Middle Colonies and Lower South
(1670s – 1750)
Themes
• Middle Colonies: New York and Pennsylvania
• Colonies of the Lower South: South Carolina
and Georgia
• Your goals:
- Understand the early histories of these
colonies
- Describe slave life in the Lower South
The Middle Colonies
(New York)
New York
• New York was not founded by English
Colonists or French
• Founded by the Dutch
• Henry Hudson explored Hudson River in 1609
• Dutch traders established Fort Nassau in 1614
near Albany
• New Netherland was established in 1625 on
Manhattan Island
New York
(Dutch West India Fur Company)
• Dutch West India Fur
Company founded New
Netherland
• Fur trade was key to
regional economy
• “Patroonships” (large land
grants) were awarded to
individuals bringing 50
settlers to the colony
• Small group of elites
began to dominate the
area because of their
accumulated wealth
New York
• About 9,000 lived in New Netherland by 1660s
• Living space became a factor with English
colonies to the north and south of the area
• England saw Dutch as interlopers; tension grew
between powers
• King Charles II orders James, Duke of York, to kick
out Dutch from the area
• Gov. Peter Stuyvesant surrendered to English in
1664 without a shot fired
• New Netherland became known as New York
Dutch Legacy in New York
• Diverse Population:
- Dutch and English, German, French,
Scandinavian, African slaves
- Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims
• No organized places of worship for many years
• Dutch customs and Influence: Place names
such as Brooklyn and Harlem; painting Easter
eggs and making waffles
The Middle Colonies
(Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania
(Background)
• William Penn, and father Admiral Sir William
Penn were close to King Charles II
• To pay back the Penn family for remaining
loyal to the king, Charles II in 1681 granted
Penn a charter to establish a colony west of
the Delaware River
Pennsylvania
(William Penn)
• Two Goals:
1. Establish a haven for Quakers
2. Penn hoped to make money
- immigration to Pennsylvania was successful. By the
late 1680s over 8,000 traveled from Europe to the
colony
• Immigrants from England, Whales, Germany, Ireland,
Scotland
• Colony offered religious toleration
• Colony’s port (Philadelphia became one of the most
successful ports in the Colonies)
Pennsylvania
(Quakers)
• Quakers – Society of Friends
• Founded by George Fox in mid-1600s
• Faced persecution in England
• Everyone had an “inner light”
• Egalitarian:
- no clergy – body of people ordained for religious
duties
- Women were involved with church policy and
decision making
The Settlements of the Lower South
• Charles II granted land
south of Virginia to
supporters in 1663
• Region was named
Carolina
• Capital (Charleston) had a
very serviceable harbor
• In 1729 South and North
Carolina were officially
divided
Background
• South Carolina’s settlement began in 1670. 50
years after the Pilgrims landed Plymouth Colony
- Many came from colonies in the Caribbean
(Bahamas)
• During the first half of the 17th Century around
110,000 English migrated to the West Indies to
avoid persecution
• Many settled in Carolina because most of the
other land had already been taken
• South Carolina’s main crop: RICE
The Caribbean Colonies
The Caribbean Economy
• Sugar production was key to Caribbean
economy
• Industry was very labor intensive
• African slaves emerged as the dominant labor
force
• Black slaves outnumbered whites by a ratio of
4:1 by 1700
South Carolina and Labor
• Because Rice was a labor intensive crop,
settlers began looking for cheap labor
1. Native Americans – many ran away or fought
back
2. Indentured Servants – white servants; many
became sick and died
3. African Slaves
Why Switch from Servants to Slaves?
1. Even though they cost more money, slaves
were slaves for life
2. African slaves had a great deal of knowledge
of rice cultivation
3. Health reasons: Malaria and yellow fever
were deadly to Europeans
- Many Africans had natural immunities to these
diseases
Black Majority
• By 1710s, blacks outnumbered whites in
South Carolina
• A great resource for more information: Black
Majority, by Peter Wood
Slave Trade
• Up to about 10 million Africans were involved
in the slave trade
• 400,000 came to live in British North America
• Largest forced migration in human history
• Middle Passage: The voyage from Africa to
“New World”
African Origins of North American
Slaves, 1690 – 1807
African Slavery, Inland Trade
• Slavery was common in African long before Portuguese
trades became involved with the slave trade
• For centuries, slaves were often criminals or captives of
war between tribes
• Slavery was temporary in Africa however when British
traders became involved slavery was permanent
• Both foreign slave traders and African slave traders
played a major role in the slave trade
• African slave traders would march captured slaves to
the west coast where ships would take them to their
destination
Black Slavers in Africa
Slave Ship and Middle Passage
• Slaves ships were unsanitary and packed as
many African slaves as possible
• Slaves were seen as cargo not people
• Different shipping companies would compete
with one another to see which could pack in
more slaves; meant more profit
• Death Rate: 10%-20% through the Middle
Passage
Slave Ship and Middle Passage
Life under Slavery
• Conditions in South Carolina were unique:
- Culture shock
- Type of work often involved rice cultivation
- Blacks outnumbered whites
Life under Slavery
(Work Patterns: Lower South)
• Task System
1. Slaves were given a “task” each day; once
completed their work day was over
2. On a daily basis, slaves often did not work
closely with whites
3. Gave slaves time to raise the little crops that
they could
Life under Slavery
(Work Patterns: Chesapeake Bay)
• Gang System
1. Grouped by gender or age
2. Slaves worked in smaller groups
3. Whites were ever watchful of slaves
4. They often worked from sunrise to sunset
Life under Slavery
(Brutality)
• Slaves were bought and
sold like animals
• Worked long hours and
could be whipped for
no reason
• Lived in 1 room shacks
and dirt floors; ate corn
and salted pork
Life under Slavery
(Holding Onto African Heritage
• Blacks did not live close to whites
1. Children were given “African” names
2. Music reflected African origins
3. Gullah – A language made up of English and
African words
Life under Slavery
(Slave Resistance)
• Completely Submissive and Obedient – small
in number
• Completely Resistant – small in number
• Subtle Resistance – occurred quite often
(sometimes on a daily basis)
Life under Slavery
(Slave Resistance)
• Subtle Resistance:
- Breaking tools, faking illnesses, pretending
not to know English or how to use tools, etc.
- Escape for short periods of time. Slaves
majority of the time were brought back
because of the color of their skin and their
lack of knowledge of geography
Stono Rebellion
(Background)
• Whites always feared a major slave rebellion.
Remember slaves outnumbered whites in
most areas; in 1739 their fears came true
• Context:
- Yellow fever outbreak in Charlestown
- Hostilities between Spain and England
Stono Rebellion: Beginnings
(1739)
• Rebellion began on a September morning in 1739
• 20 slaves, led by a slave named Jimmy, broke into a
store
• Slaves cut off their heads and put them on display
• They traveled south, stopping at plantations along the
way, involving between 60 – 100 slaves
• Would kill slaver owners who treated their slaves bad
and spared owners who treated their slaves well
• They were on their way to Spanish Florida when local
militia stopped their advancement
Stono Rebellion
1. Militia surrounded the rebels and
slaughtered them
2. Twenty whites and over 100 slaves were
killed
3. Militia put their body parts on display
throughout the south, as a warning
• Largest slave rebellion of colonial era
Aftermath of the Stono Rebellion
• A new Slave Code was passed:
1. Slave patrols were expanded
2. Tighter security on slaves
3. Slave owners faced fines if they did not
control their slaves
Georgia: Background
• Georgia was founded in 1732 and named for
King George II
• Goal: A buffer between South Carolina and
Spanish Florida
Georgia: Goals
• A group of Trustees was charged with ruling the
colony for the first two decades
• One Trustee, James Oglethorpe, was key to the
colony’s early history
• They hoped the colony could serve as a haven for
English debtors who would choose to live in the
colony and work rather than go or stay in prison
• Slavery and alcohol were prohibited; landholdings
were limited to 500 acres
Georgia: Early History
• By 1740 nearly 3,000
colonists had arrived
• Many settlers came
from Germany,
Switzerland, England,
and Scotland
• Missionaries attempted
to spread Christianity
including John Wesley
who founded the
Methodist Church
Georgia: Early History
• Population remained small and early goals
were not reached
• The limits of landholding proved to be
impractical
• Changes were implemented and slavery was
legalized; conditions became similar to those
in South Carolina with the rise of a few elite
plantation owners who demanded slave labor
Review
• Middle Colonies (New York and Pennsylvania)
vs. Lower South (South Carolina and Georgia)
• Compare and contrast key events and people
who shaped the colonies
• Describe African slave trade and life under
slavery