American History: The 17th Century

Figure 1.--This portrait of the Mason children by an unknown Massachusetts artist illustrates how Pilgram children would have dressed for church. Note that theie outfits are essentally scaled-down versions of their parents' outfit. The pilgrams were one of the two major cultural traditions in the English colonies.

The central issue in American history during the 17th century was what Europan power would control North America. At first the issue was contested between England an Spain, but in the early 17th century with the decline of Spanish seapower and the founding of English and French colonies, it developed primarily in a struggle between France and Britain. (The Act of Union between England and Scotland created Britain during the reign of King James, the monarch for which Jamestown was named.) At the time the Caribbean took on an enormous importance because of the huge profits to be had from sugar. And here labor had to be imported giving rise to the iniqutous slave trade. The struggle for North America was much more than a dynastic struggle. It was in the end to be a struggle between royal absolutism and representative government. The colonial experience in representative government went beyond even that of Britain itself. The open frontier created opportunities not available to most British people. The English Civil War ledft the American colonists largely to their own devices during the formative period of the principle colonies. The Spanish and French colonies remained firmly under royal control.

Contest for North America

The major European powers fought for control of North America. The Spanish were well established in Mexico. The Caribbean became a center of conflict because of the emense profits to be had for sugar on even a small island. The French established a colony in Canada based on the fur trade. The Dutch and the Sweeds also founded small colonies. It was the English who gradually became dominant along the temperate shores of the continent. In a small area east of the Apalachins, the English colonies developed the largest population based on agriculture. This and the Royal Navy was to give them English a powerful advantage when the decisive struggle for North America came in the 18th century.

English Colonies

The first permanent English colony was Jamestown in Viginia (1609). The second was Plymouth in Masschusetts (1620). The two were very different. Jamestown was set up to exploit the natural resources much as the Spanish had done in South America. Only after gold was not found did the colony shift to agriculture, especially tobacco. The colony developed on a rather aristocratic basis and the established Anglican church of England prevailed. The agricultural system shifted in the 17th century from endentured English workers to African slaves working large plantations. The Plymouth Colony was established by the Pigrims, puritanical religious desenters entent on separation from the established Church of England and the agriculural developed on the basis of small family plans. Other colonies followed and ge colonies became more diverse. The two original colonies were the two basic poles around which the northern and southern colonies developed. Despite the differences there were some important common threads. First, all the colonies adopted English law and representative government. Second, the prevailing religion was Protesantism in all its many forms with the stress on individual conscious and responsibility. Third, a spirit of toleration gradually developed, primarily because so many different Protestant denominations developed that no one denomination could dominate.

Slavery

No survey of American history would be complete without an examination of slavery. The early colonists did not bring race slavery with them. It was am institution that developed in America. Here the development of the emensely profitable sugar islands was a major fsactor. That is perhaps one of the great ironies of America. The great irony in American history is that colonists who came to America seeking economic and religious freedom would develop a system of chattel slavery. It became critical in the South, but also existed and benefitted the North. Slavery continued as a legal institution and a key part of the American economy until the Civil War (1861-65).

Growth of Representative Government

The primary difference between the English and Catholic colonies (France, Portugal, and Spain) was representative government. But just as in England itseld, representative developed in the English colonies as aresult if the course of events and not by any grand design. The Tudors did a great deal to strengthen the authority of the monarchy. They were deft politicans and managed Parliament carefully. The Stuarts had a different mindset. They were commited to not only divine-right monarchy, but royal absolutism as well. Rather than attempting to mamage Patliament, the Stuarts were conronted by Parliament's perogatives. The conflict between the Stuart monarchy and Parliament culminated in the English Civil War (1642-51). The Civil War was a major step in the development of English democracy. Less commonly noted is that it also had a profound impact on American democracy. In large measure, representative government in America was ironically a gift of the Stuarts. During the 17th century with political turmoil in England, the colonists were left largely to their own devices. This meant at an early stage of colonial development, the new colonial legisltures had to exercise considerable authority independent of royal control. This opened a heady bottle of democracy that the Crown would never be able to recork. The Stuart monarchy even when reestablished after Cromwell's death faced considerable challenge which evetually led to the Glorious Revolution. Thus it was not until the 18th century that a more stable monarchy could begin to attempt to establish royal control.

Created: 8:29 PM 5/12/2007
Last updated: 8:29 PM 5/12/2007