The House of Burgesses (1619)

• A representative legislative assembly that was established in Virginia in 1619.
• The House of Burgesses comprised elected representatives, or burgesses, chosen by eligible voters in Virginia's settlements.
• They discussed and decided on colony issues providing colonists with a say in governance.
• the first elected legislative body of colonial Virginia
• Members of the House, known as burgesses, were the early politicians of America. The Houses' stand against the Stamp Act was one of the first events that eventually led to the Revolutionary War.

Mayflower Compact

Background

• The Pilgrims were aiming for Virginia but their ship, the Mayflower, went off course to Cape Cod.
• Pilgrims knew that New England was too far for their colonial charter to be valid
• They were also scared that non-Pilgrim passengers would challenge their authority

Main

• Before leaving the ship the pilgrim men signed a compact (agreement) in which they created a civil government and pledged loyalty to the king.
• The Mayflower Compact stated that the purpose of their government in America would be to frame “just and equal laws … for the general good of the colony. Laws approved by the majority would be binding on Pilgrims and non-Pilgrims alike.
• Document became a landmark of American democratic government

Roger Williams

• Dissenter (person who doesn’t agree with the rest) who challenged the social order upon which the colony (Virginia) was founded.
• Said that “forced religion stinks in the nostrils of God” in his sermon to his Salem congregation
• An extreme Separatists
• Had two controversial views

1. English settlers had no rightful claim to the land unless they bought it from the Natives.
2. Declared that government officials had no business in punishing settlers for their religious beliefs. Felt every person should be free to worship according to his or her conscience.

• His views got him arrested and returned to England
• Before this order he fled to Massachusetts
• He then went southward to the headwaters of Narragansett bay
• There he negotiated with the local tribe for land to set up a new colony which he called providence.
• Guaranteed separation of church and state and religious freedom

Anne Hutchinson

• Another dissenter
• Believed that worshipers needed neither the church nor its ministers to interpret the Bible for them.
• She ended up getting banished from the colony

King Philip’s War (1675)

• King Phillip, also known as Chief Metacom, disliked the restrictions the Puritans created.
• He organised his tribe and others to wipe out the invaders (the Puritans/Colonists).
• They attacked and burned outlying settlements throughout New England.
• War lasting over a year of mutual brutality and destruction,
• Ended with food shortages, disease, and many casualties that finished the Natives Americans resistance where they gradually surrendered or died.
• Casualties include Metacom who was killed by a Native American ally of the English by a bullet.
• This defeat removed Native American power in southeastern New England forever.

Salutary Neglect

Salutary—beneficial—neglect meant that England relaxed its enforcement of most regulations in return for the continued economic loyalty of the colonies. As long as raw materials continued flowing into the homeland and the colonists continued to buy English­ produced goods, Parliament did not supervise the colonies closely. That is, on paper, the Navigation Acts were a threat to the colonies. In practice, the laws were largely ignored as long as England was profiting from trade.

The Zenger Trial (1734)

• John Peter Zenger
• A German-American printer and journalists who published New York Weekly Journal
• He criticised colonial governor, William Cosby
• This led to him being charged with libel(a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation)
• He went to court where Zenger’s lawyer persuaded the jury that the articles could not be considered libel if they were true.
• The Jury returned a verdict of “not guilty”
• The Trial contributed to the development of freedom of the press
• Made journalists foster a more independent press
• Foundational role to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

Mercantilism

Mercantilism in American History

• Economic theory dominant in Europe from 16th to 18th centuries.
• Aimed at increasing a nation's wealth and power through regulated trade.
• mercantilist theory, any wealth flowing from the colonies to another nation came at the expense of the home country.

Colonial Role in Mercantilism:

• Colonies seen as sources of wealth, providing raw materials and markets.
• Economic benefits intended to flow back to the mother country.

Trade Restrictions:

• Navigation Acts imposed strict regulations on colonial trade.
• Required certain goods to be shipped on English vessels.
• Mandated that colonial imports and exports pass through England.

Economic Nationalism:

• Government intervention aimed at ensuring a favourable balance of trade.
• Promotion of domestic industries for the benefit of the state.

Colonial Economic Dependence:

• Colonies economically tied to the interests of the mother country.
• Raw materials sent to Britain for processing into finished goods.

Colonial Grievances and Tensions:

• Mercantilist policies led to colonial frustrations.
• Tensions grew over trade restrictions, taxation without representation.
• Contributed to the lead-up to the American Revolution.

Navigation Acts

No country could trade with

the colonies unless the

goods were shipped in either

colonial or English ships.

• All vessels had to be operated by crews that were at

least three-quarters English

or colonial.

• The colonies could export certain products only to England.
• Almost all goods traded

between the colonies and

Europe first had to pass

through an English port

The system created by the Navigation Acts benefited England and proved to be good for most colonists as well. Passing all foreign goods through England yielded jobs for English dockworkers and import taxes for the English treasury. Also, by restricting trade to English or colonial ships, the acts spurred a boom in the colonial shipbuilding industry

Stono Rebellion

Stono Rebellion Overview:

Slave rebellion in 1739 in South Carolina.

One of the largest and most significant slave uprisings in the American colonies.

Background and Causes:

• Rooted in harsh slave conditions, including brutal labour practices and restrictions on cultural practices.
• Influenced by the desire for freedom and fueled by knowledge of successful revolts in the Caribbean.

Key Events:

• September 9, 1739, around 20 slaves gathered near the Stono River.
• Seized weapons and killed two storekeepers, initiating a march southward.

March and Recruitment:

• As they marched, the group grew, recruiting more slaves.
• Displayed signs of resistance, such as carrying banners and chanting "Liberty."

Suppression and Aftermath:

• Local militias confronted the rebels, resulting in a battle.
• Many rebels were killed, and survivors captured, with severe consequences.

Impact on Slave Codes:

• The rebellion prompted stricter slave codes to prevent future uprisings.
• Restrictions on slave assembly, education, and movement intensified.

Historical Significance:

• Stono Rebellion highlighted the resistance of enslaved individuals against brutal conditions.
• Contributed to the shaping of slave laws and practices in the Southern colonies.