could only export to England or other English colonies and use only English ships. This was part of the policy of mercantilism - the economic idea that a nation is strong through its wealth. The colonies were very important for their raw materials and their market for finished products.