|
|
Taken from another part of my work-over-the-summer, this includes the English
capture of the Dutch colony of New Netherlands in 1664, a description of
triangular trade, the differences between New England (the north) and the South
in the 17th & 18th Centuries, and a timeline listing events that happened in the American
Colonies from 1607-1775. Okay, here we go.
In 1664, the English captured the Dutch colony of New Netherlands. They started out by
sailing four English warships to New Amsterdam. After the colony director there,
Peter Stuyvesant, heard about the pending attack, he tried to rally the colonists to fight
and defend the colony, but they refused. No one would fight! The English got the Dutch
colony of New Netherlands without a fight.
"Triangular trade" was a way to receive slaves. The trade was between New England,
the west coast of Africa, and the West Indies. New England traded food, such as
grain, meat, and other goods, to the West Indies to feed the slaves there and in
return, they got molasses, sugar, and rum. They traded the molasses, sugar and
rum for slaves on the west coast of Africa. They used the money from selling the
slaves in New England to get more grain, meat, and other goods to bring to the
West Indies. The trade basically went in a triangle and that gave it the name "triangular trade."
In the 1600s and 1700s, life in the New England colonies differed from life in the Southern colonies.
Because of the difference in geography, the economics were pretty different. In New
England, people made their living by trading, seafaring, and whaling. In the
South, people mostly owned plantations. New England colonists farmed, but the soil
there was thin and rocky, unlike the Southern soil, which was
rich and fertile. The seasons made for a shorter growing period in New England, making
it harder to grow crops. All of that together meant that they grew different
crops. The New England colonies grew what they could, including corn and grain.
The south grew rice, indigo, and tobacco, which were much more profitable.
Society was also different. In New England, the people didn't have as much of a
social division as those in the south did. They also lived much longer than Southerners.
Education differed, too. It was important in New England and available to almost
everyone. In the South it wasn't considered as important and
mostly only the rich could pay for it.
Okay, now here's the timeline:
1607: Jamestown settled in Virginia
1620: Pilgrims settle Plymouth
1636: Harvard College is founded
1647: First public schools are started in Massachusetts
1660: First important Navigation Act is passed
1682: Penn starts the Pennsylvania colony
1692: Salem witch craft trials are held in Salem
1730: Edwards sparks Great Awakening
1733: Oglethorpe establishes Georgia colony
1754: French and Indian War begins
1765: The Stamp Act is passed
1770: Boston Massacre
1773: Boston Tea Party
1774: First Continental Congress meets
1775: Battles at Lexington and Concord
1775: Second Continental Congress meets
I hope that wasn't too, too boring. I'll probably write a book review next,
taken from yet another over-the-summer-project. :)
|
