British Colonisation Flashcards

1
Q

Why did Britain want to Colonise?

A
  • They wanted to compete with Spain.
  • They wanted to make profits.
  • They wanted access to new raw materials.
  • Impress the monarch(s)
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2
Q

Who was Walter Raleigh?

A

He was an explorer who was favoured by Queen Elizabeth I.
He wanted to explore the Americas to find new land to claim for Elizabeth and England as well as compete with the Spanish.

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3
Q

When and where did Raleigh establish his first settlement in America?

A

He (unsuccessfully) established a settlement in Virginia in 1584.
- He named it after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth.

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4
Q

Who did he send to Virginia and why?

A

He sent a group of English settlers to Virginia to create a settlement called Roanoke but the settlement disappeared mysteriously and when the English travelled over a few years later, there was no sign of Roanoke.

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5
Q

What was The Virginia Company?

A

It was a joint stock company (a group of people who came together to invest in something) that hoped to establish the first successful English settlement in America to grow tobacco for huge profits.

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6
Q

When was The Virginia Company set up?

A

1606.

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7
Q

What was the company made up of?

A
  • Investors

- Planters (indentured servents)

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8
Q

What settlement did The Virginia Company set up and when?

A

They set up their settlement at Jamestown, in Virginia, in 1607.

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9
Q

Who inhabited the Americas before British Colonisation?

A

Native Americans.

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10
Q

What were the Native Americans?

A
  • Nomadic people (the moved around according to where they found hospitable conditions)
  • They lived by hunting and fishing
  • They had no knowledge of new technology, like guns
  • They were divided into different tribes, and each tribe had a chief who led the tribe.
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11
Q

What was the initial contact between the British and the Native Americans?

A

The settlers at Jamestown quickly realised that the area was part of a Native American territory known as the Powhatan Confederacy, which was made up of dozens of villages; Chief Powhatan was their leader.

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12
Q

What did the Native Americans assume when they came into contact with the English.

A

They did not expect the English to want to control them; Chief Powhatan assumed that he would be their chief too.

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13
Q

How did relations with the Native Americans begin?

A

The English began by trading copper pots and iron fish hooks for food and Native American acceptance.
This started a good relationship with the Natives.

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14
Q

What did John Smith do?

A

He worsened the relations with the Natives by:

  • Taking over more land than allowed by the Powhatans.
  • He competed with the Powhatans over the production of food.
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15
Q

Between which years were Britain and the Natives at war?

A

1609 to 1614.

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16
Q

How did the British and the Powhatans gain a truce?

A

A marriage was arranged between a settler, John Rolfe, and the daughter of Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas, in 1614.

17
Q

What did Pocahontas end up doing with the British?

A

She converted to Christianity and returned with her husband back to England.

18
Q

Who were the Pilgrim Fathers?

A

They were a group of Puritans who established the second successful settlement in North America.

19
Q

When and why did the Pilgrim Fathers decide to leave England?

A

They left in the early 1600s to escape religious persecution.

20
Q

What did the Pilgrim Fathers name their settlement and they are they settled in?

A

They named the region ‘New England’ and named the settlement ‘Plymouth’ after their home town.

21
Q

How was life like initially for the Pilgrim Fathers?

A

It was difficult because many died from disease and they constantly fear attacks by the Native Americans.

22
Q

How many colonies were established on the East coast of North America by 1750?

A

Thirteen colonies.

23
Q

What was the Stamp Act of 1765?

A

It was where the British began taxing the American colonies.
It placed taxes on:
- Printed goods
- Documentation
- And various other items like playing cards.

24
Q

Why was the Stamp Act of 1765 created?

A

From 1756 to 1763, Britain fought the Seven Years’ War against France.
Although Britain was victorious, the war was very costly and it raised the British national debt to £133 million.

25
Q

How did the colonists react to the Stamp Act?

A

They were furious and forced Britain to cancel the tax.

26
Q

What was the Boston Massacre?

A

In 1770, protests in another tax in Boston led to the death of five colonists, which was known as the Boston Massacre.

27
Q

What was the Boston Tea Party?

A

In 1773, protests against tea taxes broke out. Colonists from Boston dressed as Native Americans and attacked British ships in the harbour that were carrying tea. They smashed the chests and threw the tea overboard.

28
Q

What were the Coercive Acts?

A

In reply to the protests in Boston, the British punished the colonists by closing down the port of Boston to stop trade coming in or out.

29
Q

When was the War of Independence?

A

1775 to 1783.

30
Q

What did the colonists initially demand in the War of Independence?

A

They initially demanded more autonomy (control) and did not want to become completely independent from Britain.

31
Q

What happened in 1776?

A

Many colonists were swayed by a political pamphlet called Common Sense, which was written by Thomas Paine.
This pamphlet said how the people should be free of the rule of the kings and be able to decide how they ruled themselves and the colonies.

32
Q

What groups were the colonists split into during the War of Independence?

A
  • The Patriots; they wanted complete independence from Britain.
  • The Loyalists; they were loyal to Britain and saw Britain as ‘the mother country’ but wanted more control and not to pay taxes to Britain.
33
Q

What happened on the 4th of July 1776?

A

The Declaration of Independence was signed which stated that they were fighting to be free from British rule.
America has been celebrating Independence Day on the 4th of July ever since.

34
Q

Who lost the War of Independence and why?

A

Britain was forced to surrender and lose the war by the colonists in the Battle of Yorktown in 1783.

35
Q

Who became the first president of America?

A

George Washington, one of the most prominent patriots.

36
Q

After the colonists won their independence, what did The Loyalists do?

A

They faced hostility from The Patriots and they migrated to Canada.

37
Q

Who owned Canada?

A

Britain owned Canada after The Seven’s Years War with France and took it from France.
This is why people predominantly speak English or French in Canada.