Colonisation of America

Canada

•Initially both French and British Colonies in Canada

•1763 – France gave up all its territories to Britain including Quebec; retained fishing rights at Newfoundland

•1774 – British protected the civil and religious rights of the French through Quebec Act

•1867 – Confederation of Canada – beginning of gaining independence from the British Empire

•1931 – Statute of Westminster – Independence to Canada

•The Independence was for the Europeans, not for the Native Canadians.

American Revolution (1775-1783)

•1765 – 1783 – 13 colonies united to form United States of America

•Americans refused to pay tax to the British Crown

•Boston Tea Party – 16th Dec 1773 – Americans threw the tea sent by the English East India Company into the Sea – Led to the American Revolution

•France and Spain allies of Americans; Britain had no allies

•4th of July 1776 – Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson adopted forming the new nation of the United States of America

•Most Native Americans supported the British Crown in order to end the colonial settlement.

Colonial Economy of North America

•Difference between north and South Americas – north closer to Europe than South America

•Great plains helped production of low-cost crops for transport to Europe at high cost and import of cheap factory products from England – helped the settlers – later industrialization

•South America – shipping cost high, less export & import, farther from Europe – resources could be exploited by North America

•Result – north more prosperous and south exploited and poorer.

Decline in Native American population

•57 million in 1500; 5 million in 1750

•Quarter million on the east coast of north america in 1500; 14,697 in 1890 – 1st US census

•Causes –

•Epidemics – small pox, measles, influenza, typhoid

•War

•Enslavement

•Atrocities by the Europeans – rules such as chopping off hands of natives for not paying large amount of gold in taxes.

Economy of Settlers in North America

•Reasons for settlement – religious zeal & economy

•Exports from Canada to Europe – cod fish, fur and timber

•Imports from England – cloth, tools, crockery, books etc.

•Britain’s Navigation Act prevented the French and the Dutch from catering to the settlers’ needs.

Slavery in North America

•Shortage of labor in farms

•Dutch brought the 1st shipment of African slaves in 17th century – worked in cash crops e.g., cotton, tobacco

•Cheap labor, couldn't escape like the Native Americans, were immune to epidemics brought by Europeans

•Mostly popular in the Southern parts of North America.

Different Opinions on Slavery

•North – Africans inferior to Whites, but denounced Slavery

•South – Defended Slavery as benevolent to the Africans

•Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895) – Educated Black and an escaped-slave who wrote against Slavery

•William Lloyd Garrison – White Publisher who founded an anti-slavery newspaper in 1831 called The Liberator

•1857 – US Supreme Court ruled that slaves were sub-human property and had no citizenship rights

•Slave families could be sold away separately and whipping was common

•Slaves took leaves on illness, sabotaged machinery and escaped for short periods to avoid mistreatment.

Civil War (1860 - 1862)

•Abraham Lincoln was elected the 1st Republican President on Nov 6th, 1860 on anti-slavery platform

•Many states of the American Union began to secede from the Union against the Republican anti-slavery

•Many Union generals instituted abolitionist policy against slavery in the southern lands they conquered

•Many slaves escaped to the North

•22nd of September 1862 – Union army won against the rebellious states at Antietam and President Linoln passed the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

•1) All rebellious slaves who stayed away 100 days after 22nd September were to be set free; 2) Escaped slaves could join the army and were treated at parwith the White troops

•6th December 1865 – Slavery was abolished in the US.

Colonial Economy of South America

•Main zones – Caribbean – Brazil; Argentina-Chile-Uruguay; Mexico-Andes

•1580-1660 – Spain – Portugal united – introduced sugar in Brazil

•Dutch occupied a part of Brazil during 1630-1654 – from there took sugar plantation to Caribbean which was closer to Europe – price of sugar in Amsterdam dropped from 3/4th of Guilder to 1/4th of Guilder from 1589 – 1688

•Brazil shifted to gold (early 18th c), coffee (1840-1930), rubber (1879-1912) as it couldn't compete against Caribbean in Sugar exports

•Slaves from Africa replaced native Americans.

Slave Trade Routes &
Networks between Europe and the Americas

Argentina-Chile-Uruguay –

•Native population was wiped out by the Europeans by epidemic, war, exploitation such as chopping off hands, nose and ears and nailing to pillars

•These places were far from Europe and they could be exploited by the colonial Europe only in 19th c with improved ships

Mexico-Andes –

•Spanish destroyed the great cities of Aztecs and Incas, looted their gold and silver, burnt their temples and sacred texts, local religion was suppressed and catholic Christianity was imposed on them

•Native Americans were mistreated and used as slaves and subordinate tax payers

•Spanish exchanged looted gold and silver for silk from china and tea

•Wealth looted from Native America supported the renaissance in Europe – development in art and culture, science and technology, literature and education in Europe.