Honors U.S.

History Name:
Chapter 1-3
Mr. Irwin Period:
Wk 1

Lecture 3
Growth of the American Colonies

Key Term:
Mercantilism, balance of trade, salutary neglect, triangular trade, Middle Passage, Great
Awakening (students will be expected to be able to correctly identify these terms).

Main Ideas:
1. The English colonies developed diverse economies and prospered with little
direct interference from England.
2. Enslaved African & Caribbean natives often suffered harsh and brutal treatment.
3. Tensions developed with the French and Native American tribes of North
America.

CH 1-3 Summary:
Mercantilism
In the late 1600s and early 1700s, Europe adopted a theory of mercantilism, the idea
that a country should try to obtain as much gold bullion as possible. One way to do this
was through trade.

Balance of Trade
Another economic concept that the major powers of Europe attempted to employ is
known as balance of trade. The idea behind balance of trade is simple, as I will
explain.

Most countries were buying and selling goods from one another. By keeping track of
the dollar amount of goods a country purchased from other countries, and by also
keeping track of the dollar amount of goods it sold to other countries, a country’s
balance of trade could be calculated. A positive balance of trade was desired. A
negative balance of trade could be an indicator of economic weakness, and here’s why:
• If a country is selling more dollars worth of goods than it is buying, that country’s
wealth is increasing as the result of its trading activities.*
• If a country is buying more dollars worth of goods than it is selling, that country’s
wealth is decreasing as the result of its trading activities.*

* In this example the word trade means the collective acts of buying and selling.

1660 - Navigation Act

Like the other major powers of Europe, England sought to increase its wealth through
its practice of mercantilism, and by maintaining a positive balance of trade. The English

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government recognized the inherent economic value that its North American colonies
offered. During the late 1600s & early 1700s, the government’s objective, relative to the
colonies, was to gain as much advantage from them as possible. From this perspective
came the Navigation Act.

English businessmen in the North American colonies began to prosper as the result of
selling colonial goods back to England, and to other places as well, such as the West
Indies. The English government viewed the colonies as its property and as the result,
did not like the idea that colonial businessmen were selling certain key products in non-
English markets. By doing this, the colonial businessmen were depriving “mother
country” England of its share of the profits.

The English government tried controlling trade with its North American colonies through
the Navigation Acts and with royal governors that the Crown had installed in the
colonies.
In 1660, England’s King Charles II approved the Navigation Act. This act tightened
governmental control over the English colonies and required them to sell certain
products, including sugar, tobacco and cotton, only to England.

In order to derive the maximum economic benefit from its North American colonies, the
English government tried to restrict colonial trade so that colonial produced goods went
to England, where England would then sell them to other countries, and profit from the
sale. The English government also wanted to send its manufactured goods to the
colonies so that it could profit from the purchases that the colonists would make.
Finally, the English government insisted that goods shipped between the colonies and
the “mother country” be transported on ships originally built in England.

Salutary Neglect
During this period, the English government maintained a very loose control over the
colonies. The term to describe this loose control would later be called salutary
neglect. We will explore this term in detail when we study the Declaration of
Independence.

Distinct Regions Develop

By the 1700s, the English colonies had established diverse economies. The Southern
colonies grew staple crops on plantations and relied upon a large supply of slaves for
labor. The Middle colonies become a mixture of farming and commerce, with an
extremely diverse population. In the New England colonies there were self-sufficient
farms and towns dependent on long-distance trade, especially the triangular trade
(see map in textbook).

By the mid-1700s, 20% of the people living in British North America were of African
descent. While there were some “free blacks,” most were African slaves living and
working in the Southern colonies.

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Expansion Causes Tension with the French and Native Americans (see textbook)
As the population in the colonies increased, settlers began to migrate westward, which
in turn caused tension with Native Americans, as well as some French, who were
already on the western lands.

1730s – 1740s The Great Awakening (see textbook)

As a separate issue, many ministers began to believe that colonists were falling away
from the faith of their Puritan ancestors. This led to a series of revivals known today as
the Great Awakening. Religion in the colonies became more democratic, and notions
of equality were challenged.

Effects of the Great Awakening

(By reading their textbooks, students describe the significant effect that the Great
Awakening had on religion in the North American colonies).

- End of Lecture -

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