APUSH Review Questions Chapters 1, 2, and 3
1. Compare and contrast the Spanish and the English motives for colonization. How were both sets of motives reflected in the organization of the colonies that each nation established?
When comparing the Spanish and English motives for colonization, many differences arise. For the Spanish, the main goal for colonizing the Americas was to get rich. Spanish explorers began thinking of America as a possible source of wealth instead of simply an obstacle to their search for a route to the east. They began searching for gold in the Americas, and stories of great treasures in Mexico and other places moved them to colonize and conquer many peoples and lands in the New World. On the other hand, the English motives for colonization were mainly for religious reasons. Puritans who were searching to “purify” the Anglican Church viewed the Americas as a clean slate to spread their beliefs. Other religious groups, such as the Quakers, who were persecuted in England for their beliefs, saw the Americas as a safe haven and a refuge where they could practice their beliefs without fear. These motives were thus reflected in the organization of the colonies each nation established, as Spanish colonies created a social hierarchy that was based on wealth and race, and religious leaders had much power in the American colonies.
2. Explain the relationship between Spanish colonists and the Indians. Why did the Indians come out the losers?
The Spanish colonists did not have a very peaceful relationship with the American Indians. As time progressed, the Spanish began viewing America as a possible source of wealth, instead of just viewing it as an obstacle to their search for a route to the east. Hence, in 1518, Cortés led a small military of about 600 men to Mexico, with the purpose of trying to capture the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. This was a seemingly impossible task at the time, as these 600 Spanish men were trying to conquer, according to historian estimates, at least 10 million Aztecs. Cortés was faced with the strong and resourceful resistance from the Aztecs under the direction of their powerful ruler, Montezuma. Therefore, the first Spanish assault did indeed fail, but in the end, the Spanish ended up winning because of their secret weapon, disease. Unknowingly, the 600 Spanish men that fought with Cortés had brought over smallpox, and Old World disease that the Indians in the New World had never been exposed to. This thus led a massive smallpox outbreak to take place in the New World, decimating the population of Aztecs in Mexico. With a much smaller population to try and conquer, in addition to their advantage of having weapons, the Spanish consequently were able to conquer the Aztecs.
3. Compare and contrast Virginia and Plymouth- their origins, their goals, and their early social, political, and economic development.
The Virginia and Plymouth Colonies were different in many ways. For example, Virginia colony was mainly settled for economic reasons, as it would expand English trade and allow for a wider market of English goods, while the Plymouth colony was settled for the main reason of freedom from religious persecution. The economies of Virginia and Plymouth also differed, as the Virginian economy centered around agriculture, such as tobacco, while the Plymouth economy included other economic pursuits, such as craftsmanship and trade with the American Indians. Their social and political developments varied as well. For Plymouth, it was a very religious community. Life was centered around their faith, and this influenced their politics as well.
Although ministers had no formal political power, they were able to exert a great influence on church members, who were the only people who could vote or hold office. Thus, the government protected ministers and also taxed people to support church. On the other hand, Virginia’s social and political development was very economy based, as they developed the
headright system that encouraged families come to the colonies in order to recruit new settlers and workers to the colony. Thus, the Virginia and Plymouth colonies varied in many ways.
4. Between 1660 and 1700, the American colonies were shaken by a series of “revolts” that, it has been contended, were the result of tensions in colonial society. Examine the protests that took place in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York, and then compare and contrast the internal divisions that helped spark the outbreaks.
Between 1660 and 1700, there were many revolts sparked by different internal divisions within the colonies. For example, revolts in Virginia, such as Bacon’s Rebellion, were caused by the lack of representation of the less wealthy people in the Piedmont region of Virginia. Because of the growing number of farmers coming into Virginia, many of the poorer farmers who could not afford land in the more fertile Tidewater region of Virginia had to move west into lands that were supposed to be American Indian territory. This caused many conflicts with the American Indians, even leading to Indian raids breaking out on the colonists’ plantations. Although the Piedmont farmers brought this problem to the attention of the Virginia government, it did not do enough to respond to the problem because the people in the poorer western region was underrepresented in the government. Thus, the westerners took matters into their own hands and attacked the Indians by themselves. Unfortunately, this was taken as an act of rebellion by the government, causing Bacon, as well as others to be seriously punished. Hence, these revolts were caused by an unequal balance in the social structure and representation in the government. In Maryland, on the other hand, there were revolts over religion. Maryland had originally started for the primary purpose of providing a safe haven for Catholics, but in an effort to make the foundation of the colony profitable, they had to encourage Protestants to come over as well. As a result, the Protestant settlers quickly outnumbered the Catholics, making Catholics the minority. The problem was that the Catholics controlled the government, causing the minority to rule over the majority. This caused much unrest in the colony, as many conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants arose. Eventually, these revolts ended up causing the Protestants to overthrow the Catholic government. This revolt was thus caused by religious conflicts and differences, and the problem of the minority governing the majority.
In Massachusetts, Indian conflicts were what caused revolts. As the settlers were
moving into Indian territories, and destroying the Indian’s way of life, they met quite a hostile resistance. This resistance caused many conflicts between the settlers and Indians, such as the Pequot War. Thus, these uprisings were caused by Indian conflicts, unlike the other two regions, which were caused by governmental problems. Lastly, in New York, revolts, like in Virginia, were caused because there was an unequal representation in the government. The government only supported wealthy colonists like large land owners and fur traders and did not listen to the complaints of the other members of the community. This caused much unrest, leading to a revolt, and the overthrowing the government. Thus, the revolts in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York were caused by many different reasons.
5. By 1660, it was evident that England had become concerned about Massachusetts’s lack of cooperation with the mother country’s policies. Why did England view Massachusetts as a “trouble maker” (if not an outright enemy), and why, in turn, did the people of the Massachusetts Bay colony have the same opinion of England?
England viewed the Massachusetts colony as a “trouble maker” because they felt that the
people of Massachusetts were trying to govern themselves independent of Britain. They created their own theocratic society, centered around the Puritan church instead of the Church of England, which also caused England to view Massachusetts as a trouble maker religiously as well, as they did not support the Anglican church. Furthermore, when England put the Navigation Acts into place, Massachusetts refused to enforce these trade policies and actually becomes the center of smuggling activity in opposition of the acts, causing England to revoke the Massachusetts Bay charter. This thus clearly causes England to view Massachusetts as a trouble maker colony, but the feelings were mutual. As the king repealed the Massachusetts bay charter, it made it a royally chartered colony, meaning that the colony was under the direct rule of the English king’s government. This, in turn, took away Massachusetts’ ability to govern itself. The people of Massachusetts already did not like England due to the of the lack of religious freedom there, which is what caused them to come America in the first place. Thus, this action of taking away the right for Massachusetts to rule itself independent of England angered the colonists even more. Thus, the relations between England and its colonies were very tense.
6. Explain the way in which England applied the principles of mercantilism to its Caribbean and North American colonies.
Mercantilism was one of the main reasons why England began colonizing the Americas, as it increased and benefitted English trade. According to mercantilist ideas, colonies were to provide raw materials to the parent country for the growth and profit of that country’s industries, and colonies only existed to enrich the parent country. Thus, as England began to develop colonies in the Caribbean and in North America, they were able to provide England with new raw materials such as gold, silver, naval stores, and lumber, in order to enhance England’s industries, illustrating the principles of mercantilism. As the colonies began to develop, though, they began to trade more with other European countries. This worried Britain, as they thought that these countries could begin to gain more from the colonies than it did, rivaling Britain’s power. Thus, Britain decided to regulate the trade of its colonies by limiting its trade strictly to Britain by means of the Navigation Acts, in order to make sure that it profited the most from colonial trade, also illustrating mercantilist ideals. These are just a few ways in which England applied mercantilist principles to its colonies.
7. Compare and contrast the economy of the northern colonies with that of the southern colonies. What made the two regions develop as they did? How did these economic systems reflect social systems emerging at the same time?
As the colonies developed, the northern and southern colonies developed differing economies. The northern colonies turned to other economic pursuits besides farming, as the conditions further north were much less favorable for farming, with a cooler climate and hard, rocky soil. Fishing became a profitable economic pursuit, and craftsmen began establishing themselves in trades that they were experts in becoming became blacksmiths, rifle makers, cobblers and printers. Shipbuilding also became abundant, and after the discovery of iron ore deposits, metal works became another economic pursuit in the northern colonies. On the other hand, the southern colonies developed an economy centered around agriculture. The climate in the south was much more favorable for farming, as it had warmer weather and more favorable soil. Cash crops, such as tobacco, grew extremely well in these conditions, making agriculture extremely profitable for the southern colonies. These economic systems also reflected social systems that were emerging in the colonies as well. Slavery began developing in the south due to a need of large labor forces to work the plantations, and the patriarchal society in the northern colonies began to develop as the majority of the trades in the northern colonies were run by men.
8. By violating the Navigation Acts and developing their own trading patterns, were the American colonies creating their own mercantile system? Discuss this question and the implications it might have for future relations with England.
The American colonies were beginning to create their own mercantile system. By violating the Navigation acts and trying to expand their trade to other countries besides Britain, the American colonies widened their horizons and expanded their economy, beginning to develop their own mercantile system independent of Britain. This development may have major impacts on British-colonial relations. As Britain tries to reinforce the Navigation Acts, limiting the colonies’ trade solely to Britain, the colonies may begin to resent Britain’s attempts to limit the development of the economy and power of the colonies. This possibly could lead to many other colonial revolts against Britain as Britain tries to tie down and control its rebellious American colonies with other future restrictions, resulting in not very peaceful relations between Britain and the American colonies.