N O T E B O O K
#8
Overseas Empires
AP European History
Mr. Konecke
Name_______________________________
Period____
Project #8 – Smugglers Beware
1
Introduction:
The 1700s has been called the “golden age of smuggling.” Colonial
and home markets did not usually mesh, providing an opportunity
for smugglers (pirates) to make large amounts of money at the
expense of empires.
Directions:
1. You will create a sign, billboard, placard, or whatever you
want warning smugglers that their actions will not be tolerated
by the colonial governments.
2. Your warning should contain: a written warning against
smuggling, the penalties for smuggling, the name of your
country’s government and your name, and illustrations meant to
gain attention of smugglers and to let them know how serious you
are. Do not simply write a statement and a penalty on a piece of
paper. You want to get the attention of criminals – what would be
the best way to do that?
Options:
1. You may use any appropriate materials to create your warning
sign (poster, cardboard, etc.)
2. You can use paint, markers, colored pencils, chalk, or any
other materials to create your writing and illustrations
3. The illustrations do not need to be artistic – they just need
to be attention-grabbing (if you are not artistic, keep it
simple)
4. There is no minimum number of words for your warning or
penalties nor is there a minimum number of illustrations – use
your judgment – what is the best way to get a smuggler’s
attention
Grade:
1. Created a detailed, attention-grabbing warning to smugglers –
25 points
2. Listed accurate and fair punishments for smuggling crimes of
the time – 50 points
3. Included the name of your government and your name – 5 points
4. Created detailed, attention-grabbing illustrations to explain
your message to pirates – 50 points
5. Warning sign demonstrates significant effort and an attempt at
creativity – 20 points
Due Date:
_________________________________________________
NOTEBOOK #8: OVERSEAS EMPIRES
1. Periods of European Overseas Empires
4 Stages of Contact
2

Since Renaissance, Europe’s contact with rest of world has gone through 4
stages
o
1.

o
This period ended by end of 1600s
2. Mercantile empires –

By 1700s, overseas empires existed to foster trade & commerce


As a result, quest for empire led to creation of large
navies & series of naval wars – which were connected to
wars on continent

Anglo-French conflict had theaters of war in Europe,
America, West Africa, and India

By 1700s, slave population of New World was almost entirely
black – imported from Africa or born to slaves

o

o
Slave-based plantation economy in Americas led to 300
years of European & American involvement in African
slave trade
During 2nd period, British colonies in North America & Spanish
colonies of Mexico & Central America broke free from European
control
3. Third stage occurred in 1800s



Also included new areas – Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Algeria
Reasons for these empires – trade, national honor, spread of
Christianity, & military strategy

o
4. Last period occurred during mid- and late 20th century –
3

For 450 years, Europeans dominated most of rest of world
o
These oppressed peoples were smaller than Europe in size & population
o
Europeans treated them as social, intellectual, and economic inferiors
o
What allowed Europeans to exert their dominance was technological
superiority –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lyf5FJPtCY
Directions: We will watch a clip from the 1964 film, Zulu. The scene depicts 150 British
soldiers defending a mission from 3000 Zulu warriors at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.
After watching the clip, answer the questions that follow. Worth 16 points.
1. Why do you think the Zulu are chanting as they prepare for battle? What purpose does
the chanting serve?
2. How do the British respond to the Zulu’s chanting? Why do they do this?
3. How effective is psychological warfare in battle? How important is morale in a battle?
4. If you were one of only 150 soldiers and you looked across the battlefield at 3000
chanting warriors ready to attack you, how would you feel? What would keep you from
running away?
5. What happens during the battle?
6. Why were the British so successful against the Zulu?
7. If guns were the key to British success, why do you think the Zulu and other similar
groups did not make their own guns?
8. Many of the men in the British squad were given the highest military award in Britain
for their defense at Rorke’s Drift. Do you think they deserved it or was it an unfair
fight? Explain.
4
2. Mercantile Empires
Who Controlled What?

Navies & merchant shipping were keys to mercantile empires
o
Goal –
o
Treaty of Utrecht (1713) established the boundaries of empire during
early 1700s
o
Also ruled Florida, Mexico, California, & Southwest in North America
o
Also governed Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and
Dominican Republic


British controlled colonies along east coast of North America, Nova Scotia,
Newfoundland, Bermuda, Jamaica, & Barbados
o

French dominated St. Lawrence, Ohio, & Mississippi River valleys
o
Also had Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique
o
And a few trading stations in India & West Africa


Dutch controlled Surinam, Cape Colony (South Africa), & trading stations in
West Africa, Sri Lanka, & Bengal
o
Also controlled trade with Java in Indonesia

Mercantilist Goals

Economic theory behind 18th-century empires was mercantilism
o
Mercantilism –

Critics complained the system heavily regulated trade & commerce
to increase national wealth
5

Economic experts claimed the system was needed for a country to
gain favorable trade balance of gold & silver bullion


Mercantilists believed only modest economic growth was possible (since scare
resources everywhere)
o


You could conquer other countries, expand trading territory, or
interfere with trade of other countries
Mercantilists’ main concern was always economic well-being of home country
o
Colonies provided markets & resources for industry back home
o

Colonies were always seen as inferior to home country

To maintain this system, governments passed navigation laws,
tariffs, & prohibitions against trading with other areas
o


By early 1700s, mercantilist ideas did not match reality
o
Colonial & home markets did not mesh

Spain couldn’t make enough goods for South America

Production in North America challenged English manufacturing
(English tried to limit American industry)


Usually could get goods cheaper that way

Traders & merchants from one country always wanted to
destroy monopoly of another
o
6
Directions: Read the quote below from a British mercantilist on his ideas about
the role of the workers in the mercantile system. Then answer the discussion
questions that follow. Worth 10 points.
William Petyt described the workers as:
"capital material… raw and undigested… committed into the hands of supreme
authority, in whose prudence and disposition it is to improve, manage, and
fashion it to more or less advantage.”
1. What does Petyt mean when he calls workers “capital material…raw and
undigested?”
2. What is the only goal of the bosses of the workers?
3. What does Petyt’s quote tell you about how management viewed their workers?
4. Based on this quote, what do you think managers felt about holidays, vacations,
sick time, etc.?
5. If your boss thought of you as “material…raw and undigested,” how would you
feel? What would you tell him/her?
French-British Rivalry

In North America, French & British colonists fought with each other
constantly
o
Over territory, fishing rights, fur trade, & alliances with Native
Americans
o
West Indies had tobacco, cotton, indigo, coffee, and sugar = huge
markets for all in Europe



Used in coffee, tea, cocoa, candy, fruit, and beer
o
Only slave labor allowed cultivation of these crops to be so
profitable
o
Both Britain & France traded here through chartered companies that had
a legal monopoly


English –
7

o
French – Compagnie des Indes
Trade in India & Asia was not economically important to the empire

But Europeans always wanted to trade with India


Two things in mid-1700s changed situation in India
o
1. Government of several Indian states had decayed
o
2. Joseph Dupleix (Fr.) & Robert Clive (Br.) saw the weakening power
there as opportunity to expand control of their companies



Each group wanted to destroy the other
Dutch maintained their empire in Indonesia
o
Other European powers did not interfere in that area
3. The Spanish Colonial System
Colonial Government

Queen Isabella of Castile had commissioned Columbus in 1492, so technically,
the legal link between New World & Spain was crown of Castile
o
Castilian monarch assigned Council of the Indies to run America

Council (with the monarch) nominated viceroys of Mexico (New
Spain) & Peru


V
Each of viceroyalties divided into several judicial councils (audiencias)
o
There were also several types of local officers (most important being
the corregidores –

Most of these positions went to people from Spain

Trade Regulation
8

Political structures of colonies were there to support Spanish commercial
interests
o
The House of Trade (Casa de Contratacion) regulated all trade with New
World


System of trade & bullion fleets maintained Spain’s trade monopoly
o
o
After selling goods, ships were loaded with silver & gold bullion

Spent winter in heavily-fortified Spanish ports & then sailed
back to Spain

Spanish colonists not allowed to trade with each other
o

Directions: Look at the map below of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. Then use
the map to answer the questions that follow. Worth 12 points.
9
1. Name some of the most profitable industries in Brazil at this time?
2. Where was the Incan Empire primarily located?
3. Where was the Aztec Empire primarily located?
4. Who controlled more territory – the Spanish or Portuguese?
5. The Spanish claimed (at least some of them) that they were bringing
civilization and religion to these “backward” lands. Based on the map, what was
their real primary concern?
6. Why do you think the Spanish ended up dominating the Americas instead of the
Portuguese?
Colonial Reform Under the Spanish Bourbon Monarchs

Early 1700s, big change happened in Spanish colonial system
o
War of Spanish Succession & Treaty of Utrecht replaced Spanish
Habsburgs with the Bourbons of France on Spanish throne


In doing so, he wanted to improve domestic economy & revive
Spanish power in Europe

o
An incident arising from this policy led to war with England 1739

Mid-century wars demonstrated vulnerability of Spanish empire to
naval attack & economic penetration


Charles III attempted to reassert Spain’s control of the empire
10
o
He gave more power to royal ministers – diminishing power of Council
of the Indies & Casa de Contratacion
o
o
Also opened more ports in South America & Caribbean

To make tax collection more efficient (and end bureaucratic corruption),
Charles started using intendants –

Bourbon reforms did help economy
o

Trade expanded & became more varied
The reforms, however, also brought empire more fully under direct Spanish
control
o

Economy in Latin America still organized to benefit Spain
o


In time, their anger would be a major source of discontent
leading to wars of independence in early 1800s
Imperial reforms of Charles III were similar to those of British reforms in
America after 1763 (which will lead to revolt)
4. Black African Slavery, The Plantation System, and The
Atlantic Economy
History of Slavery

o
Before 1700s, there was no moral or religious stigma attached to slave
owning or trading
o
Mediterranean area always had slavery


After 1453, Ottomans forbid export of white slaves from
areas under their control
11


From 1500s on, slave labor became an important social & economic factor
o
Development of plantation economies based on slave labor led to
interaction between peoples of Europe & Africa & between Europeans in
America & Africa
The African Presence in the Americas

When Spanish & Portuguese settled in New World, they had severe labor
shortage
o
They (and French & English later) weren’t going to do the work
themselves

First, they used Native Americans as labor –

Labor soon became scarce

English colonies in North America turned more slowly to
slavery


What Africans came into slavery depended on internal African
warfare

o
Slavery & slave trade had existed in West Africa for centuries
o
Europeans did not create the slave trade or force themselves into it –
The West Indies, Brazil, and Sugar

o
U.S. claims slave trade began 1619 (arrival of African slaves on
Dutch ship in Jamestown)

But over a century of slave trading in West Indies & South
America had already happened

By late 1500s, Africans were large social presence in West
Indies & in major cities of South America

12

In Spanish South America, number of slaves declined late 1600s
o
Slavery continued to expand in Brazil & the Caribbean, however,
because of the spreading cultivation of sugar


By end of 1600s, Caribbean was world center for sugar
production

More sugar meant need for more slaves –

In Brazil, West Indies, and southern British colonies,
slavery & prosperity went hand in hand

o
Early in century, 20,000 new slaves arrived a year in West Indies
o
By 1725, 90% of population of Jamaica consisted of black slaves
o
After mid-century, numbers were even bigger


New slaves needed because fertility rate of earlier slaves was low &
death rate high (disease, overwork, malnutrition)
o


Brazil faced a similar situation
Restocking the slave population meant the slaves in these areas were
African-born not persons of African descent
o
New slaves in America would bring their language, culture, ethnic
identity into already-existing slave cultures to create a new
culture
Slavery and the Transatlantic Economy

Different nations dominated the slave trade during different times
o
16th century –
o
17th century –
o
Late 17th & 18th centuries –
13

Slavery affected most of the economy of transatlantic world
o

European goods (guns) sent to Africa to be exchanged for slaves

o
Another trade pattern existed between New England & West Indies

Fish, rum, lumber from New England traded for sugar

o
During 18th century, political problems in Africa increased supply of
slaves


Others came from slave raids (rulers needed to sell slaves for
money to fund their wars)
The Experience of Slavery

o
During first 400 years of settlement, more black slaves came to New
World than did free European settlers
o


Cramped quarters, bad food, disease – many died before reaching
destination

Always more black men than women transported (hard for Africans
to keep families together)
In America, slave population divided between new Africans (who just
arrived), old Africans (been there for years), and creoles (descendants of
earlier generations of slaves)
o
Plantation owners preferred latter 2 groups –

o
Newly-arrived Africans went through process called seasoning –

Might receive new name, be taught new skills, or learn European
language
14


Others went to work in field gangs

Sometimes, plantation owners liked buying younger Africans
(would get used to work more easily)
Directions: Willie Lynch, a slave-owner living in the West Indies, produced a
handbook (similar to an "owner's manual" for products and goods we purchase and
own) for use by slave-owners living in the United States. Willie Lynch's plan
directly explains the process used to break the minds, bodies, and spirits of
Black people during slavery. Read his list of principles for breaking a slave
below. Then we will answer the discussion questions together. Pardon the language
– it is taken directly from the text. Worth 16 points.
“Let us make a slave. What do we need? First of all we need a black nigger man, a
pregnant nigger woman and her baby nigger boy. Second, we will use the same basic
principle that we use in breaking a horse, combined with some more sustaining
factors. We reduce them from their natural state in nature; whereas nature
provides them with the natural capacity to take care of their needs and the needs
of their offspring, we break that natural string of independence from them and
thereby create a dependency state so that we may be able to get from them useful
production for our business and pleasure.
CARDINAL PRINCIPLES FOR MAKING A NEGRO
We lay down the following principles for the long range comprehensive economic
planning:
1) Both horse and niggers are no good to the economy in the wild of natural
state.
2) Both must be broken and tied together for orderly production.
3) For orderly futures, special and particular attention must be paid to the
female and the youngest offspring.
4) Both must be crossbred to produce a variety and division of labor.
5) Both must be taught to respond to a peculiar new language.
6) Psychological and physical instruction of containment must be created for
both.
1. What does Lynch compare a slave to? What does this comparison tell you about
the view of some slave owners at the time toward slaves?
2. Why does Lynch feel it is necessary to break the independence of the slave?
What will that accomplish?
3. For the future of the slave business, what has to be paid particular attention
to? Why?
15
4. Why do you think he wants to “crossbreed” slaves?
5. Why would he want slaves to respond to a new language? Why shouldn’t they be
allowed to speak in their own language?
6. What do you think caused white men to have such horrible opinions of Africans?
7. Racism still exists today. Why, in the 21st century, are people still thinking
skin color has anything to do with what makes up a person?
8. How can we today respond to and fight against racism?
Language and Culture

Plantation was always in an isolated rural area
o
But inhabitants could visit others on nearby plantations or in
town on market days
o


Over time, a dialect combining an African and European
language developed among slaves
Through these languages, Africans could organize themselves into
nations with similar ethnic ties
o
o
These nations because basis for variety of religious communities
among African slaves


These African nations organized religious brotherhoods – did
charitable work on plantation
o
Some elected own kings & queens – preside over meetings of slaves
from different plantations

Daily Life

Living conditions for slaves differed between colonies
o
16
o
In Spanish areas, church tried to provide some protections
o
Slaves codes created in British & French colonies – only limited
protection to slaves


Owners always afraid of revolt –

Slave masters permitted to whip slaves (and other
corporal punishment)

Slaves also not allowed to gather in large groups
(fear they were planning revolt)

o

Legally, children born to slaves were slaves –
owner of parents owned them as well
Daily life of most slaves involved hard farm work, bad diets, &
terrible housing
o
o
Owners cared only about profits from sugar, rice, & tobacco crops

Conversion to Christianity

o
In Spanish, French, Portuguese areas, they became Catholic
o
In English colonies, most became Protestants


Organized African religion eventually disappeared in America
o
But some African religious practices survived

European Racial Attitudes

o
Many Europeans thought Africans were savages
17
o
Others looked down on them because they were slaves
o
Many European languages & cultures attached negative connotations
to the image of blackness

5. Mid-Eighteenth-Century Wars
The War of Jenkins’s Ear

o
o
Spanish took trading monopoly seriously – patrols would search English
ships for contraband
1731, during one of these searches, fight broke out
o

1738, Jenkins appeared before British Parliament showing his ear
as example of Spanish atrocities

British merchants & West Indian planters asked Parliament to stop
Spanish intervention in trade


It became opening encounter of series of European wars fought
across world until 1815
The War of the Austrian Succession

1740, king of Prussia – Frederick II – took Austrian province of Silesia

Directions: Below is a blank map of Europe around 1740 when the War of the Austrian
Succession broke out. There are a number of countries who fought in this war. To help you
better understand the war (and give you a geography lesson in the process), you will use
the table below to label both sides of the war on the map. Make sure you label one side
one way and the other side another (different colors, different shading, or whatever). I
will put a map on the screen to help you. Worth 14 points.
18
Prussia
Spain
France
Bavaria
Saxony
Naples &
Sicily
Genoa
Sweden
Habsburgs
Great
Britain
Hanover
Dutch
Republic
Sardinia
Russia
19
Maria Theresa Preserves the Habsburg Empire
20

o
Instead, it led to new political alliances

Maria Theresa’s did not reconquer Silesia


Maria Theresa won loyalty & support by her heroism & by giving nobles
new privileges
o
She also recognized Hungary as most important of her territories
& promised Magyar nobles local autonomy


Hungary would continue to be a troublesome area of Habsburg Empire
o
o
But when monarchy was threatened, Habsburgs promised new
concessions
France Draws Great Britain into the War

o

Aggressive court aristocrats convinced Cardinal Fleury (first
minister to Louis XV) to support Prussian aggression against
Austria (traditional enemy of France)
Aid to Prussia consolidated a new & powerful state in Germany
o
o
French move against Austria brought Britain into war

o
Britain wanted to make sure Low Countries remained in
Austrian (their friends) hands
1744, British-French conflict expanded beyond continent when
France supported Spain against Britain in New World


France could not bring enough strength to the colonial
struggle
21

Having chosen to continue old struggle with Austria, France
lost struggle against Great Britain

Prussia kept Silesia
o

The “Diplomatic Revolution” of 1756

France & Great Britain continued to fight unofficially in Ohio River Valley
& New England
o

Before war erupted again in Europe, shift in alliances took place
o
British King George II (who was also Elector of Hanover, Germany)
thought French might attack Hanover in response to conflict in America

o
1756, Britain & Prussia signed Convention of Westminster –
Frederick II feared an alliance of Russia & Austria

Great Britain (long-time ally of Austria) had now joined forces
with Austria’s major enemy

o
But her foreign minister – Prince Wenzel Anton Kaunitz – was thrilled

He long hoped for an alliance with France to dismember Prussia

1

France would now fight to restore Austrian supremacy in
central Europe
The Seven Years’ War

Frederick II hurried a European war

It would extend into the colonies
Frederick the Great Opens Hostilities

22
o
He considered this a preemptive strike against conspiracy by
Saxony, Austria, & France to destroy Prussia
o
He believed this was a continuation of the defensive strategy of
the Convention of Westminster
o


1757, France & Austria made new alliance dedicated to
destroying Prussia

Sweden, Russia, & smaller German states joined them
Two factors (in addition to Frederick’s stubbornness) saved Prussia
o
1.
o
2.

Her successor was Tsar Peter III (murdered that year), who
loved Frederick the Great

He immediately made peace with Prussia –


This allowed Prussia to hold off Austria & France
Treaty of Hubertusburg ended war with no major changes in prewar
borders
o
William Pitt’s Strategy for Winning North America

More impressive were victories of Great Britain in every theater of
the war
o

Was Secretary of State in charge of the war – gave huge
amounts of money to Frederick the Great

He saw this war as a way to divert French resources
away from colonial struggle


Pitt wanted all of North America east of the Mississippi for Great
Britain – he got it
o
23

He received support of American colonial leaders – who were
finally happy to defeat French neighbors

o
Military leadership was corrupt, military & political leaders in
Canada couldn’t get along, & France could not supply its North
American forces
o
1759, on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City, British army under
James Wolfe defeated the French led by Louis Joseph de Montcalm

French Empire in Canada was ending

o
Income from sale of stolen sugar there helped finance Britain’s
war
o

In India, British forces under Robert Clive defeated France’s Indian
allies 1757 (Battle of Plassey)
o

Britain had achieved a worldwide military victory
The Treaty of Paris of 1763

o
George III & Pitt had fought over policy & Pitt quit

His replacement was the Earl of Bute – responsible for
peace settlement



Britain returned some lands to India & sugar islands
to French
Seven Years’ War was a huge conflict
o
Tens of thousands of soldiers and sailors had died in war
o
24

Prussia gained Silesia from Austria & permanently weakened
Holy Roman Empire


Spanish empire was still going –

In India, British East India Company imposed its will on indigenous
governments

In North America, British had to start organizing its territories

Defeat in war convinced many French that political & administrative
reforms were needed

o
This need for money had huge consequences in British colonies of
North America
6. The American Revolution and Europe
Resistance to the Imperial Search for Revenue

After Treat of Paris, British government faced two imperial problems:
o
o
1.

National debt & domestic taxes had risen considerably

Since American colonies benefited from conflict, British felt it
was only fair to make colonies help pay for their protection and
administration

Included land along St. Lawrence River down to Mississippi River
(with French settlers & Native Americans)
2.

o
Attempted to produce more revenue from imports into colonies by
rigorous collection of a lower tax
o
Put tax on legal documents & other printed items (newspapers, etc.)


British considered these taxes legal – Parliament had approved them
25

Also considered them fair –

Americans responded by claiming only they could tax themselves & that they
were not represented in Parliament
o
Worried that if colonial government was funded from outside, they
would lose control of it
o
1765, Stamp Act Congress met & wrote a protest to the crown


Colonists agreed to refuse to import British goods

1766, Parliament repealed Stamp Act


Next ten years, Parliament would approve revenue or administrative laws
o
Americans would resist by reasoned argument, economic pressure, and
violence
o

With every protest, Americans developed their own thinking on
political liberty
The colonists complained about a lot of things that the British did to them or
didn’t let them do. Below is a list of several of the complaints. We will go over
them together. The Americans made these complaints to justify breaking away from
their country. In other words, they claimed the British were doing so many bad
things to the colonists that they had no choice – they had every right to rebel.
And that is exactly what they did.
1. “He has refused his Assent to Laws necessary for the public good.”
The King had rejected laws passed by colonists.
2. “He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly.”
Royal governors had fired colonial lawmakers for disobeying their orders or
protesting royal policies.
3. “He has erected a multitude of New Offices to harass our people.”
The royal government hired tax collectors to bother colonists.
4. “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies.”
The King had kept an army in the colonies after the French & Indian War
without the people’s permission.
26
5. “He has subjected us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution.”
The royal government forced colonists to follow British laws.
6. “For quartering armed troops among us.”
The King required the colonists to house British troops stationed in
America.
7. “For imposing taxes on us without our consent.”
Parliament passed tax laws without American approval.
8. “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.”
Virginia’s governor promised freedom to slaves who joined British forces.
Things like standing armies and law-making might have been important to the
colonists, but you could not care less about such things. So let’s find out
what you do care about.
Directions: We will think of a list of things we do not like about our lives and
our country today. Then we will figure out ways to fix those things. Come up with
at least ten things you want to change about our life in America. Then come up
with ten solutions to those problems. Finally, answer the question, “Are these
things worth rebelling over?” Worth 24 points.
Problem #1
Solution #1
Problem #2
Solution #2
Problem #3
Solution #3
Problem #4
Solution #4
27
Problem #5
Solution #5
Problem #6
Solution #6
Problem #7
Solution #7
Problem #8
Solution #8
Problem #9
Solution #9
Problem #10
Solution #10
Are these things so important to you that you would be willing to
participate in a revolution to change them? Explain.
28
The Crisis and Independence

1767, Charles Townshend (Chancellor of the Exchequer) led Parliament to pass
series of revenue acts relating to colonial imports
o
Colonists resisted
o
o
To protect them, British sent troops to Boston 1768

o

Parliament then repealed all of the Townshend Acts except the tax on
tea
1773, Parliament passed new law related to sale of tea in East India Company
o

It actually lowered price of tea – but kept the tax imposed on
colonists without their consent

In some cities, colonists refused to let the tea be unloaded


Lord North was determined to convince colonists that Parliament ruled over
them
o
1774, Parliament passed Intolerable Acts

Closed port of Boston


Allowed troops to be quartered in private homes

o
Same year, Quebec Act extended boundaries of Quebec to Ohio River
valley

Americans took this as an attempt to prevent their self-governing
from spreading west
29

During these years, citizens angry with British policies formed committees
of correspondence
o
o
1774, these committees set up First Continental Congress in
Philadelphia

o
Wanted to convince Parliament to restore self-government in
colonies
1775, Battles of Lexington & Concord took place
o


Colonial assemblies still kept meeting under their own authority
1775, Second Continental Congress met – governed the colonists now
o

That winter, Thomas Paine’s pamphlet – Common Sense – stimulated
public opinion to separate from Britain
o
Colonial army & navy were organized
o
1776, Continental Congress opened ports to trade with all nations
o

War of the American Revolution continued until 1781, when forces
led by George Washington defeated those of Lord Cornwallis at
Yorktown

1778, however, the war widened into a European conflict
when Benjamin Franklin convinced French to support
colonists

1

1783, Treaty of Paris ended the war –
American Political Ideas

Political ideas of American colonists came from struggle between English
aristocrats & Stuart monarchs in 1600s
o
o
30


Colonists used a theory that was used to justify an aristocratic
rebellion to support their popular rebellion
These political ideas – mostly from John Locke – were only part of what
affected Americans
o
Colonists became familiar with British writers called Commonwealthmen
–

In Britain, these men were largely ignored (British felt they
were the freest people in world)

o
Following Treaty of Paris 1763, colonists believed the British were
out to take away their rights

Then King George III came to the throne
Events in Great Britain

George III believed few powerful Whig families bullied the two previous
kings
o

1761-1770, George tried one minister after another to gain
control of House of Commons


1770, he turned to Lord North (who was king’s first minister
until 1782)

Many in England believed George was a tyrant
o
What they meant was George was trying to end the power
of a particular group of the aristocracy

The Challenge of John Wilkes

o
Wilkes was a London political radical & member of Parliament
o
He published newspaper called The North Briton
31

In one issue, he criticized Lord Bute’s handling of peace
negotiations with France

Wilkes was then arrested (later released because of
membership in Parliament)


Wilkes then fled the country

Throughout this affair, Wilkes received widespread
support

o
But House of Commons refused to seat him
o
He was elected 3 more times


Again, Wilkes received widespread support from all classes


Wilkes was finally seated in 1774
Colonists followed these events & reports of King George III’s tyranny
o
This corrupt, bullying government – in eyes of colonists –

That same evil government sent troops to America, changed
government of Massachusetts, & undermined traditional right
of jury trial
Movement for Parliamentary Reform

o
British subjects at home had same representation in House of
Commons as colonists – none
o
Both Americans & Wilkes were challenging power of monarch &
Parliament

32

The method proposed for changing the system was the extralegal Association Movement
The Yorkshire Association Movement

By end of 1770s, many in Britain hated management of American war,
high taxes, & Lord North
o

Property owners of Yorkshire met to demand moderate changes
in corrupt parliamentary elections



They set up similar groups elsewhere
This was popular attempt to set up extra-legal institution
to reform the government
Movement collapsed in 1780s because its supporters did not want to
appeal for broad popular support
o
o

Its younger members would live to raise issue of parliamentary
reform again in 1815
1780, Commons passed resolution that called for lessening the power of
the crown
o
o
1783, shifts in Parliament caused Lord North to form a ministry
with Charles James Fox (critic of king)

George III was not happy

o
Pitt received huge patronage support from crown during election
o
He then built a House of Commons that George could use
o

By 1780s, George had increased influence of monarchy over political
affairs
o
But it was short-lived
33

George’s mental illness required a regent to take over –
Broader Impact of the American Revolution

Americans demonstrated to Europe the possibility of government without
hereditary kings & nobles

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
34
17.
18.
19.
20.
35