CONNAISSANCES DES SOCIÉTÉS USA

CONNAISSANCES DES SOCIÉTÉS USA 🇺🇸

Chapter 1 - Early America

Spanish & Portuguese colonization, one century before the English arrived.

Latin America: population was numerous, climate very hot, precious metal mines source of wealth. In theses regions if you seized the empires you basically controlled the entire region (aztecas, incas & mayas).

The english started to explore the coast of North America from Florida to Maine. But it was covered with forest, very difficult to penetrate. The initial plan was to follow the Spanish model, enslave the local population.

The Economic model for this period in North America was invented by the English. The Mercantilism = a kingdom is rich only if it keeps much of its gold inside itself, limit trade with the outside world, keep others from being rich. One of its consequences is going to be a monopoly between England and its colonies: America will produce agricultural goods and England is going to produce manufactured goods. They would then exchange the goods in a closed partnership.

Politically, form of self-government in the colonies. Colonists are obviously very english, believe in the King. In terms of demography, the numbers of Indians will decrease due to the destruction of their form of living and of bacterias (smallpox). The demography of Europe is stable during XVI century but the population in America is increasing rapidly, it doubles every 25 years.

ES & PT carve out their own empires with a deal with the pope. The Spanish will very quickly conquer the Inca empire with their big military power.

The Spanish knew there was a big chunk of the continent in the North so they started to explore it. Hernando Desoto came to the conclusion that that part of the continent was worthless so he decided to go back to the South.

Other explorers started to visit the place & started to explore the content: The French and the Germans. They ended up trading with the Indians who still lived there.

Chapter 2 - The Colonial Period

1606 = Colony of Virginia, named after queen Elizabeth I who is the last Tudor monarch (the “Virgin Queen“). The city of Jamestown was the main town and its name was in honor of the James I. It’s the first successful city in America. Its first leader was John Smith.

The living conditions were very hard: it’s successful because the people actually survived.

Indentured Service: If you wanted to go to the new world you had to pay the passage and you would get a piece of land to develop but if you couldn’t pay you would still get a ticket but you had to work for 7 years to the transporting company.

The history of the 17th C in Europe was the intent of creating an absolute monarchy, but it failed in England but succeeded in France.

There several phases of this attempt in England:

Beginning 17th, dominant church is the Anglican church. There was a problem with Elizabeth because she had no heir so they went to Scotland and its king; James Stuart I became the king of England. The stuarts are seduced by absolutism so they’ll impose Catholicism. Under them a lot of Anglicans who feel protestant leave England —> in the Mayflower. They will go to Massachusetts. Little by little America is divided:

- North: Puritans, democratic

- South: Cavalier, Aristocratic, in favour of an unequal society.

Pensilvania was created by the Quakers/Society of Friends (1681) who get together until one of the members is “visited by god“ and starts speaking to his name. Founder by William Penn.

The relations between England & Colonies will evolve. One of the turning points was the England VS French war in Canada. The fighting was actually done by Americans, ex: George Washington. London had the very bright idea of making the colonist pay for the wars, which created huge discontent. There were 2 ways of doing it: creating taxes or change the system of commerce (they made the mercantilism more rigid). An intellectual elite was also emerging in the colonies so there were a lot of people ready for an organized protest against the British. The main source of discontent was fiscal but it’s obviously very easy to escalate into a huge conflict. The fiscal protest can be summed up by: no taxation without representation. They had absolute no representatives in the parliament in London.

Sugar Act 1764, forbidden to sell sugar produced in US colonies to the Dutch or the French, even if they paid more than the Brits. England decided to switch from forced mercantilism to a strict protectionism.

CHAPTER 3 - THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE (The Birth Of A Nation)

The Boston merchants, where the intellectual and economic elite started to turn against England and this policy, will gradually plant the seeds of a fiscal revolt and this will end up escalating into a political protest and a revolution.

These merchants were dissatisfied with the new policy so they start to organize themselves forming groups (1765 beginning of the revolution). You have delegates coming from all the colonies who get together and see that they have in common their rejection to the Brit policy that will unite the colonies. Without this fiscal revolt the USA would’ve never existed.

Taxation without representation:

The parliament in Westminster would vote taxes and the American colonists were not represented in Washington. They felt that the votes should not affect the American. After 1689 were talking about a regime that was a constitutional monarchy. The declaration of independence 1776 apparently targets the king but in fact the reality of power at the time was parliament and the PM.

Townsend Acts: He had the bright idea of making Americans paying custom duties/fees on British products brought by the Americans. This will create even more discontent because it made English products even more expensive.

There was 2 sets of measure: Fiscal measures - to generate more revenue — be there were also oppressive measures - Quartering Act: Forced Americans to offer a bedroom to Brit troops. The military presence of the brits is more & more a source of discontent especially bc these troops were concentrated around Boston: first casualties in 1770, 3 dead known as the Boston Massacre, first time the troops killed.

Revolution leaders will emerge. They denounced the

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