Indentured Servants

Motives of European conquest to America- land, trade, missionary: A series of wars began between Christians and Muslims. They were fighting for control of the area of Southwest Asia called Palestine. This area contained Christian shrines and holy places. Land: each noble ruled a piece of land and hoped to rule more. Strong rulers were able to unify nearby lands.

Purpose of the American colonies in eyes of Europeans- Mercantilism: mercantilism is guided by economic principles. Governments held that a nationЎЇs power was directly related to itЎЇs wealth. But colonial merchants wanted to make money for themselves, not for Great Britain.

Purpose of the American colonies in eyes of Europeans- mercantilism: Great Britain and its American colonies struggled to balance conflicting interests. Guided by economic principles the government held that nationsЎЇ power was directly related to its wealth.

Spanish, French, Dutch Colonization- extent, motives, relations with natives, decline: Spanish- motives were land, trade, missionary which is power and wealth. Encomienda system was established in which nobility gets land with rights to use Indians as slave labor. Spanish decline was the destruction of Armada in 1588 and the colonies were gone by 1800ЎЇs. French- itЎЇs motives were land and trade. Extent was St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes, Canada, and Mississsippi River to New Orleans. Their main interest was the fur trade. ItЎЇs decline was the French and Indian War and France was out of America. Dutch- itЎЇs motives were land and trade. ITЎЇs extent was New Ntherlands. ItЎЇs relations with the Native American was copperation. Their decline was to threat to English profits which made the Dutch expel in 1664

English Colonization- motives- religious, political, economic power: After the defeat of Spanish Armada, English began to set up colonies in North America. They came for many reasons. Economic problems made them eager for new opportunities. In the lower classes, farmworkers and farmers were not making much money. Jamestown was the first English colony that survived, although it encountered many hardships along the way. Many settlers died from malaria or dysentery from contaminated water. Settlers spent more time looking for gold than food.

The Colonies- New England, Middle and Southern- economics, social and political: North- colonists in the north found that crops did not grow well in rocky, forested New England. So they practiced Ў°subsistence farmingЎ± which meant growing just enough food for one family. Good harbors, inexpensive ships, and a tradition of seafaring also encouraged the development of commerce in the northern colonies. They were part of the triangular trade which consisted of the trade routes that linked North America, the West Indies, Africa, and Great Britain. In Southern colonies, their economies were based on agrarianism, which means that they had many small farms and some large plantations. They produced valuable cash crops. They relied on plantation system and its valuable crops. Middle colonies: they had better land and a milder climate, so farmers had more success in that region.

Indentured Servants: agreed to work as servants for a certain # of years, in return for food, and a paid trip to America

Salutary Neglect- self-gov: when British officials were involved in colonial policy, they did not rule strictly. It was named Salutary Neglect which the colonies benefited by being left alone.

Role and influence of the enlightment ideas on colonist- natural law, ability to reason: the ideas of the Enlightment began in the educated upper classes of Europe but soon was spread

through Europ[ean continent. Through the Enlightment, the gov. protected the citizenЎЇs Ў°natural rightsЎ±. These rights were life, liberty, and property.

Enlightment Philosophers and influence on colonists-Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau: John Locke wrote Ў°Two Treatises of Gov.Ў± He said that it was govЎЇs duty to to protect the citizensЎЇ Ў°natural rightsЎ± He also said that in a civil society, people

Had a social contract with the gov. This contract said if the gov. didnЎЇt protect citizens and their rights, then they were justified in changing their gov. Another philosopher Baron de Montesquieu suggested that the powers of gov. should be divided and that it will guarantee liverty by keeping any person or group from gaining too much power. Volataire urged religious freedom and was bitter against Catholic Church. He believed that its insistence upon authority barred human progress. Rousseau emphasized the idea that the General Will- the rule of the majority- is supreme and that it was unlimited power. His idea was used by dictatorships to justify totalitarian rule.

Slavery in the colonies: Enslaved African Americans made up a large population