Colonial Economics

In Review - Chapter 1 and 2 Pangaea – the emergence and evolution of two ecologically different continents Human Migration – the movement of people throughout the world Civilization – complex societies developed throughout the world, some areas faster than others. Age of Enlightenment – as populations grew so did the ability to critically think Age of Exploration – Europeans started to venture out in search of new discoveries Columbian Exchange – the movement of plants, animals and diseases between Europe and America Globalization – one world, integrated economies, the reemergence of Pangaea Clash of the Cultures – Europe, Africa and America

Chapter Three The Establishment of the English 13 Colonies These are the four main points: I.Colonization – How did it happen, why were certain colonies successful? II.Government – What rules needed to be established in order to survive? III.Religion – Why did people leave Europe, what role does religion play and what impact does it still have on us? IV.The Land – How was land understood and how did the location of land impact the development of the colonies?

Chapter Four - The Colonies Develop There are four main points to Chapter Four: I.Financial Implications– How did money impact the development of the colonies? II.Development of Slave Industry– Why did the slave industry develop differently in the colonies? III.Growth of Cities– What was the impact of urban growth in the colonies? IV.Immigration– How did the migration of the various European people in the colonies impact the culture?

 Economic issues have concerned human beings for millennia, ever since the early primitive hunters considered how to distribute the meat from the day's kill among the members of the tribe.  Although trade and markets existed in ancient societies, the concept of an economy did not emerge until the Middle Ages.  As a field of study, however, economics began as a branch of philosophy, emerging as an independent discipline in the 18th century. Economics is the social science that analyzes the production distribution and consumption of goods and services. What does economics mean and where did it come from ?

Colonial America 1607 – Jamestown founded 1620 – Mayflower lands in Plymouth 1630 – Puritans land in New England 1651 – Navigation Acts 1675 – King Philip’s War 1679 – Bacon’s Rebellion 1681 – William Penn founds Pennsylvania  1400’s The Renaissance  1500’s The Reformation  1500’sEngland/Catholic Church split  1600’s The Enlightenment  1688 The Glorious Revolution  1689 The English Bill of Rights  ’sThe European Wars what is going on at this time

England sees the colonies as a financial opportunity! The English colonies were created to make money for the mother country. England was also motivated to export Protestant Christianity to the New World. A European financial practice known as Mercantilism began to emerge. Mercantilists sought to increase England’s wealth through the use of government policies to export goods and restrict imports.

 Around 1650, the British government introduced s financial policy called mercantilism.  Mercantilism states that in order to build economic strength, a nation must export more than it imports.  To achieve this favorable balance of trade, the English passed regulatory laws exclusively benefiting the British economy.  These laws created a trade system whereby Americans provided raw goods to Britain, and Britain used the raw goods to produce manufactured goods that were sold in European markets and back to the colonies.

 Since the colonies were only prepared to supply only the natural resources. They could not compete with Britain in terms of manufacturing.  In addition financial breaks were given to the English ships and merchants which excluding other countries from sharing in the wealth.

Triangular Trade  British mercantilism led to the triangular trade.  Trade routes linked the American Colonies, West Indies, Africa, and England.  Each port provided shippers with a payoff and a new cargo.  New England rum was shipped to Africa and traded for slaves, which were brought to the West Indies and traded for sugar and molasses, which went back to New England.  Other raw goods were shipped from the colonies to England, where they were swapped for a cargo of manufactured goods.

Navigation Acts Between 1651 and 1673, the English Parliament passed four Navigation Acts meant to ensure the proper mercantilist trade balance. The acts declared the following: Only English or English colonial ships could carry cargo between imperial ports. Certain goods, including tobacco, rice, and furs, could not be shipped to foreign nations except through England or Scotland. The English Parliament would pay “bounties” to Americans who produced certain raw goods, while raising protectionist tariffs on the same goods produced in other nations. Americans could not compete with English manufacturers in large-scale manufacturing. The Navigation Acts severely restricted colonial trade, to the benefit of England.

How does this impact the colonists perception of England?  The Navigation Acts were intended to make the colonies a supplier of raw materials and a consumer of manufactured goods of the mother country, in accordance with mercantilist doctrine.  They also encouraged development of the British Navy.  Although the Navigation Acts benefited the British Empire, they marked the beginning of American resentment