The Shaping of British North America, 1607-1752 

[2.a.1] Common Law

Judges ● rights ● practice

[2.a.3] Conceived in Liberty?

organically ● liberty

[2.d.1] The Role of Coastal Chieftans in the Slave Trade

Black chieftains on the coast of West Africa sold black captives to European traders.  By 1732, the Atlantic Middle Passage shuttling slaves to the Western Hemisphere was in operation.  In 1750 King Tegesibu of Dahomey earned £250,000—more income than any British lord of the day.

[2.d.4] South Carolina had a High Proporotion of Slaves

70%

[2.d.5] They Spoke an African Language

Scholars believe that leaders of the leaders of the rebellion who gathered followers at Stono, South Carolina, had come from Congo.

[2.e.1-2] Colonial Governance

The king appointed the governor in royal colonies.  In the proprietaries of Maryland and Pennsylvania, the proprietor chose the governor.  In charter colonies, the assistants selected the governor.

Freemen voted for their representatives in the colony's assembly.  By 1752, about 75% of the men in New England had the right to vote.

[2.f.1] Imperial Administration

From the diagram, one of the highlights was the role colonial agents played in representing the interests of colonial assemblies in London.  These agents had contacts with men in the British parliament, cabinet, and business.

[2.g.1] Dreams Fade, Replaced by Reality

From its founding, America was a place where diverse peoples harbored different versions of hope.  Few worked out as originally envisioned.  The Jamestown settlers expected to find gold and silver but instead got death and starvation before building a colony on tobacco.  Massachusetts hoped to maintain a Calvinist realm of saints.  Quakers hoped their inner light of faith would shield them from danger on the Pennsylvania frontier.  Maryland’s proprietor hoped for a religiously diverse colony but could not stop the imposition of Anglicanism.  Oglethorpe began Georgia with humanitarian ideals but underestimated the appeal of landholding to motivate men. 

[2.g.2] But Colonists did have some Take-Aways

“The colonies,” writes historian Daniel Boorstin, “were a disproving ground for utopias.”  But McClay says the story does not end there.  In what ways was America continuing the English miracle?

• As utopia faded, English colonists were left with their traditions, which included Common Law and a Protestant habit of questioning authority.

• 3,000 miles distance from the Mother Country also left the colonies with self-government.

• And the hardwork of building colonies would translate into the building of a nation.