In 1688, English subjects asked William of Orange to intervene against the Catholic King James II due to fears of a Catholic dynasty. William was eligible for the crown as the nephew and son-in-law of James II, and more importantly he was Protestant. Colonial officials tried to suppress news of the revolution but instead instigated their own revolutions in the colonies. King William then worked to resolve the colonial situations, removing proprietary power in some colonies and compromising to share power in Massachusetts between the royal governor and elected assembly.

1. Michael S Guccione Extra Credit: American Colonies

2. 13 – Glorious Revolutions In 1688, fearing a Catholic dynasty, some English asked William, the Dutch Prince of Orange, to intervene William was both nephew and son-in-law to the Catholic King of England, James. This made him (sort-of) eligible for the crown, and most importantly, he was Protestant. Colonial officials (appointed by James) tried to suppress the news, but instead instigated their own revolutions. The Dominion was resolved by rebels, and New York’s governor was replaced by Leisler, a German immigrant with colonial Dutch support Virginia and the West Indies did not experience revolution for varying reasons, but in large part for fear of their slave majorities.

3. 13 - Resolution King William reached an easy agreement with rebel Maryland, ousting the Catholic proprietor and making it a Royal Colony He also removed Penn from power in Pennsylvania and appointed a military governor (who had trouble getting cooperation from the Quaker assembly) With Massachusetts the King had to compromise. The colony now had both a Royal governor and an elected assembly. In New York the King decided to rule against his Dutch subjects there, so as not to appear biased against his English subjects, and Leisler was replaced and executed

4. 13 – Pirates Pirate crews of the era were essentially democratic, deciding on even leadership by majority rule Up to the early 17th Century, England utilized Privateers against the stronger Navy of Spain By 1700, pirates had become a burden on the expanded English Empire. Many pirates, such as Captain Kidd, lost the allegiance they once had from Colonial and Imperial backers Captain Kidd was convicted and executed on May 23, 1701. His body was hung by the Thames River to rot and serve as an example of what happens to pirates. By 1730 the empire had nearly eliminated Piracy in the West Indies and elsewhere, lowering the price merchants expended on defending their ships, and also lowering the price on maritime insurance.

5. 14 - News As trade increased and shipping became more stable, the flow of information between Europe and the Colonies steadied From having no newspapers in English America in the 1600’s, the colonists had 13 by 1739 These newspapers primarily dealt with Atlantic commerce, and political news from London The colonists became more tied than ever to the homeland as they became more wrapped up in her trade and her wars.

6. 14 – Trade The Chesapeake and West Indian colonies sold more in sugar and tobacco than they bought in manufactured goods. These colonies accumulated credit that they exchanged for produce from New England New England, in turn, generated credit by the shipping of this produce, and used it to buy manufactured goods from England These extensions of credit also allowed trade with the Iberian peninsula, and there was a new boom in demand for wheat, which benefited the middle colonies The colonial GDP expanded from 4% of England’s in 1700 to 40% in 1770. The colonists also had cheap, accessible land, fertile soil, and slave labor and therefore had much higher standards of living than their compatriots back home.

7. 14 – “New Negroes” Most West African slaves were captured by African slave raiders and sold to Europeans Some slaves became “Drivers,” who were entrusted with power over the other slaves and whipped them for the master Mulattoes with white fathers often received less taxing assignments such as becoming house servants or artisans Uprisings were more common were there were more blacks than whites, such as in the West Indies In 1760, a West Indies uprising killed 90 whites, and its repression killed 400 blacks, mostly burnt at the stake.