America in the British Empire
• Common traditions developed slowly
among the colonies due to diverse motives
for colonization and backgrounds
• But all colonies sought prosperity, political
and economic expansion, and a
reproduction of Old World civilization
• Initially, colonies dependent on mother
country – few questioned authority of the
crown
• But colonies became increasingly
independent due to distance from England
and inefficiency of English government
• Generally, the crown yielded local matters
to the colonies
• Assignment
Draw a diagram that shows the different
levels. duties, and powers of colonial
government starting with the crown
Be sure to address any differences among the
colonies
Pages 80-81
• Britain saw colonies as sources of raw
materials and markets for finished
goods
• To maximize these goals officials
developed economic policies later
called mercantilism
• Mercantilist goals
 Gold and silver – how much a
nation possessed determined its
wealth and power. If it could not be
mined it could be obtained through
guile and warfare
Favorable balance of trade- selling more
goods than buying. A trade deficit meant the
“export” of gold and silver
Of the English colonies those in the South
and Caribbean were valued for their
resources and those in the North as markets
The sugar imported from Barbados was worth
more than all the goods sent to England by
the mainland colonies
To sell goods internal production must be
stimulated
British protected home markets and
manufacturing through tariffs and subsidies
paid to British manufacturers
• Put into effect over period of half century
or more
• Acts were designed to
Bring in more gold and silver
Develop the imperial merchant fleet
Channel the flow of raw materials into Britain
Keep foreign goods and vessels out of
colonial ports
• System originated in 1650’s
in response to stiff economic
competition with Dutch
• Much of colonial business
between Europe and the
English colonies was
conducted by Dutch ships
• First slaves to Jamestown
came on Dutch ships
• Navigation Act of 1660
Reserved the entire colonial trade to English
ships
Captain and ¾ of crew had to be English
Enumerated articles (sugar, tobacco, cotton,
ginger, and dyes like indigo) could not be
shipped, conveyed, or transported outside the
empire
• Three years later Parliament required all
goods going to the colonies first had to
pass through England
• Enumerated articles grew to include rice,
molasses, naval stores, furs, and copper
• Colonies were NOT seen as entities to
exploit but as part of a larger economic
unit
• Restrictions were placed on colonial
manufacturing
 Wool Act 1699- prohibited the export of colonial
woolen cloth
 1732- hat making prohibited
 Iron Act of 1750
• Outlawed construction of new rolling and slitting mills
• By 1775 colonies turning out 1/7 of world supply
• Iron Act not intended to destroy iron industry but to steer it
into a direction better suited for Britain. Britain lifted all tariffs
on colonial pig and bar iron
• Colonists increasingly complained
of mercantilist policies – chronic
shortage of specie (Pine Tree
Shilling 1652)
• Colonial economy growing rapidly
– consumed more manufactured
products than it could pay for
• American “debt” actually British
investment in colonies
• Colonial products that had no market in
Britain (fish, wheat, corn) could move
freely to foreign ports
• Shipbuilding became big colonial business
• Though mercantilism was supposed to
treat mother country and colonies as
single economic unit when conflicts arose
the mother country always won
• As the American economy became more
complex – the colonies would experience
greater problems
• The restrictions of mercantilism were
lessened due to inefficiency of British
government
• Smuggling became a respected profession
and bribery of government officials
standard practice
• The Molasses Act of 1733 placed heavy duty on
molasses imported from Caribbean but duties
were rarely collected due to smuggling and
bribery
• Tobacco farmers suffered under mercantilism as
farmers could not trade excess crops to other
Europeans
• Generally, both Britain and the colonies
prospered under mercantilism
• Policy of Salutary Neglect
• By 1750 the word American – identifying
the colonies – entered the English
language
• Colonies were developing common
characteristics
• The Great Awakening the first major
common American experience
• Americans had drifted away from religious
fervor
George Whitefield
• 1740s- began in the Middle Colonies
as a result of religious events in
Europe including Methodism
• George Whitefield – exceptional orator
- began preaching tour throughout the
colonies
• Churches split into factions either
against or supporting preachers like
Whitefield – “old lights / old sides”
versus “new lights / new sides”
• Conflict resulted in founding of “new
side” colleges – Princeton, Brown,
Rutgers, and Dartmouth
• Most famous native-born
revivalist of the Great
Awakening
• “Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God”
• Fire and brimstone oratory
scared congregation – one
member committed suicide
• His harsh message caused his
dismissal from his church
Jonathan Edwards
• The Great Awakening ran its course
and was over by the 1750’s
• Although causing divisions within
churches it also helped foster
religious toleration
• It was the first truly national event in
American history
• New links were being formed
between colonies – Ben Franklin’s
Albany Plan proposed a colonial
union to deal with common problems
Benjamin Franklin
• Americans enthusiastic about the
Enlightenment and its ideas on
rationalism (the Age of Reason)
• Deism
• Philosophes such as John Locke,
Voltaire, and Montesquieu popular
in American colonies
• Religion became less important
and fewer college students
became ministers
John Locke
• 1727 Ben Franklin
founded the Junto – a
club for discussion of
moral, political, or
natural philosophy
• 1743 Franklin
established the
American Philosophical
Society
• Franklin and Jefferson
Bifocals and the Franklin stove
• Despite their isolation from
Europe, American colonies
impacted by European
conflicts
• Colonies also had local
conflicts over fisheries and fur
• Algonquin and Huron (France)
battled Iroquois (Dutch then
Britain) over fur trade
• Indians used by both sides to
attack settlements – civilian
casualties high
• Taxes rose to raise funds
to fight the Indians
causing inflation
• War of the Austrian
Succession (King
George’s War) –
American capture of
Louisbourg
• Wars caused longstanding hatreds between
French and American
colonies
• Expansion of English colonial fur
trade into traditional French sphere
of influence and expanding land
claims of Virginia sparked conflict
• French attacked colonial forts in
their “territory” and set up string of
barrier forts
• Virginia Governor Dinwiddie sent
representative, 21-year old George
Washington, to warn off French
George Washington
• Negative French response caused
Washington (promoted to LTC) to be sent
back with 150 militia to seize what is now
Pittsburgh
• French already occupied area and
constructing Fort Duquesne
• Small skirmish won by Washington but
superior French forces caused his retreat
• Washington constructed
crude defensive position –
Fort Necessity – and
eventually forced to
surrender
• Washington “tricked” into
signing confession of
assassination - he and his
men allowed to return to
Virginia
• First shots of French and
Indian War (Seven Years
War)
Fort Necessity
• French outnumbered but better organized
also most Indians on French side (why?)
• British suffered many defeats
• Ambush of British under Braddock –
British hoped to take Fort Duquesne –
actions of Washington
• Indian attacks on frontier fearsome
• British fortunes changed when King
George II forced to allow William Pitt as
Prime Minister
• Pitt used the navy to dry up French
supplies and reinforcements
• Pitt promoted officers based on ability not
birth
• Fort Duquesne captured and named after
Pitt (Pittsburgh)
• Quebec captured by General Wolfe
• After fall of Montreal in 1760, French
abandoned Canada to British
• British also won battles against French in
Caribbean and India and against Spain in
Cuba and Philippines
• 1763 treaty brought territorial changes
• Britain received all of Canada and territory
east of Mississippi
• Spain ceded Florida to Britain
• In a separate treaty, Spain gained New
Orleans and North America west of the
Mississippi
• War won with British troops and British
gold
• American militia helped in some cases but
were generally poor fighters and refused
to fight far from home
• American colonies were stingy in
supplying the British war effort
• American colonies praised king and
country
• The now much larger British Empire would
cost more to maintain (five times as much
as before 1763) – Britain’s debt also
doubled to pay for war
• Americans were eager to expand into new
western territories – insatiable hunger for
land
• Rival claims for land made by colonies –
tensions bordered on near civil war
• Only Britain could settle disputes – any
cooperation (Franklin’s Albany Plan)
rejected
• British government (now under George III)
inept
• Americans versus British – resentments
on both sides
• American colonies prospering and growing
• End of British policy of Salutary
Neglect
• Conflict with Indians due to
economic and territorial expansion
• How did end of war impact
Indians?
 How did Indians use conflict between
French and British?
 How did French loss of Canada
impact lives of Indians?
• Pontiac’s Rebellion
 British soldiers
manned western forts
– protect both Indians
and settlers
 No settlers to cross
the Appalachians
 Purchase of Indian
land was forbidden
 Three new colonies
established: Quebec,
East and West Florida
• Assignment
 Page 97 to end of chapter
 Create a chart showing the events leading up to the
American Revolution. The three topics to research
are
• The Crown’s View – what did the King’s government want to
accomplish?
• The Colonial View – what was the colonial reaction to the
event?
• Results – what happened as a result of the event? How did it
bring the government and colonies closer to war?
Event
Proclamation of
1763
The Sugar Act 1764
The Stamp Act 1765
The Quartering Act
The Declaratory Act
1766
The Townshend
Acts 1767
The Boston
Massacre
The Gaspee Incident
The Tea Act 1773
The Coercive Acts
1774
The Crown’s View
The Colonial View
Results
• People and Things
Lord Grenville
Patrick Henry, Sam and John Adams
Sons of Liberty
Circular Letter
East India Company
Boston Tea Party
Lord North
First Continental Congress