American Colonies- Prelude to Revolutions

Nadya Dooley12/10/10

Revolutions- Pirates

• By 1700, pirates were liabilities to a successful empire• Piracy had its own counterculture. It allowed pirates to

strike at merchant ships who had harsh discipline policies and low pay

• Pirates motos were “A merry life and a short one”• The pirates were equal risk-sharing and loot dividing

partners• Between 1716 and 1726, about 500 pirates were

executed• By 1730, pirates were virtually extinct

The Atlantic- Trade

• In the 18th century, trade became complexIn the 18th century, trade became complex• The southern European trade shifted prosperity within The southern European trade shifted prosperity within

the coloniesthe colonies• The New English started to import and export wheat The New English started to import and export wheat

which caused the Chesapeake planters started producing which caused the Chesapeake planters started producing less tobacco and more wheatless tobacco and more wheat

• The improved flow of information and more complex The improved flow of information and more complex patterns of commerce boosted economic growth in the patterns of commerce boosted economic growth in the coloniescolonies

• The relatively large farms and fertile soil allowed The relatively large farms and fertile soil allowed colonists to raise or purchase cheaply: grains, colonists to raise or purchase cheaply: grains, vegetables, milk and meatvegetables, milk and meat

The Atlantic- Poverty

• In the mid 1700s, poverty grew among the urban seaports- especially in the winter when employment shrank

• It only got worse in 1763 when emigration surged from Europe

• Compared to the beggars of London, the tenants lived in abundance

• Frontier settlement was no better- only about half the frontier families paid off their debts before death passed the burden along

Awakenings- Revivals

• Revivals were the process of conversion that transformed sinners into saints

• To stimulate revivals, ministers preached “soul searching” sermons to shock their listeners into realizing their impending doom

• But in 1735, the revivals ground to a halt after the shocking suicide of Joseph Hawley

• He cut his throat, longing for, but despairing of, salvation

The Great Plains- Villagers and Nomads

• The Great Plains is an immense, windy and arid grassland• Until about 800 A.D it belonged to many small groups of

hunter-gatherers• The villagers were ethnically and linguistically diverse• The nomads came down from the Rocky Mountains• Unlike the villagers, who lived in permanent, substantial

and prosperous villages, the nomads lived year round in many small and mobile camps with few possessions

• They all worked together to hunt and gather. If hunting was bad, they had to eat their dogs

• Some nomads started to plant corn, beans and squash

The Great Plains- Horses and Guns

• The horse, once extinct in North America, returned in the 16th century

• The horses offered further, faster travel and were better than the buffalo in many ways. In emergencies, they could be used as food sources

• During the 18th century, the great plains people also obtained firearms. They were used to defend villages and to raid their enemies

Chapter 19- Islands

• The Pacific Ocean was hard to reach from Europe and unexplored for a long time

• During the 1760s, British and French governments became serious about probing it

• It became a race to see who could explore it fastest

Chapter 19- Nootka

• Captain Cook discovered an elaborate native culture in the Pacific northwest

• The raincoast natives had their own language and many elaborate taboos and rituals.

• They worked the most in the late spring where they caught enough fish to last the winter months

• They had enough time to compete for prestige. The victors had many slaves

• Nootka is an inlet of the west coast of Vancouver Island