CHAPTER 4
The Bonds of Empire, 1660-1750
1. How did the Glorious Revolution shape relations
between England and its North American
colonies?
2. What factors contributed most significantly to the
growth and prosperity of the British mainland
colonies?
3. What factors explain the relative strengths of the
British, French, and Spanish empires in North
America?
4. What were the most significant results of the
Enlightenment and Great Awakening in the
British colonies?
Rebellion and War, 1660-1713
Royal Centralization, 1660-1688
English kings Charles II and James II took
control of the British colonies by creating
the royal colony of New Hampshire (1679),
making Massachusetts a royal colony (1684),
and creating the Dominion of New England
In 1686-1688.
Sir Edmund Andros was
the royally appointed
governor of this new
“supercolony”
Rebellion and War, 1660-1713
The Glorious Revolution, 1688-1689
In 1688, William and Mary (Protestant/Anglican) oust James II (Catholic) who
fled to France
They set up a limited monarchy in England
They dismantled the Dominion of New England, but kept a little more control
than before the Dominion was created (esp. in Massachusetts)
They reestablished representative govt. and religious freedom (for Protestants)
The goal in the colonies was to have voluntary allegiance rather than
involuntary submission
Rebellion and War, 1660-1713
A Generation of War, 1689-1713
King William’s War (1690-1697): England vs. France
In America: mostly border wars with New France, lost some allegiances
from the Iroquois Confederacy
Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713): England vs. France and Spain
In America: Colonists realized they were weak
So… these wars showed that the colonists were
militarily weak and still
dependent on their mother
country = renewed loyalty to
Britain
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Mercantilist Empires in America
Mercantilism worked well for Britain (and its
colonies)
It didn’t work so well for France and Spain
Many colonists (British, French, and Spanish) just
ignored the mainland’s policies and did their
business privately
MERCANTILISM
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Mercantilist Empires in America
BRITISH NAVIGATION ACTS
• 1651:
• 1660:
• 1663:
Trade only allowed on British (including colonial) ships
Banned sale of certain items (i.e. sugar, tobacco, rice, furs) to
foreign countries unless they first passed through England
Placed high taxes on products bought outside the British
Empire (i.e. French molasses)
These Acts inadvertently helped the colonists by increasing the colonial
merchant marine, shipbuilding industry, and urbanization around port
cities
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Population Growth and Diversity
1700
English: 250,000
French: 15,000
Spanish:
4,500
1750
1,170,000 (20% were slaves)
60,000
19,000
WHY???
English:open to all Europeans
focus on families
French: open to French
traders and missionaries
Spanish: open to Spanish
soldiers and missionaries
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Population Growth and Diversity
British colonies had growth both from natural increase
and from immigration
Majority of European immigrants were poor and/or
indentured servants (still)
This is where they ended up
There was also a
huge increase in
slaves, but way
more slaves were
still headed to the
West Indies rather
than America
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Rural White Men and Women
Farming wasn’t a lucrative career choice
Most farmers were in debt for most of their lives
An increasing number of young men turned
away from farming and looked to the frontier,
port cities, or the high seas for a livelihood
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Colonial Farmers and the Environment
Rapid deforestation caused…
• Removal of forest animals
• Addition of field animals
• Warmer summers and colder winters
• Unstable water levels in streams
• Huge decrease in fish population
• Dry and hard soil
To make matters worse, the famers rarely
used any fertilizers or methods to
replenish the soil, such as crop rotation
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
The Urban Paradox
• Only 4% of colonists lived in cities, however…
• They became overcrowded
• There was poor sanitation
• This caused the spread of disease and early deaths
• There was high unemployment
• The wealth was highly concentrated
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
Slavery
You know the conditions… very harsh
• Slaves worked from about 7 yrs. old ‘til death
• Men and women both performed hard labor
• What little time they had “off” work, they used
to tend their own crops
• Rebellions were usually quickly and brutally suppressed by the fearful
whites, such as the…
STONO REBELLION (1739) in South Carolina
Colonial Economies and Societies,
1660-1750
The Rise of the Colonial Elites
•
•
•
•
•
•
The 18th century colonial elites began to show off their wealth by imitating
the upper-crust Europeans
Huge mansions
Refined manners
Fancy clothes
Rode in carriages
Expensive material goods
Well-educated
This led to even more of a
desire by the colonists to
acquire British consumer goods
Competing for a Continent, 1713-1750
France and the American Heartland
1718:
France founds New
Orleans and makes
it the capital of
Louisiana
French had better relations
with the Indians than the
British, but not great
French success was often
dependent on their relations
with the Indians
Competing for a Continent, 1713-1750
Native Americans and British Expansion
British continued their alliance with some Indians (i.e. Iroquois), but mostly
either killed them or dislocated them…
Tuscarora War (1711-1713):
Dislocated the Tuscarora Indians out
of Carolina (North)
Yamasee War (1715-1716):
Dislocated the Yamasee Indians out
of Carolina (South)
Competing for a Continent, 1713-1750
British Expansion in the South: Georgia
Founded in 1732; led by James Oglethorpe
• Set up to be a haven for British debtors
and a buffer colony from Spanish Florida
• No landholdings of over 500 acres
• No alcohol
• No representative government
• No slavery!
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–
–
Degraded blacks (according to Oglethorpe)
Made whites lazy
No slave revolts (near Spanish Florida)
Wouldn’t help poor whites recover from debt
Georgia didn’t really succeed until they let in
slaves (1750) and large landholdings (1754)
Competing for a Continent, 1713-1750
Spain’s Borderlands
Very sparsely populated
in NM, TX, and FL
They started having
better relations with the
Indians
They offered freedom to
any English-owned
slaves who made it to
FL and became Catholic
Competing for a Continent, 1713-1750
The Return of War, 1739-1748
The War of Jenkins’ Ear/King George’s War (1739-1748)
This was mainly a war between England
and France, but it spilled over to North
America like prior European wars
The main engagement in North America
was when New Englanders captured the
French fort at Louisbourg
After the war, the British gave it back
which improved international relations,
but kinda ticked off the New Englanders
who fought so hard… for nothing!
Public Life in British America,
1689-1750
Colonial Politics
After the Glorious Revolution,
the power shifted from here 
because of this 
Appointed
Royal
Governor
Appointed
Royal
Governor
Appointed
Governor’s
Council
Appointed
Governor’s
Council
Elected
Assembly
Elected
Assembly  to here
Only white men could vote and colonial
politics were dominated by the wealthy elite;
yet it was still more democratic than in
England
Public Life in British America,
1689-1750
The Enlightenment
Based upon logic, reason, and science
Epitome of Enlightenment in America was…
More popular in cities (that’s
where the educated people were)
Many Enlightenment thinkers
trusted in reason over the Bible
and were Deists – they believed
in God, but that He set things in
motion and then stopped
intervening
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Public Life in British America,
1689-1750
The Great Awakening
(1730s – 1740s)
Jonathan Edwards – “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
George Whitefield
New Lights:
Old Lights:
Decrease: Quakers & Anglicans (Old Lights)
Emotional
Repentance
Enthusiastic
Rational
Human Improvement
Reserved
Increase: Baptists & Presbyterians (New Lights)
Colleges (Old & New Light)
Also:
Crossed racial and gender lines