American History - Mid-Term Review Sheet.docx - American...

American History – Mid-Term Review Sheet
BRITISH BACKGROUNDS AND EARLY BEGINNINGS
Four Motives in Coming to the New World:
Trade Route to Asia
Natural Resources (Know some of these)
Stories of Gold and Treasure
Desire to Spread Christianity
The Motives of Columbus
 Not simply commercial/economic
 Europe is locked in Islamic organization- looking for Christianity
The Spanish Empire in the New World
Spanish Conquistadors:
1. Ponce de Leon and Florida
2. Vasce Nunez de Balboa & the Pacific
3. Cortez and the Aztecs
4. Coronado and Grand Canyon
Were Spanish missionaries successful?
 Explosive growth of Spanish missions. North American missions did not succeed- result in
rebellion/resentment
 Did not adapt to culture
The French Empire in the New World
French Explorers: Canada and Mississippi Valley
 Louis Joliet up Missippi valley
 Jaquez Cartier
Were French missionaries successful?
 More successful than Spanish missions
 Sensitive to culture
 Native Americans as allies
Early English Attempts at Colonization
Humphrey Gilbert & the Start of the British Empire
 Spurred on by the instigation of Richard Haklyt
 Claimed St. John’s, NL for England (1583)
 Is lost at sea
Walter Raleigh and the Roanoke Colony (1554-1618)
Raleigh’s character, conviction, and views:
 Gilbert’s half-brother is energetic, dashing, adventurous- the True American Spirit
 Wins over queen to fund the venture
 No strong religious convictions
Why did Roanoake fail?
 1
st
group 1586: In “Virginia” (Now NC) and is made up of men sent by private investors who
didn’t know how to farm or work the land as it needed to be done. Spent <1 year.
 2 nd group 1587: woman and children as well- resupply is delayed and when it arrives no one is
left

 Failure was due to:
o Hope for quick profits by investors
o Colonists with practical expertise was needed
o More grace and wisdom needed to have native realations
o Greater follow up needed
What happened to it in the end?
 Disappearance
The English Colony of Jamestown (1607)
The reasons it succeeded
 Strong leadership: John Smith
 Civil Law that enforced personal morality
 Religion/Family very significant
 Economic Reality: Socialist experiment failed- no incentive to work
 Self-Government (1619)
ESTABLISHING THE COLONIES
The Colonies and the Three Regions
SOUTHERN COLONIES (PLANTATIONS)
Virginia
Purposes:
 Building a British empire in the New World
 Gaining profit
 Spreading Christianity
John Smith:
 Excellent leader, reason they survived through second winter
 “If you do not work you do not eat”
John Rolfe and the Development of Tobacco:
 Made sweater strain of tobacco
 Exports of tobacco allowed imports of food
Representative Government & Slavery (1619)
 Birth of representative self-government and slavery – first place
Internal Tensions & Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)
 Not getting militia

Early Experiment with Collectivism in Jamestown
