INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS IN
THE AMERICAS
IN 1783, WHAT BECAME THE USA WON INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN,. BETWEEN
1810 AND 1825 SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA BROKE FREE FROM SPANISH AND
PORTUGUESE CONTROL. WHAT CAUSED THE (NORTH) AMERICAN REVOLUTION? WERE
THE CAUSES OF UNREST IN LATIN AMERICA SIMILAR TO THOSE IN NORTH AMERICA?
WARM-UP
WHAT MADE THE AMERICAN
COLONIES UNIQUE?
1.
2.
3.
WHAT MADE THE AMERICAN
COLONIES LIKE THE
“MOTHERLAND”?
1.
2.
3.
THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES BY 1763
• Key Question: Were there any indications pre-1763 that North Americans
wanted independence?
POPULATION
• Between 1700 and 1763 the 13 colonies’ population increased
from 250,000 to 2 million
• A high birth rate
• A low death rate
• Immigration and the slave trade
COLONIAL MELTING POT
• 17th Century settlers were of English stock
• Some 400,000 people migrated to the 13 colonies between 1700
and 1763
• Less than a fifth of the 18th century migrants were English
COLONIAL GOVERNMENT: GOVERNORS
MA, NH, NY, NJ,
VA, NC, SC, GA
Governor appointed
by the British King
MD, PA, DE
CT, RI
Proprietary
colonies—governor
appointed by the
proprietor
Corporate
colonies—governors
were elected
COLONIAL GOVERNMENT: COLONIAL ASSEMBLIES
• Upper houses (or councils)
• Appointed by the governor
• Lower Houses
• Elected by population
At least 50 % of American white
adult males could vote (compared
with only 15 % in Britain)
LIMITATIONS?
COLONIAL GOVERNMENT: BRITISH RULE
• Charters were the umbilical cords attaching the colonies to
Britain—the “mother country”
• Tied the colonies to the Crown rather than to Parliament
COLONIAL ECONOMY
• Prescribed to
theories of
mercantilism and
economic selfsufficiency
PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS
• Read The Pattern of Colonial Commerce (1766) [pgs. 98 –
100]
• Answer the following question…
• What does Achenwall’s analysis, as inspired by Franklin, suggest about the
colonists’ situation in the British imperial system?
COLONIAL SOCIETY
• Elites—great landowners and wealthy landowners
• Professionals—ministers, lawyers, doctors, schoolmasters, etc.
• Property holders
• Laborers—apprentices, sailors, servants, etc.
• Black slaves
AMERICAN CULTURE
EDUCATION
• Strongly encouraged in
the colonies
•
•
¾ of white male adults
were literate
Influenced by the
Enlightenment
RELIGION
• Majority of Americans were Protestants
• Immigration coupled with religious
toleration  multiplicity of denominations
• Great Awakening  emphasis on the
individual’s personal relationship with God
THE STRUGGLE FOR NORTH AMERICA
• Towards the end of the 17th century
warfare between colonists and Native
Americans merged with a larger
struggle between Britain and France
(which ruled Canada and Louisiana)
for control of North America
THE STRUGGLE WITH FRANCE:
THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR
• Between 1689 and 1763 Britain and
France fought four wars
• Seven Years’ War (or French-Indian
War) developed into a worldwide
conflict
• Treaty of Paris (1763)
THE SITUATION IN 1763
SOON TO BE INDEPENDENT…
REMAIN DEPENDENT…
• Strong economically
• Capable of self-government
• Spirit of Independence
• New identity
• Less dependent on Britain’s armed forces
• High degree of autonomy
• Non-united colonies
• No shown desire to attain unity
• Pride in “mother land”
• Economic interest
QUICKWRITE
• To what extent did the British-American colonies represent the
ideas, values, and worldview of their mother country?
FOR HOMEWORK
The People’s History of
the United States
America’s History
WARM-UP:
COMPARING VENN DIAGRAMS
1. Pull out your completed homework: Venn Diagram on the People’s History and
American Pageant
2. Find a partner to compare and contrast Venn Diagrams with and answer the
following questions…
a) From whose perspective were the different accounts of the pre-American Revolution told
from? Whose account is more believable? Why?
b)
c)
Is one account more truthful than the other? Why?
Do you believe that one account is more purposeful than the other? Why?
THE CAUSES OF INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS IN
LATIN AMERICA
• What were the main causes of unrest in Latin America?
POST-COLUMBUS SPANISH “NEW WORLD”
THE NATURE OF SPANISH AMERICA
THE SITUATION BY 1750
Colonies prospering
thanks to the evasion
of Spanish trade
restrictions
Spain suffering a
decline in productivity
and military power
(unsuccessful wars)
Spain needed its
colonies more than
they needed Spain
BOURBON
REFORMS
• In the eighteenth century, Spain’s Habsburg
monarchy replaced by that of the Bourbons
• New dynasty sought to modernize Spain’s…
Economy
Society
Institutions
REFORM OF
GOVERNMENT
• Government seen as too slack
• Intendants were appointed
• Spanish-born officials replaced creoles
FISCAL MEASURES
1. Imposition of Royal monopolies
2. Government assumed the direct
administration of taxes
3. Alcabala (sales tax) put on all transactions
and % often raised
4.
Mining sectors pay substantial sums to the
crown
CONTROL OF TRADE
• New policy of Comercio Libre Y Portegido
• Looks like this…
PROBLEMS OF SPANISH CONTROL OF TRADE
Lack of manufactured goods
Similarity in finished products
Expansion of trade dominion angered Creoles
Scarcity and costliness of goods
Disjointed economy
CHURCH REFORM
Church’s secular power restricted
Wealth transferred to the Crown
or private hands
RACIAL POLICY
• Sought to assuage social tension—
expansion of rights for non-whites include
but not limited to abilities to…
Join militias
Receive an education
Marry whites
Hold public office
Enter priesthood
3,960,000
PENINSULARES VERSUS CREOLES
40,000
DISCONTENT, REBELLION, AND REVOLUTION
• There were scores of minor revolts in Spanish America in the
eighteenth century—most were the result of specific grievances
• Tyranny of the corregidores (local administrative and judicial officials)
• Taxation from the state and church
• Forced labor for state benefit
DISCONTENT, REBELLION, AND REVOLUTION
• If someone says it better, let them say it… Crash Course
World History: The Latin American Revolution
 While watching, complete the fill-in notes!
THE CAUSES OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
• What caused the American Revolution?
“POINT OF NO RETURN”
• In groups of three, document on a timeline the major events and laws leading
up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence
• Write a brief synopsis of each event (20 words at the most) or include a
pictorial representation
• Select one event (make sure it stands out on your timeline) that you believe
was the “point of no return”
• Explain in a well-formed and supported paragraph why this event was so important
*Be prepared to defend your chosen event
“POINT OF NO RETURN”
In regards to the American Revolution, the “point of no return” for the non-loyal
colonists was…because of reason #1 , reason #2, and reason #3…the end 
•
“POINT OF NO
RETURN”
?
Be sure to include at least 10 of the following
events…
1. Proclamation of 1763
2. Boston Massacre
3. Colonists burn Gaspee
4. Stamp Act
5. Declaratory Act
6. Sugar Act
7. Battles of Lexington and Concord
8. Tea Act
9. Boston Tea Party
10. Coercive Acts / Intolerable Acts
11. Townshend Acts
12. First Continental Congress
13. Quartering Act
*Any other events you find pertinent too!