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1492
Crusades
The Spanish colonization of the americas was rather harsh towards native Americans. The Spanish would enslave, kill, and bring plague to (though not purposefully) the natives. -
1492
Columbia’s Exchange
With the natives dying out so quickly, the Spanish would bring in slaves from Africa instead. This would easily become a suitable, and rather cheap, replacement for the Spanish. -
1550
English Colonization
In England, during the 1550’s to 1600’s, there was a huge boom in population. This was a growth of 1 million in the span of 50 years. This devastated their economy. They would shortly turn to colonizing the new world, in which promises of owning land and making riches were made. -
English and the Cash Crop
In Jamestown, the colonist would have to survive a rough climate and region of the new world without any help. Many wouldn’t make it through the winters. Later they would grow a tobacco plant and would realize their luck. The quickly grew as a city due to their significance in the Triangular trade. -
Jesuits
The jesuits has one mission, that was to become allies with as many native tribes as they could. This would backfire as meeting the natives had catastrophic events. The natives would die to disease spread by the jesuits themselves unknowingly and would die out. -
America and Slavery
When it came to a labor force, slavery was cheap, versatile and simple. Slavery would become a staple in the new world, this was due to the abundance of land and that every colony would participate in the act of slavery. This would completely dehumanize the face of Africans. They wouldn’t give up though and fought back, resisting all dehumanizing aspects of slavery. This was to maintain their family, culture, and religion. -
French and the Fur Trade
The French would join the trend of colonizing the new world, but not in the same manner. The French didn’t want a huge population of people going to the new world as they only wanted business opportunities, they would lead the fur trade. The French would ally with the natives to hunt down beavers for their fur. Both groups would make riches. -
Dutch Colonization
While the Spanish colonization more of the southern areas of America, the Dutch had made their way onto the north of it and created their city of New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam was a commercial success and had become one of the most diverse cities of its time. -
America’s Great Awakening
In the colonies there would be a sudden, and dramatic, spike in religious populations during the 1700’s. This would set the groundwork for a fight for independence. -
Angelicization in the Colonies
The british colonies would experience a gradual angelicization, developing autonomous political communities based on english models with influence from intercolonial commercial ties. -
French and Indian War
When it came to control, the British wanted the Fur trade from the French. This sparked an imperial war. Both sides would find their Native allies and go to war. In the end the French would lose the war. -
American Resistance!
The colonist would grow tired of the British laws and form a resistance. This valued ideas of self-governing states, liberty, and the political thought of enlightenment. This brought on diversity and greater religious independence. -
Establishment of Royal Colonies
With the growing popularity of the English people sailing to the new world to start a new life. King James the II believed this a good way to cash in on the trend and would bring many acts that were found very unfavorable by the colonist, such as the navigation acts. This would lead the colonist to want to push past and further into the frontier. -
Proclamation line of 1763
After the British victory in the 7 years war (French and Indian War), imperial officials would try and stop the colonists from moving westward as this was against the law. The colonist found this extremely unbearable as land was becoming increasingly scarce and wanted to expand outward for more land. -
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the war against Britain for independence of the United States of America. This was an American victory which signifies a change of times. This inspired many other revolutionaries around the world to fight back against what they find wrong. -
After declaring independence
It was a new era of America, many new state constitutions places power in the hands of the legislative branch and maintained property qualifications for voting and citizenship. -
America’s reflection
During and after the American Revolution, an increased awareness of inequalities in society motivated some individuals and groups to call for the abolition of slavery and greater political democracy in the new state and national governments. -
Market Revolution
During the Market Revolution, there was a shift in focus among the people. Entrepreneurship became staple during this time, Textile mills would be started, the Steam Engine was created. During this "revolution" women would start working in textile mills, although they wouldn't be taken seriously. This leads to the organizing of people who want to improve, people like the ones leading the Temperance Movement. -
Cotton Gin
During this new century there were a plethora of useful and ingenious ideas, but none were more successful than the cotton gin. In the south, agriculture was far from dying unlike the North which was thriving in the manufacturing of goods. Cotton was the most sought after good from the South and so the creation of the Cotton gin was necessary. There was a huge boom in cotton production as the south could now produce over 100 times more cotton than before. -
Enlightenment
Enlightenment ideas and philosophy inspired many American political thinkers to emphasize individual talen over hereditary privilege while -
Political Debates
In the early 1800s, national political parties continued to debate issues such as the tariff, powers of the federal government, and relations with European powers. This would lead to the court decision where it is stated that federal laws would take precedence over state laws. -
American workforce
During the Market revolution, there as a shift in the economy. Agriculture wasn't the top dog anymore, instead the manufacturing of consumables became commonplace. Many men and women would work in factories, which they would support themselves by producing goods for distant markets. -
Self improvement
During this time, Americans would take it upon themselves to form organizations of people who would improve the image of an average American, most of these people would be minorities of the time. Examples of this would be groups struggling for Women’s Suffrage, and the Temperence movement. -
Further Expansion
With the Economy slowly rising, the federal government saw a chance for further expansion. This led to the creation of roads, canals, and railroads which expanded and enlarged markets and helped create regional independence. -
Manifest Destiny
With further expansion by the government, westward expansion was highly supported. At the time the average american believed that they should own everything from the east coast of the US all the way to the West, this would create a plethora of benefits for the US but would also spark potential inner conflict. -
Abolitionist
African American and white abolitionists, although a minority in the North, mounted a highly visible campaign against slavery, presenting moral arguments against the institution, assisting slave escapes, and sometimes expressing a willingness to use violence to achieve this goal. -
Taming of the west
After the Mexican-American war, the US would add further more territories all the way to the Pacific. This would lead to the removal of the Native Americans from their lands and the mass slaughter of the American Buffalo. -
Citizenship Issues
During the expansion westward, many questioned whether these newly gained territories would have slavery like some of the states in the east. This led to many conflicts in the government. Would lead to the use of many compromises, and later be a cause of the secession of the South.
