The Colonies Come of Age

“…a familie is a little Church, and a little common-wealth, at least a lively representation thereof, whereby triall may be made of such as are fit for any place of authoritie, or of subjection in Church or commonwealth. Or rather it is as a schoole wherein the first principles and grounds of government and subjection are learned: whereby men are fitted to greater matters in Church or common-wealth.”

-William Gouge

Plantation Economy Arises in the South:

• Large self-sufficient farms

• Plantations specialized in raising single cash crops (tobacco, indigo, rice)

• Enslaves Africans were the backbone of southern plantations

Slaves on a Virginia plantation (The Old Plantation, c. 1790)

The Middle Passage:• During the 17th century, Africans

had become apart of the transatlantic trading network described as the triangular trade

• Triangular trade is a term that refers to the trading process in which goods and enslaved people were exchanged across the Atlantic Ocean

• The voyage that brought Africans to the West Indies and later to North America was known as the middle passage

Commercial goods from Europe were shipped to Africa for sale and traded for enslaved Africans. Africans were in turn brought to the regions depicted in blue, in what became known as the "Middle Passage". African slaves were thereafter traded for raw materials, which were returned to Europe to complete the "Triangular Trade".

Commerce Grows in the North:

• Development of thriving commercial cities and diverse economic activities

• The expansion of trade caused port cities in the North to Grow

• Northern colonies attracted a variety of immigrants that began to swell their numbers

Boston in 1772

European Ideas Inspire the Colonists:

• During the 1700’s, the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement that began in Europe, and the Great Awakening, a colonial religious movement, influenced people’s thinking throughout the thirteen colonies

• The Enlightenment was brought about by philosophers who valued reason and scientific methods

• Benjamin Franklin, a colonist, embraced the notion of obtaining truth through experimentation and reason

Franklin, in his fur hat, charmed the French with what they saw as rustic new world genius.

European Ideas Inspire continued…• The Great Awakening was

begun by later Puritans and were a series of revivals aimed at restoring the intensity and dedication of the early Puritan church

• Magna Carta: (1215) limited the power of the English King

• The English Bill of Rights (1639) limited the power of the monarch and parliament

John of England signs Magna Carta. Illustration from Cassell's History of England (1902)

British and French Possessions 1750

French and Indian War:

• A British and French conflict

• Rivalry between empires who wanted control of North America

• Britain defeats the French

Conference between the French and Indian leaders around a ceremonial fire.

Montcalm trying to stop allied Native Americans from attacking British soldiers and civilians as they leave after the Battle of Fort William Henry.