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CHAPTER 2: The Pattern of Empire
16, 17, 18th centuries, every European gov’t used mercantilism, 1776, word coined by Adam Smith
Mercantilism
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Mercantilism: state directed all economic activities within its borders, putting public good before private profit
England wanted in America: market for its woolen cloth, etc, a source of supply for raw materials (Richard
Hakluyt’s prediction)  colonies bought manufactures from England, England bought raw materials from
colonies (compatible interests)
 Colonies occasionally sold products to other countries…English gov’t still controlled all economic activities
England’s Imperial Delay
 England’s series of obstacles that delayed the development of a consistent and continuous colonial policy:
 1. Unenforced regulations (1621, all Virginia tobacco to go to England, and others)
 2. Long distance of 3,000 miles of ocean = many lost messages, orders, interest
 3. Politics in England, struggle between king and Parliament
 1630’s, Charles I ruled without Parliament  1640, needed to call Parliament to pay his bills
 1642, Parliament members raised army against Charles I  1649, cut of his head  11 years of no
king, instead, from 1649-1658, Oliver Cromwell ruled
 1660, Charles II succeeded the throne, worked with Parliament  James II (Charles II’s brother and
successor), however, did not work with Parliament and in 3 years, 1685, he had to flee England
 Revolution of 1688, Parliament replaced James II with William and Mary  understanding that the
king is subordinate to Parliament
 12/13 of the colonies were formed before 1688, under the authority of the king  Parliament’s
involvement in the colonies were ambiguous, it occasionally passed legislation affecting the colonies
 1633, Charles I (ruling without Parliament) appointed Archbishop Laud to govern the colonies
 1640’s English civil wars, Parliament and king claimed authority over colonies
 Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan, was first English ruler to think seriously about the colonies:
 1650-51, secured legislation to keep foreign shipping out of the colonies (which eventually led to war with
the Dutch)
 Planned an expansion to the Caribbean and tried to persuade New Englanders to move to the West Indies
(Cromwell only captured Jamaica and New Englanders were not moved to go to the Caribbean)
The Navigation Acts
 By 1660, colonies had garnered attention…they were exporting 7+ million pounds of tobacco annually (most
never reached England), merchants and ships were known internationally
 In attempt to exclude foreign shipping and to make colonial trade most profitable for England, the king and
Parliament worked together to make the Navigation Acts (1660, 1663):
 1. Forbade all trade with colonies except in ships owned and constructed there or in England, manned by
crews that were at least 3/4 colonial or English
 2. Forbade transportation (sugar, cotton, indigo, dyewoods, ginger, tobacco, later rice (1704), naval stores
(1705), copper and furs (1721)) from colonies to anywhere except England or another English colony
 3. Forbade transportation of European and Asiatic good to the colonies from anywhere except England
 From Navigation Acts came several similar acts: Wool Act (1699), Hat Act (1732), Iron Act (1750)
 Navigation Acts were charged as serving private interests, dictated by merchants at expense of the
community…also aimed at increasing the revenue of the English gov’t, from duties on imports
The Dutch
 17th century, Dutch were main threat to England’s mercantilist empire: had built the largest merchant fleet, took
over most of the Portuguese empire in the East Indies, opened trade with Japan, raided Spanish treasure fleets,
controlled much of lumber trade, fishermen dominated the North Sea, caused an English woolens industry
depression after boycotting English cloth, produced brilliant artists
 Chose the Hudson River area as their trading post in North America, strategically and economically important
 Was the easiest route through the Appalachian Mountains, Mississippi Valley, Mohawk River Valley
 Principal outlet of the fur trade south of the St. Lawrence
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 Great position where the Dutch could strike for control for the inner continent if they wanted
Charles II enforced the Navigation Acts and took care of the Dutch in North America by making the region a
gift to his brother James, the Duke of York
 Charles II assigned four commissioners, four frigates, and 400 men to the “gift”
 At that time, the Dutch settlers had been ruled by inept governors  the colony surrendered without
resistance and the commissioners took possession of the region from Maryland to Connecticut
Dutch in Holland declared war on England and violated the Navigation Acts
The Restoration Colonies
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Colonies founded in the 2nd half of the 17th century were propriety colonies (like Maryland), governed and
owned by proprietors hoping to grow rich from their lands (fees, quitrents)
 Few of the settlers came England, some were already there as Dutch, Swedish settlers, more came from
Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Germany, America
New York
 Merchants of New Amsterdam (New York City) had flourishing overseas business
 Kiliaen van Rensselaer founded a successful patroonship, an agricultural settlement
 Dutch West India Company governed by a director-general (no popular assembly), all were pretty incompetent
 1633-38, Wouter van Twiller, 1638-47, Willem Kieft, 1647-64 Peter Stuyvesant (surrendered to English)
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After Stuyvesant’s surrender, the Duke of York was given full authority to govern  he appointed a governor
 American Dutch were not happy about English rule and in 1673, welcomed their country’s reconquest of New
York  1674, Dutch gave it back to the English when they made peace  American Dutch submitted
peacefully to the Duke of York’s governors: 1664-68, Richard Nicolls, 1668-73 Francis Lovelace, 1674-81
Edmund Andros, 1683-88 Thomas Dongan
 Long Island New Englanders were also unhappy towards the gov’t (taxation without representation)  Duke’s
Laws, set of special laws to try to please the New Englanders
 1683, Duke of York granted the 1st representative assembly with 18 representatives elected from various areas
 Passed a Charter of Liberties stating that all inhabitants had the right to all traditional English political and
civil liberties, like trial by jury and representative gov’t
 Duke of York repudiated this charter after New York transformed from a proprietary to a royal colony by
his succession to the throne as King James II
New Jersey
 James transferred this area to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret  comedy of errors
 New York governor, Richard Nicolls, did not know that James had transferred this area so he granted the
New Jersey lands to some Long Island New England Puritans who had agreed to pay quitrents to James
 Berkeley and Carteret also offered this land to New Haven Puritans who had agreed to pay quitrents
 James had only granted Berkeley and Carteret property rights but they held a representative assembly and
appointed a governor, not to the objection of James and Charles II but to the New Englanders
 New Englanders held their own assembly and rejected the gov’t
 1674, Berkeley and Carteret divided the province in two, both of which were eventually sold to Quakers
 Both groups of Puritans lived in the eastern half and were angered that the proprietors were Quakers
 They protested until 1702, East and West New Jersey were united as a royal colony with a single
representative assembly where the proprietors had only property rights
The Carolinas
 Sir John Colleton, Sir William Berkeley (John’s brother), the governor of Virginia, and a handful of powerful
men asked the king for the region of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia
 Colleton wanted the territory after realizing that many of the settlers in Barbados, after an earlier exodus
from England, were being pushed off their farms as large plantations grew
 Sit W. Berkeley wanted the territory as he realized that many Virginians were ready to expand down the
coast after occupying much of their own tidewater land
 Albemarle Sound region: 1664, governor elected, June 1665 popularly elected assembly met  by end of 17th
century, North Carolina had a population of 4,000-5,000 that farmed and grew tobacco
 Cape Fear River region: 1st successful settlement was sponsored by Anthony Ashley Cooper  1669, settlers
came from Barbados and other islands, eventually located themselves at the Charles Town (Charleston)
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Fundamental Constitution of Carolina (aristocratic and democratic) were drafted by John Locke, based on the
works of James Harrington
 Structure of gov’t should match the distribution of property among the governed
 People given 3/5 property (annual quitrent), the rest was for hereditary nobility
 Gov’t: governor, legislature with upper house representing the nobility and the sole right to initiate
legislation, lower house representing the commoners
 South Carolina: end of 17th century had a population of 10,000…rice was most valuable export (slaves)1700,
Fundamental Constitutions were dead (lower house initiated legislature, impatient of restrictions), propriety rule
was failing
 1719, Charles Town rebellion overthrew the last proprietary governor  provisional royal gov’t
 1729, proprietors surrendered their charter  North, South Carolina both got royal gov’ts, governor, king
appointed king, landowner elected assembly
William Penn’s Holy Experiment
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Quakers: believed in the Inner Light (conscience) and that if you lived by it, you would be saved, humility is a
virtue and avoided all acts with pride, refused to make war, refused to give or take oaths  influenced Penn
Penn fought for Quakerism, for religious freedom, and for all English subjects to run their own gov’t
Charles II owed Penn’s deceased father 16,000 franks, Penn in turn asked the king for land across the Delaware
 king agreed and named the land Pennsylvania after Penn’s father
March 1681, charter issued that in Pennsylvania, Penn needed to enforce Navigation Acts, submit laws to the
king for approval, allow appeals to the king , provide an Anglican minister if 20+ colonists asked, obtain
approval of freeholders for any laws he imposed…otherwise, Penn had all governing control
Holy experiment:
 Wanted to demonstrate the virtues of Quakerism and of political and religious liberty
 Allowed people to shape their own laws although he was governor (deputy substituted)
 Legislative power belonged to a freeholders elected council (more successful people, sole right to initiate
legislation, more powerful) and assembly (commoners)
Pennsylvania attracted English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, German Quakers, and many non-Quakers  end of 17th
century, population was 20,000
1760’s, dispute between Penn and Lord Baltimore about the southern border settled by the Mason-Dixon line
Pennsylvania had religious peace, economic prosperity, and political quarrels
 Assembly acted as though its lack of the right to initiate legislation was a denial of rights  joined with the
council and attacked the governors (Blackwell, Penn often sent inept governors)
After fall of James II, Penn’s province was taken from him in 1692-94, during which time a royal gov’t gave the
assembly the right to initiate legislation  when Penn recovered the colony the assembly wanted more powers
 Penn told them to establish their own gov’t, 1701, Charter of Privileges
 Eliminated legislative authority of council, gave proprietor with only ownership of ungranted land and
veto power over legislation  Pennsylvania 1st colony with a unicameral legislature
 Gave Newcastle, Sussex, Kent (later Delaware) counties separate representative assembly, same
governor as Pennsylvania
1701, Penn returned to England and landed in debtor’s prison where no Pennsylvanian quitrents arrived to set
him free  died in 1718
Problems of Enforcement
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England only exercised any voice in colonial gov’t in Virginia…1662, 1663 Charles II passed a royal charter to
Connecticut and Rhode Island authorizing the settlers to choose their own gov’t officers
 Assemblies, like Parliament, were not afraid of opposition, promising trouble
Recalcitrant Colonists
 New England lacked the raw materials that England wanted  went into the business of distributing what the
rest of the world produced, this illegal trade offered greater profits because they could undersell competitors
 New England Puritans’ economic interest often coincided with religious interest, looked with suspicion onto
Charles II’s (a notorious non-Puritan) gov’t
 When Charles II came to throne, the Puritans reminded him that they had the royal charter of Massachusetts
provided by Charles I  1662, Charles II sent a letter, that was ignored, commanding revisions that the charter
state that all laws conform to those of England  1664, sent commission of four to investigate New England
 Commissioners made a discovery in New England: England could govern everyone better than the English
 Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Plymouth treated them well, in hopes of enlarging their boundaries;
Boston, however, ignored their authority and forbade anyone to appear before the commissioners
 Commissioners went back to England and reported to Charles II that the Massachusetts gov’t was not
enforcing the Navigation Acts and that he should revoke the Massachusetts charter
 Charles II tried to declare the charter void by proving the Massachusetts had laws conflicting England’s
 Asked for Massachusetts (General Court) to send agents to account for its behavior, however, no agents
were sent as they tried to avoid a showdown so they could keep their religion laws
 For a decade, Massachusetts got away with it and grew more powerful and prosperous
 1673, Parliament passed an act to make smuggling less profitable by taxing (plantations duties) on enumerated
commodities shipped to anywhere but England  less able to undersell competitors but did not stop smuggling
 New England evaded this act the most, other colonies complained that Massachusetts undermined their
own attempts to enforce the Navigation Acts
 Charles II failed to act against Massachusetts, lack of administrative body devoted just to the colonies
1675, Lords of Trade (Privy Council) decided that king needed to take a hand in governing the colonies
 Massachusetts had extended its boundaries into New Hampshire and after complaints from Robert Mason,
Charles II took New Hampshire from it and gave it a royal gov’t, Massachusetts almost lost Maine, too
 Renewed the order for the General Court to sent agents, they were, however, purposely inadequate
 Lords insisted that the Navigation Acts be enforced and sent Edward Randolph to see it enforced
 General Court imprisoned Randolph’s deputies  Lords demanded again for the Court to send agents,
who were also inadequate  1684, Massachusetts charter revoked
 1685, Duke of York became King James II
The Dominion of New England
 James becoming king, New York becoming a royal colony, Massachusetts charter revoked  Lords could
begin their scheme for reconstruction of the American empire from New Jersey northward
 Dominion of New England: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Plymouth, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, and Maine into one area with one governor and no troublesome representative assembly
 Governor would be helped by a king appointed council
 Boston, men talked of resistance, however, they had much to lose so they dissolved their General Court and
submitted to the king appointed council
 1686, Sir Edmund Andros, a blunt, outspoken man, arrived to establish the Dominion of New England 
Rhode Island, Conneticut, New York, New Jersey and dissolved each assembly
 Andros and the Lords decided that to establish imperial authority in New England, they had to break up the
Puritan leaders, who they mistakenly suspected to be a minority group from Randolph’s reports
 Andros separated the few enemies of the old gov’t, demanded taxes for the gov’t, told the inhabitants that
they had no rights when they objected to Andro’s ways, maintained that the Massachusetts Bay Company
had no authority to create corporations and thus all the land titles that they had given out were
invalid...anyone who wanted land had to ask for a new deed from the governor, pay a fee and quitrents
 Opposition to Andros came the Lords requirement of him to violate long-established rights without the support
of an army, police, or political party, to rule over people who had for 50 years ruled themselves
The Revolution of 1688
 To the happiness of Puritans, Catholic James II forced to flee, 1688, William of Orange and Mary come to
power
 Glorious Revolution of 1688 (so called because it was bloodless): Bostonians seized and imprisoned Andros
and his council after rumors surfaced that they were going to give New England to the pope
 Restored the old gov’t and sent Increase Mather (most eminent minister) to persuade William that the Dominion
of New England was part of James’s tyrannical policies and to give them back their charter
 In need of more time to investigate, William recalled Andros and allowed Massachusetts to temporarily go
on under its old gov’t but refused to restore the old charter
 Plymouth, Rhode Island, Connecticut got back their old gov’ts, New Jersey went back to anarchy
 New York: not so bloodless revolution…Andros’s lieutenant governor was Francis Nicholson, a man in an
anomalous position and scornful of popular rights, did nothing to quiet rumors of popish plots, left in 1689
 May 1689, Jacob Leisler led a party of local militia and took control of the government
 Meeting of delegates formed a committee of safety, named Leisler as commander in chief of the province
 William sent arbitrarily addressed letters for a continuation of gov’t and Leisler claimed them and used the
letters as his authorization, relied heavily on the militia to keep control in politically immature New York
 1691, King William finally got around and appointed a governor, when Leisler hesitated before giving up
authority to him, it was seen as treason and he and his son were hanged on May 16, 1691…a sentence later
reversed 4 years later
The Reorganization of 1696
 William was too busy defending England against France, new Privy Council members unfamiliar with colonial
problems, Lords of Trade were now in charge of broader functions  7 years of colonial neglect
 1696, Parliament constructed machinery to enforce Navigation Acts  all colonial gov’ts had to take an oath to
enforce the acts or result in forfeiture of office
 Regular customs service subject from the English Treasury was established in each colony who were
authorized “writs of assistance” from local courts, “warrants” to search a building for smuggled goods
 Violators were prosecuted in admiralty courts and expected to get unfair harsh punishment from the judges
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May 1696, Lords of Trade  Board of Trade (Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations) to furnish king
information and advice on all colonial matters
 Parliament and colonial settlers did not object to the introduction of royal governors to colonies that had not had
them before, relieved many internal problems
 Royal colonies: 1689, Maryland, 1702, New Jersey, 1729, South and North Carolina…1691, Massachusetts got
a new charter that Plymouth and Maine part of the colony  most colonies reverted to the king
 Royal gov’t, king gained more direct control
 King appointed governor and governor’s council
 Governor’s council served as the upper house of the representative assemblies that retained a legislative
authority  council’s approval had to be met to pass an act of the lower house into law
 Acts passed by both houses could be veto by the governor, which in turned could be vetoed by the king
 Despite king’s power and royal theories, the elected lower house of the assembly was still the most powerful, it
could threaten to withhold taxes and often get its way against both the governor and king
The Old Colonial System
 Despite some difficulties in the 3 agencies used to enforce the Navigation Acts, the Board of Trade lent a
stability that nourished colonial trade
 Colonial merchants now found that even greater profits could be earned by legal trade to England, America, and
the rest of the world  profit of both England and the colonies  England most powerful nation in the world
The Contest for the Continent
 American population doubled every 25 years…came into conflict with other nationalities
Indian Warfare
 Indians were slow to realize that selling their land to England meant that they could not share the land 
English cut down the trees, drove out the game, and evicted the Indians, who were soon outnumbered
 Indians became dependent on white man for assistance in quarrels with other tribes, trade, etc
 1622, Powhatan Confederacy In Virginia massacred 347 settlers in a surprise attack  Virginian policy of
Indian extermination
 1637, Puritans led by John Mason broke the power of one of the most dangerous tribes, Pequots, set fire to their
main village and shot Indians as they tried to escape the fire
 1675, Wampanoag chief Metacomet (King Philip) waged war that lasted longer but ended in Indian defeat
Rivalry with France and Spain
 French, like the coureur Louis Jolliet with Jesuit Father Marquette, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle traveled
the Mississippi after the French had taken an interest in interior North America
 1699, French possession of Louisiana by settling at Biloxi, then later Mobile…settlements in Illinois, St.
Lawrence and Mississippi
 French outdid English in Indian fur competition by befriending, intermarrying Indians, etc
 Louis XIV discouraged coureurs and rejected Radisson and Chouart’s idea for a northern fur trading company
by sea instead of land…wanted New France to be populated by farmers wanting settled lives, few were allowed
into the fur trade, used excommunication as a threat if farmers left their farm without permission  small
population of 50,000-60,000 by the middle of 18th century
 Canadian governors, like Count Frontenac (1672-98) ignored Louis XIV’s command to stop the coureurs and
used their friendship with the Indians in raids against English settlements
 1689-1713, continuous warfare between England and France (War of the League of Augsbury and Spanish
Succession, known also as King William and Queen Anne’s War)  settlers carried on their own warfare:
French and Indians raided Schenectady, Deerfield, Maine, New Englanders captured Port Royal (Nova Scotia)
 Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, gave England Nova Scotia (1,000 French farmers) and claim to Hudson Bay, gave
France Cape Breton Island (St. Lawrence)
 In the south, both sides had carried on their warfare mainly through Indians, South Carolina fur traders were
even better than the French at Indian diplomacy and gained allegiance of the Yamasee and most of the Creek
Confederacy tribes of the Southeast
 Pushed back Spanish in Florida and threatened French in Louisiana
 Creeks and Yamasee turned against their English allies, the loyalty of the Cherokee saved South Carolina
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Creeks and Yamasee move afterwards and as Spain threatened to reclaim the area they vacated, 1721, the
English planted Fort King George (Altamaha River) as a ineffective countermove  1732, English prepared to
move into the area deserted by the Indians to prevent Spain’s recovery of the land
The Founding of Georgia
 Georgia was formed in the exposed region of South Carolina as an expansion occurred as the English
population passed 1 million
 General James Oglethorpe envisioned a land for poor English debtors and paupers who lived in miserable
conditions
 After a 1732 royal charter gave Oglethorpe and friends authority as trustees of the new colony for 21 years
(after, the colony would revert to the king), they collected enough capital to get off to a strong start
 Settlers from Scotland, Germany, New England, England gathered up paupers to go with them to this area
described as a paradise like the Garden of Eden…each got 50 acres of land (500 if they paid their own
way), tools, and enough supplies for the first year
 Trustees, trying to bar sin, forbade rum to keep the rehabilitated colonists sober, slavery to keep them
industrious, land sales without their permission to ensure their livelihood
 1751, trustees gave in and allowed slavery and rum, 1752 turned over their fallen colony to the king, after
which it began to fill with Americans from other colonies, especially South Carolina (rice)
 1739-42, Oglethorpe tried to expand into Spanish Florida during the War of Jenkin’s Ear with English and
South Carolinian troops, accomplished nothing  Georgia never became a military stronghold
 European conflict broadened into the War of the Austrian Succession (King George’s War), the fighting
changed to the Northern colonies
 New Englanders under command of William Pepperell captured French fortress of Louisburg (Cape
Breton Island), England’s only real success during the war
 1748, even though the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle gave Louisburg back to France, both countries now realized
the importance of England’s American subjects
Population reached 1.5 million