English Colonization
Overview
English Colonization
The English were very different than the Spanish, Portuguese, French, or the Dutch in their colonization methods. This was very important point. The English focused mostly on trade, with limited engagements with indigenous populations overall. The English also promoted self reliance and governments.
Learning Objectives
- Compare and contrast the differences of the English and the other colonizers.
- Analyze the differences between the English colonial systems of the East and West.
- Evaluate the role of indigenous, African, and Europeans in the English colonial system.
- Analyze the impact of the indentured servants on the English system.
Key Terms / Key Concepts
Jamestown: The first permanent English settlement in the Americas, established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607, and considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. It followed several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
Roanoke: Also known as the Lost Colony; a late 16th-century attempt by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement in the Americas. The colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh. The colonists disappeared during the Anglo-Spanish War, three years after the last shipment of supplies from England.
English
The English model of colonization brought key elements of the Spanish, French, and Dutch colonies together in one approach. The lateness of the English colonization meant that they were heavily influenced by the Spanish and provided a foil to the Spanish colonization. One of the critical components of the English colonization models is the lack of cohesion between the colonies. By not following a uniformed model of colonization, this would cause great difficulty and future rebellions between the English and their colonial worlds. The English seemed to be the most interested in both gaining territory and gaining money. The English approach to the North American colonies is one that is centered around hedonistic capitalism and religious freedoms. The English colonization in the Indian subcontinent is one that is also divided between the New World and the Indian Subcontinent, where the English divisions proved central to the ultimate division of the Mughal Empire and eventual British East Indies Company Raj.
During the first wave of colonization, the English were the last European country to begin to colonize. Partly due to the lack of resources and technology that other Europeans had, the English had a very difficult time to establish a colonial presence. The Treaty of Tordaellsias was another problem that the English colonists had to overcome. The treaty divided the world between the Spanish and the Portuguese, but left out the other European colonizers, and by having the word of the Pope, this meant that the English were not about to disobey the Christian Church to gain colonies. Early English explorers were divided in their approaches to colonization. Some of the early English focused their attention on the northern reaches of the world, attempting to find the mythical Northwest Passage. Explorers such as John Cabot, who explored the lands of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador near Canada. Cabot sailed in the late 15th century for the English king Henry VIII. The English established a colony on these islands but they were never successful, partially due to the political and economic turmoil in England during the Tutor Dynasty. The lack of resources from the Canadian coastline also made it difficult to ensure deeper connections to the English colonization and community.
Other English colonizers and settlers followed a different path, focusing instead on finding ways to integrate and take from the Spanish. Many of these colonizers were interested in attacking the Spanish and causing disruptions to the Spanish supply lines that were small but significant wounds for the Spanish to overcome. English sailors such as Sir Francis Drake, helped to wreak havoc on the Spanish supplies in Latin America. Sir Francis Drake was born in 1540 CE in England and grew up during the Elizabethan Era of England. Drake spent his early life around the sea and traveling for the English as a merchant and trader around the Northern Sea Ports in Europe. Recent historians note that some of Drake’s economic success rested upon slave trading in his early 20s. By venturing into African waters, Drake was provoking the Portuguese, who had a massive hold on the slave trade at the time. Drake’s antagonism of the Portuguese early on in his career would be the bedrock of his political and economic fortunes. From there, Drake began to attack the Spanish ships and their cargo. By raiding several of the Spanish ships, he began to amass a fortune of silver and gold leaving the New World. Drake became very well known in the Spanish and English worlds for different reasons. The Spanish became very upset by the constant raiding and destruction, while the English queen Elizabeth began to find favor in Drake and started having his seat at the English Court. This type of harassment of the Spanish was important for the English because it provided much needed funds that went to help the English to continue to grow and expand their colonial operations, and secondly, it provided key navigational and structural techniques on how to be better sailors. Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world proved to be very profitable, not only did he gain massive amounts of Peruvian gold and silver, but it demonstrated that the English were on their way to becoming a global empire. Upon his return to England, in 1581 CE, Drake was knighted by Elizabeth and his fortunes continued to grow. Queen Elizabeth relied on Drake to not only provide silver and gold to the English empire, but also to help fuel the English colonization. The antagonistic relationship that Elizabeth had with the Spanish King Phillip II, meant that Elizabeth publicly disavowed Drake, but secretly pushed him to continue his harassment of the Spanish. Ultimately this harassment led the Spanish to build an armada to attack and stop these attacks. Drake knew that the Spanish were building massive warships and his expertise from years of harassing the Spanish proved effective. Drake helped to design the English strategy of smaller ships that were lighter and easier to move in the water against the larger and bulkier Spanish ships. Drake’s strategy proved successful, for when the Spanish arrived and attempted to invade England, the English ships were able to repel and keep the Spanish from landing. The English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 CE was the turning point for the English naval policy. The English became the rulers of the sea with their superior ships and weapons. Drake was one of the key members of a group known as the Buccaneers, who were English pirates in the New World. Buccaneers created significant supply and critical shortages of Spanish silver and gold from the New World. This was a massive problem for the Spanish, that would eventually lead to their downfall as a colonial world power. Sir Francis Drake paved the way for other English explorers and settlers, as the English naval understandings grew, so too did the new desire for growing colonies in the New World.
One of the critical differences between the English and the Portuguese and Spanish was the English use of the joint-stock companies. In today’s world, the voyage to the New World would be equivalent to going to Mars. It is extremely dangerous, expensive, and hard to get to this location. If you were interested in going to Mars, think about the funds that you have currently, it probably be much more than one individual could fund. But, if you were able to talk to your friends and their families and demonstrate how it would benefit them when you and your company makes it to Mars, that you might get funds. You would need to write a receipt that demonstrated the money they give you is proportional to the amount that you need, but also they get a part of that profit. The super high risk is worth a super high reward. This approach today would be called a stock and is how many of the companies in the United States are financed, through buying and selling of stocks. In the 15th to 17th centuries, it was incredibly expensive to go to the New World. By offering stock options, companies took the incredible individual risk of the adventure from very high, then to spread throughout the stock holders and made this lower. The use of the joint-stock company would not only benefit the risk/profit of the voyage, but also it created a group of investors that became increasingly wealthy due to the spreading of the rewards reaped from the successful adventures. Overtime, the English removed the word joint, and these companies became simply stock companies. The Dutch had a similar investment type of colonization with the Dutch East Indies and West Indies Companies. These provided travel funds and lobbied for colonization and opening of markets. The British companies, on the other hand, were central for establishing colonization in the North American world.
The English exploration flourished following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 CE. New expeditions led by Sir Walter Raleigh to the New World would eventually pave the way for the first successful English colony. The changing North American political map was very important for the English to find a region that they could establish a colony. The Spanish dominated the South America and Florida, while the French had gained a colonial reign in the extreme northern region of North America. The English had to find the region between these two European powers to establish their own settlements. The English first attempt was in North Carolina’s Outer Banks region at the colony of Roanoke in 1585 CE. The colony failed for many reasons, including not enough English support and failures of political leadership to supply the colony with much needed resources and maintenance. The second attempt at colonization was at Jamestown, in 1607 CE. It is the Jamestown colony that demonstrates how fragmented the early English vision of colonization was. Many of the English future colonists read and discussed the tales and writings of the Spanish conquest. These future English colonists thought that there were many empires like the Aztec and Inca in the Americas, that if the English could establish a colony, they could put themselves at the top of an indigenous empire. The charter of the Jamestown colony puts forward that the goals of the colony were to, “give and take Order, to dig, mine, and search for all Manner of Mines of Gold, Silver, and Copper, as well within any Part of their said several Colonies…” One of the main reasons for establishing a colony of Jamestown was to gain as much mineral resources, such as gold and silver, as possible, meant that the majority of the population that were middle and upper class males that were interested in getting wealthy and powerful in the Americas.
English Colonial America: Differences of Plymouth and Jamestown
This mindset was one of the central problems that the future colonists of Jamestown had, because their interest in extracting wealth, meant that the Jamestown was not established for long term growth by having families or individuals who had practical farming skills. Hence, the year following the establishment of Jamestown, there was a prolonged period of starvation. The Jamestown colony was on the verge of failing until in 1611 CE.
Learning Objectives
- Analyze the impact of Jamestown on the English system.
- Evaluate the government and economics of Jamestown.
Key Terms / Key Concepts
Plymouth: An English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691, first surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and at its height, it occupied most of the southeastern portion of the modern state of Massachusetts.
Navigation Acts: A series of English laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between every country except England. They were first enacted in 1651, and were repealed nearly 200 years later in 1849. They reflected the policy of mercantilism, which sought to keep all the benefits of trade inside the empire, and minimize the loss of gold and silver to foreigners.
Tobacco revitalized the Jamestown colony by introducing a large cash crop that could easily be produced in the region and provided great wealth to growers. Tobacco was one of the key crops of the Colombian Exchange, where Once the settlers arrived in the Virginia area, they found there were indigenous peoples, but many of the English remarked that the American landscape was very empty and devoid of life. This is probably because of the disease that were introduced during the Spanish colonial period and had decimated the indigenous population. The other component is that the English were expecting to find large groups like the Spanish and there were none of these that were still left in the North American continent at the time of English arrival. The groups that the English did find, were local bands of Powhatans that were a part of the Algonquin indigenous groups. The Powhatans were friendly to the English and showed these settlers how to farm and grow local foods. The English, who were more interested in gold and expansion, thought that the local Powhatans would be the basis of their new English empire, wanted the indigenous populations to do the work to grow the food. This meant that the Powhatans quickly left the English after demonstrations of how to grow their own food. It is important to note, that the majority of the first English settlers were males, similar to the Spanish colonization model. The biggest difference in the Spanish and English colonial societies relationship with indigenous populations is that the English were not interested in starting families with the indigenous populations. There was a very distinct separation between the English and the indigenous populations. The English, on the other hand, were interested in expansion and this meant that the Powhatans had to defend their homes and ways of life if they were to survive against the English settlement. The English found that their luck of finding large empires of gold and silver were extremely limited and thus, they were beginning to run out of resources and scarcity of the winter set in in 1609-1610 CE. This winter saw limited food and individuals went as far as cannibalism and digging up the bodies of recently deceased for food. Of the nearly 500 people in Jamestown, only 61 were alive in the Spring of 1610 CE. The Jamestown colony struggled in the first few years seems like an understatement.
The introduction of tobacco was a major economic success and turned the fortunes of the English colony of Jamestown around. Tobacco was introduced in 1611 CE, by Sir Walter Raleigh. The English loved tobacco since it was introduced to Europe by the Spanish almost a century before. The English had many smokehouses throughout London and it was even seen as a nuance by King James I, who wrote about the harmful affects of the drug. By having tobacco grown in Virginia, meant that the English colonies could make massive profits and keep the money inside of the English economic system. This had such a dramatic effect when tobacco was successfully grown in Virginia, that much of the focus of the English were to find ways to build up the economics of the Virginia colonies. There is a great irony that the saving grace of the Jamestown colony was not food that could easily be consumed by the grower, after the Starving Time of Jamestown. The trade of goods for tobacco was the key way that the colonists could purchase their goods from the English company store. This relationship also had a dramatic effect on labor of the Jamestown colony as well.
Tobacco is a heavy labor intensive crop, from planting to curing, there is much time and effort put into making tobacco. The land has to be set by the farmer to produce tobacco by cleaning away the land, then it has to be sewn into the ground. Afterwards, the crop has to be tended, which takes upwards of four months to go from seed to crop, usually meaning that there is constant watering and removal of insects. The harvest usually happens in the late summer, usually July to August, where the large leaves need to be “cured,” meaning that they are to be stored and dried out. From here, the crop is to be shipped and chopped into finer parts before it can be made into cigars, which was the popular way of consuming tobacco in the 16th century. The English want for the addictive plant meant that there was a large amount of money to be made in Virginia. The problem was the intensity of the labor was usually much more than a small farmer could manage. This meant that the English developed a unique labor system called indentured servitude. This was where an American farmer could go to England and offer a contract for a set time frame for work to be completed. Many of the indentured servant contracts were for seven years for men, and usually were for three years for women. English law was written that the indentured servant system appeared to benefit both the servant and the farmer in many ways. The farmer got a worker for a set time and could make any demands of the worker that the farmer wanted. Also, the farmer got land, usually near their original home area for bringing an English person to the Americas. The servant also was rewarded in English law. Many of the servants were lower class and could not afford to travel to seek fortunes in the Americas. This was a way to get to the Americas, as a positive trade off. For the men, once completing their contract, they were promised lands as well that they too could then become farmers in Virginia. While this appears to benefit both sides, there are significant problems with the indentured servant system. First, the average lifespan of the indentured servant was approximately 3 years in colonial Virginia, while many of the male contracts were for 7. This is due to harsh working environments, demands of the master, and diseases such as malaria that were rampant in the colonial Americas. Historians often note that this is very similar to a form of slavery. Female indentured servants were usually domestic workers and had laws that protected them from forced marriages to their masters during the indentured servant contract. The lack of women in Virginia meant that women had a premium experience and many times the contracts were shortened because of the valuable domestic services that women provided. The downside, is that women were not given the same opportunities after their contract expired, and many ended their contracts with marriage to the master without being granted their own lands. Also, the lands that were given to newly freed male indentured servants usually were at the western territories of the Virginia colony, that were often in disputes with indigenous populations because the English would without treaty simply give these lands without asking the indigenous populations. The harshness of the indentured servant life resulted in many running away from their owners. Primary sources linked here demonstrate how difficult it would have been to identify indentured servants that ran-away. The system of indentured servants was one that was very risky and fraught with problems, from harsh working conditions, to contract time that meant the workers often never benefitted from their contract, to those that earned their freedom not able to have lands that were not in dispute with indigenous populations.
The breaking of the indentured servant system was the Nathaniel Bacon Rebellion in 1675-1676 CE. Nathaniel Bacon was an indentured servant that worked to gain his freedom and lands, but because of political problems that the Virginia governor faced, could not successfully get these. In the 1670s period, the Virginia governor William Berkley saw the increasing problems with the indigenous population. Berkley’s decision was to make peace treaties with the indigenous populations on the western borders of Virginia that said that the English would travel or own no more lands west of a line of demarcation. The indigenous populations were happy and this stopped many raids and fighting between the colonists and the English settlers. But Berkley had a secondary problem, that much of those lands were where indentured servants were promised and a growing population of newly freed indentured servants who felt that the promise of their contract was not being fulfilled. Nathaniel Bacon was a leader of this growing group of discontented newly emancipated indentured servants. He led a small force against the governor of Virginia, demanding their contract lands. Bacon was successful in torching the Jamestown settlement and chasing Berkeley from Virginia. In the resulting chaos, Bacon led his men in anger against the indigenous populations and raided and murdered several different groups in the Virginia region. Bacon was able to capture Berkeley and drew a gun pointed at Berkeley’s chest demanding changes, but Berkeley would not budge on his orders. This meant that Bacon knew that his demands would not be met and held Jamestown for months. It took almost a year before the rebellion broke apart, mostly due to Bacon dying of dysentery. The result of the Bacon Rebellion was clear to the colonial administration, that something had to be done to clearly distinguish the indentured servants, freedom, and who owned land. Bacon’s Rebellion was the key turning point because indentured servitude was no longer favored as a key method of labor in the English colonial system. Instead, the English started relying on the system of African slavery that started in 1619 CE.
Slavery in the English system started early but changed as a direct result of the Nathaniel Bacon Rebellion. The first slaves arrived in the English North America in Virginia in 1619 CE. At first, the colonial society was not clear what this meant for the African populations. Africans originally were brought as indentured servants. It is important to note that this was essentially slavery, and that the treatment of the African population that was brought to the early Virginia colony was very difficult. By the 1630s CE, there were several emancipated African populations earned their freedom and lands. Following the Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion, all African populations were transformed into enslaved. The form of slavery that the English developed their system known as chattel slavery, where those that were enslaved and all their descendants were enslaved for all future times. This system was very brutal because it meant that if an individual was born into slavery, that their family and descendants would remain enslaved forward. By enslaving African populations, this meant that it was very clear to the English colonists who was free and who was enslaved. This type of slavery continued from the middle of the 17th to the middle of the 19th century and would form many of the social and political problems of the American colonies unifying to the American Civil War. The role of African populations in English society was very unique as well, at the bottom tier meant that they were treated very terribly by all in the English system. African American women were subject to abuses by both the male and the female white owners. Labor went beyond simply producing crops, but also extended into the family support work, such as domestic labor as well.
The English system of race was heavily influenced by their historic relationships in England and would have a significant influence on future colonization. The English had a very different historic relationship with race than other European colonizers. For example, the Spanish invasion in 711 CE of the Berbers from Northern Africa had a profound impact on the Spanish integration of diverse populations into their society. The English, on the other hand, were invaded by other Europeans throughout their history. This has a profound impact on the English understanding of race and ethnicity. Because of the lack of race meant that as the English were expanding throughout the world in the Early Modern period. The English had a very difficult time integrating and treating others, such as African and indigenous populations into the English society. For example, the English did not integrate the indigenous into their colonial society in Jamestown. The indigenous populations were push to the outside of the English system. Also the English would take lands and break treaties with the indigenous populations. The mistreatment of the indigenous population would only intensify moving forward as the English traveled throughout the world and would continue this lack of integration of populations. The treatment of the Afro-English populations was also demonstrated in the 17th century of exclusion. The relationship of power between the English and other populations becomes an either/or situation; where the individual is either English, or they do not have any political or economic power. The English would carry these ideas far beyond the North American shores, into the Indian subcontinent as well during subsequent colonization.
In 1672, the Royal African Company was inaugurated, receiving from King Charles a monopoly of the trade to supply slaves to the British colonies of the Caribbean. From the outset, slavery was the basis of the British Empire in the West Indies and later in North America. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, Britain was responsible for the transportation of 3.5 million African slaves to the Americas, a third of all slaves transported across the Atlantic.
The introduction of the Navigation Acts led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654), the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organization. English tactical improvements resulted in a series of crushing victories in 1653, bringing peace on favorable terms. This was the first war fought largely, on the English side, by purpose-built, state-owned warships. After the English monarchy was restored in 1660, Charles II re-established the navy, but from this point on, it ceased to be the personal possession of the reigning monarch, and instead became a national institution, with the title of “The Royal Navy.”
As the English were developing their North American southern colony, they began a second colonial project in the American north. The English development of the colony of Plymouth took lessons of the first English colonization. To understand the issues of the Plymouth colony’s origin, it is important to start with the Protestant Reformation and the political and cultural transformations in the English system. When Henry VIII created the Anglican Church started the deep divisions in the English Christian community. These would intensify with subsequent English rulers and the English Civil War. The reign of Charles I intensified the want and desire for reformation of the Anglican Church for more purity. These reformers would be come known as the Puritans, wanting to purify Catholicism from the Anglican Church. Many of these individuals wanted full separation from the Anglican Church. Many of the Puritans were middle to upper class and had wealth. They were strict adherents to the Calvinist thought about reading and writing for the individual as well as putting importance of family ahead of social belonging. Because of the political turmoil in England, many of these individuals left England to go to the Netherlands because of similar Protestantism and freedoms of movements. The English that went to the Netherlands were there for approximately 10 years before they found the culture too unfamiliar and yearned for their children to be raised in more English customs and culture. The Puritans gained a company charter in 1619 CE, to establish the Plymouth colony. The congregation could apply for a company charter for the New World to establish an area that they could be in control of and practice their own faith. The English crown granted them a charter to land near Virginia and allowed the Puritans to leave in June 1620 CE.
The planning and settlement of Plymouth helped to demonstrate the key differences between the Puritans and Jamestown. The first difference was the members of the voyage in the Mayflower were middle class and traveled with complete families. Having women and families was a key difference between the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies. The stability of family meant that Plymouth’s population did not suffer the way that Jamestown did having families. Families also provided structure to the Plymouth society as well. The second difference between the English colonizations was the Plymouth colony centered around the Puritan Church. In Jamestown colony, the Christian church was not the center of society, whereas in the Plymouth colony the Puritan church was the key to society. The relationship of the Puritan Church went well beyond the cultural, it also went to the political.
Another key difference between the English colonization and the Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Dutch was the role of the government in the colonial society. In the Spanish and Portuguese, the colonial governments were established by the crown and many of the decrees were established by the monarchy. The French crown also held great control over the colonial world, but had a bit more leniency between the French individual and the crown. The Dutch also allowed for more control and the company charter had the majority of the political and economic stability of the colony. The English, on the other hand, allowed their North American colonies to establish their own governments. The Jamestown colony established the House of Burgess, where men, of good standing, white, property owning, and over 21 could elect their representative at the colonial level. This would prove to be a very important relationship because the Jamestown colony’s establishment meant that the colonies could raise their own taxes and establish their smaller rules for political understandings. The Puritans, also established their own rules of government that began with the Mayflower Compact. This was a charter that every male on the Mayflower agreed that they could participate by either direct elections or holding direct vote in the colony. The difference between the House of Burgess and the Mayflower Compact was that the Puritan society stipulated that participation in the colonial government was predicated on the participation in the Puritan church. This also highlights the differences between the House of Burgess and the Mayflower Compact by showing how important the role of the Christian church was between these two societies. Both, the House of Burgess and the Mayflower Compact, these societies could levy taxes for their perspective colonial governments. Yet, the British crown did not ask the colonies to pay into the larger British tax system. Meaning, that if you were in the colonial societies, that you did not pay the British taxes. It is unclear why the British would allow such a very important oversight of the colonial world, but it would prove to be very important when considering the divisions between the colonies and the English with the relationship of taxes. Self representing democracies were essential for the British system of colonization and provided a key difference between the different colonial models.
The Plymouth colony eventually became known as the Plymouth plantation and was relatively successful early on in their social organizations. The Plymouth colony had a short period of starvation, that was much less dramatic than the Jamestown colony. The Plymouth colony could not plant or produce tobacco, thus the need for indentured servants and slaves was much less. Most of the farming in the Plymouth colony was subsistence or export of key materials such as timber. The less labor needs, meant that the Plymouth colony functioned on trade and trading much heavier than the Jamestown colonial world and would develop in a very different direction. Overtime, the Puritans split because of religious and cultural differences and thus individuals Brooke away from the Plymouth colony to establish their own colonial worlds. Anne Hutchinson and Thomas Hooker would eventually leave the Plymouth colony and founded their own colonies nearby in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The model of the role of the church and state remained throughout these newly formed and developed colonial worlds.
The English developed different colonial models in the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies. The role of church and state, the economics, the culture, even as far as gender relationships were early on, defined and held to the core ideas of each of these respective regions. While both of these colonial models were important, it is easier to imagine these are the two poles of the North American colonial model, that on one side is Jamestown and the other is Plymouth, the subsequent colonies that emerged were blended these ideas in more of a grey between. For example, the American south developed in the Jamestown model, but different colonies in North Carolina to Maryland, were different on key issues. The same can be said for New England colonies as well. The region that was between these two poles was most notable the Middle colonies, of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. These colonies took elements of both sets of colonial models as inspiration for their colonies. Pennsylvania is an excellent example of such a blend. William Penn established the colony for religious freedom for Quakers, a Protestant religion that believed that the chosen were touched by God and would shake or quake. This was a peaceful Protestant group that believed that there was a role for me, women, and indigenous in the community. Pennsylvania had great farming region and relied some on indentured servant labor, but not many slaves entered into the Pennsylvanian world. This blend of elements from Jamestown and Plymouth defined the Middle Colonies and would be shared throughout the North American world.
The North American colonial experimentation demonstrates the English system was very difficult and had unique qualities to colonization. The English reliance on harassing the Spanish and establishing their own empire base was one of significant importance for the English. The establishment of a colonial society that had a self representation in government also provided a unique challenge and standard for the English as well. While the English system in the North American world had its unique similarities and differences, the British colonization of the Indian subcontinent held some of these similar idiosyncrasies.
The English were also interested in exploring South Asia, specifically in the Indian subcontinent region. The British followed many of the Dutch and French settlements in the region to establish settlments, but were utlimately successful by incorporating a model of company control, similar to Jamestown. This would prove benefitial in the colonization and conquest of India, when the British East Indies Company came to control the region. This will be explored later, but note that many of the same cultural, political, economic, and social systems established by the English here in the early days of exploration, would continue forward with the English colonization of South Asia as well.
Primary Source: Nathaniel Bacon's Rebellion: The Declaration
Bacon’s Rebellion: The Declaration
Nathaniel Bacon (1676)
Economic and social power became concentrated in late seventeenth-century Virginia, leaving laborers and servants with restricted economic independence. Governor William Berkeley feared rebellion: “six parts of Seven at least are Poore, Indebted, Discontented and Armed.” Planter Nathaniel Bacon focused inland colonists’ anger at local Indians, who they felt were holding back settlement, and at a distant government unwilling to aid them. In the summer and fall of 1676, Bacon and his supporters rose up and plundered the elite’s estates and slaughtered nearby Indians. Bacon’s Declaration challenged the economic and political privileges of the governor’s circle of favorites, while announcing the principle of the consent of the people. Bacon’s death and the arrival of a British fleet quelled this rebellion, but Virginia’s planters long remembered the spectacle of white and black acting together to challenge authority.
1. For having, upon specious pretenses of public works, raised great unjust taxes upon the commonalty for the advancement of private favorites and other sinister ends, but no visible effects in any measure adequate; for not having, during this long time of his government, in any measure advanced this hopeful colony either by fortifications, towns, or trade.
2. For having abused and rendered contemptible the magistrates of justice by advancing to places of judicature scandalous and ignorant favorites.
3. For having wronged his Majesty’s prerogative and interest by assuming monopoly of the beaver trade and for having in it unjust gain betrayed and sold his Majesty’s country and the lives of his loyal subjects to the barbarous heathen.
4. For having protected, favored, and emboldened the Indians against his Majesty’s loyal subjects, never contriving, requiring, or appointing any due or proper means of satisfaction for their many invasions, robberies, and murders committed upon us.
5. For having, when the army of English was just upon the track of those Indians, who now in all places burn, spoil, murder and when we might with ease have destroyed them who then were in open hostility, for then having expressly countermanded and sent back our army by passing his word for the peaceable demeanor of the said Indians, who immediately prosecuted their evil intentions, committing horrid murders and robberies in all places, being protected by the said engagement and word past of him the said Sir William Berkeley, having ruined and laid desolate a great part of his Majesty’s country, and have now drawn themselves into such obscure and remote places and are by their success so emboldened and confirmed by their confederacy so strengthened that the cries of blood are in all places, and the terror and consternation of the people so great, are now become not only difficult but a very formidable enemy who might at first with ease have been destroyed.
6. And lately, when, upon the loud outcries of blood, the assembly had, with all care, raised and framed an army for the preventing of further mischief and safeguard of this his Majesty’s colony.
7. For having, with only the privacy of some few favorites without acquainting the people, only by the alteration of a figure, forged a commission, by we know not what hand, not only without but even against the consent of the people, for the raising and effecting civil war and destruction, which being happily and without bloodshed prevented; for having the second time attempted the same, thereby calling down our forces from the defense of the frontiers and most weakly exposed places.
8. For the prevention of civil mischief and ruin amongst ourselves while the barbarous enemy in all places did invade, murder, and spoil us, his Majesty’s most faithful subjects.
Of this and the aforesaid articles we accuse Sir William Berkeley as guilty of each and every one of the same, and as one who has traitorously attempted, violated, and injured his Majesty’s interest here by a loss of a great part of this his colony and many of his faithful loyal subjects by him betrayed and in a barbarous and shameful manner exposed to the incursions and murder of the heathen. And we do further declare these the ensuing persons in this list to have been his wicked and pernicious councilors, confederates, aiders, and assisters against the commonalty in these our civil commotions.
Sir Henry Chichley William Claiburne Junior
Lieut. Coll. Christopher Wormeley Thomas Hawkins
William Sherwood Phillip Ludwell
John Page Clerke Robert Beverley
John Cluffe Clerke Richard Lee
John West Thomas Ballard
Hubert Farrell William Cole
Thomas Reade Richard Whitacre
Matthew Kempe Nicholas Spencer
Joseph Bridger
John West, Hubert Farrell, Thomas Reade, Math. Kempe
And we do further demand that the said Sir William Berkeley with all the persons in this list be forthwith delivered up or surrender themselves within four days after the notice hereof, or otherwise we declare as follows.
That in whatsoever place, house, or ship, any of the said persons shall reside, be hid, or protected, we declare the owners, masters, or inhabitants of the said places to be confederates and traitors to the people and the estates of them is also of all the aforesaid persons to be confiscated. And this we, the commons of Virginia, do declare, desiring a firm union amongst ourselves that we may jointly and with one accord defend ourselves against the common enemy. And let not the faults of the guilty be the reproach of the innocent, or the faults or crimes of the oppressors divide and separate us who have suffered by their oppressions.
These are, therefore, in his Majesty’s name, to command you forthwith to seize the persons above mentioned as traitors to the King and country and them to bring to Middle Plantation and there to secure them until further order, and, in case of opposition, if you want any further assistance you are forthwith to demand it in the name of the people in all the counties of Virginia.
Nathaniel Bacon
General by Consent of the people.
William Sherwood
Source: "Declaration of Nathaniel Bacon in the Name of the People of Virginia, July 30, 1676,"Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 4th ser., 1871, vol. 9: 184–87.
Attributions
Attributions
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Clive.jpg
Boundless World History
https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-worldhistory/england-and-parliamentary-monarchy/
Work based around the ideas of Patricia Seed: Ceremonies of Possession in Europe's Conquest of the New World, 1492–1640