Album of the American Colonies

Jordan Handel

History 140

Africans

Struggle & Slavery

Most every African that made it to America was aboard a slave ship and either worked as a personal servant or out in the fields usually on plantations where the crops were used for the European market. The commonality of the type of slavery one was in greatly depended on the region at which they were shipped to. Southern American included more plantation workers as Northern America was more urbanized so house slaves were more common.

Thomas Peters was very harshly treated on the slave ships over the Atlantic ocean, not only were the ships beyond overcrowded with little to no room to actually move, but they brutally tortured them as well. He spent 32 years of his 45 year life in slavery struggles but did make a name for himself as sergeant of the “Black Pioneers.”

On more of brighter side, Joseph Rachell led a much better life than usual black people by getting freed at the age of 10, and led his life as a successful Bridgetown merchant.

Spanish

Conflict of Conversion

In 1536, Spanish expansion led the first expedition to Florida. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led the second expedition from

Mexico to the Great Plains. The Soto Exploration introduced violence and disease that took a

major toll on the native population. There was often conflict between the Spansih and the natives for

many reasons but one of the major reasons was because of religion. As seen with Diego Vasicuio who was a Peruvian Indian Heathen man who faced punishment and trials for heresy for not converting to Catholicism. Throughout all the hardships that he endure he continued to try and keep his own religion and culture alive.

The Spanish did however convert many native in some instances trying to force assimilations by not allowing any food, prayer, or customs associated with their former religion.

Portuguese

Portuguese + Dutch = Independence of Portugal

In the early and middle 17th century the Portuguese came into conflict with the Dutch because the Dutch had stolen their primary source of economy which were the export of sugar from America as well as the transportation of slaves from West Africa.

In 1637 the Dutch had taken Elmina Castle which was the main trading post of West Africa.

With doing so the Portuguese lost confidence in their Spanish king and rebelled against him. In doing so they received their independence from Spain in 1640.

French

Establishment in North America In 1627, after almost 20 years after the colonization of Canada by

France, Quebec still had only 85 French colonists residing there, and they quickly realized that they need to get more people over there before the English take over their land.

in 1632 when a peace treaty was signed and the Seigneurial system of New France was established which was a system of land distribution used in New France and the Northern American colonies.

By 1675, seventy of these seigneuries divided the land between Quebec and Montreal which then cause the population to increase in New France from 700 colonists in 1650 to 3,000 in 1663.

They founded Louisiana as a colony in the later part of the 17th century. Louisiana became the biggest rival for British Carolina when the Spanish power diminished in Florida.

Dutch

Presence Known The Dutch colony around the Hudson River was conjoined with New

Netherlands and adopted a sense of religious tolerance in this area which cause this land to become a melting pot society actually making the Dutch a minority in their own region.

Fort Nassau was established in 1614 and produced a year-around presence of trade on the upper Hudson and served as the colony’s largest town, major seaport, and main government headquarters.

Because of their growing strength the English and the Dutch became bitter rivals and To combat Dutch success in naval power, the English developed the Navigation Acts.

The Dutch then went to war with the English because of these navigation acts for without them they couldn’t trade with English colonies and their economy would suffer. Being far in-superior the Dutch were force to sign a peace treaty with the English because their war efforts could not compete with those of England’s.

English

New World There was a saying that “The sun never set on English colonies,” meaning that

their land was so vast that the sunlight was always hitting one of them at any given time.

During the 17th century the population of England was mainly in two areas along the Atlantic seaboard: the Chesapeake to the south and New England to the north.

The crown did not have much money of its own so Instead the crown entrusted early colonization to private interests licensed by royal charters, which awarded the proprietors both title to colonial land and the right to govern the colonists.

Their new colonization of America at the sight of Jamestown started with tragedy as they were subjected to disease, starvation, Indian resistance, and poisoning resulting in the death of many.

Plymouth, however, resulted in much more success set up by the Puritans who were escaping religious persecution.

English Quakers were those who colonized West Jersey, while East Jersey became multiethnic. The new colonies of New Jersey and Pennsylvania were the compound of region’s ethnic and linguistic diversity created which attracted more non-English emigrants.

There were over 5 million emigrants who made the trek across the Atlantic as opposed to the only 1.5 million Dutch. This is because the Dutch economy was booming compared to England’s so there was much less reason to leave.

Native Americans

First Colonization of the New Land. The period between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago was an ideal

time for a crossing into North America, because the global climate was slowly warming and the glaciers were gradually melting, sufficiently so to permit an easier passage into the continent but not enough to where the Bering Strait was impassible.

The original people who crossed into Alaska from Asia had no idea that they were crossing over into a new continent and that the ice they were traveling on was a bridge formed over the Pacific Ocean. Once that bridge melted they were trapped but found it easier to travel southward and eastward.

Some Athabascan bands, who later became know at the Navajo and Apache, gradually worked their way down the Rocky Mountains, reaching the American southwest about 600 years ago.

This surge of colonization began over 5,000 years ago and reached Labrador and Greenland by about 2,500 years ago.

Sources

Sweet, David & Nash, Gary. Struggle & Survival in Colonial America.

Taylor, Alan. American Colonies: The Settling of North America.