The West Indies and the Southern colonies | AP US History | Khan Academy | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

British colonies in the Caribbean and the southern part of North America were profitable due to the cultivation of cash crops like sugar and rice, relying heavily on slavery.

Key Insights

• 🌎 British colonies in the Americas expanded beyond the 13 colonies and included profitable plantation colonies in the Caribbean and the southern part of North America.
• 🌾 Sugar cultivation in the Caribbean and rice cultivation in the Carolinas were the main cash crops that drove the economies of these colonies.
• 🥺 Enslaved Africans outnumbered white people in the Caribbean, leading to the establishment of harsh slave codes and increasing fears of slave uprisings.
• 🖤 Plantation owners in the southern colonies brought aspects of plantation slavery from the Caribbean, including the pass system and the lack of legal rights for enslaved Africans.
• 😖 Maryland and Georgia were founded for altruistic reasons but eventually allowed slavery to meet economic needs.

Transcript

• [Instructor] When we think of British colonies in the Americas before 1776 we tend to think of the 13 colonies. Those colonies that were located along the eastern seaboard of North America and which rebelled as a group in the American Revolution. But if you were standing in London, say 1770, and you were thinking about British colonies in the New... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: Why were the Caribbean islands so profitable for English investors?

The Caribbean islands focused on growing sugar, a luxury commodity that fetched high prices. Sugar production was labor-intensive and required a massive initial capital investment.

Q: What were some of the hardships faced by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean?

Enslaved Africans in the Caribbean outnumbered white people, leading plantation owners to establish harsh slave codes, restrict their movement, and deny them legal rights. Violence and death inflicted by slave owners had no repercussions.

Q: How did the plantation colonies in the Caribbean differ from the cotton plantations in Georgia or South Carolina?

The majority of enslaved Africans were sent to the Caribbean, making the plantation experience in the Caribbean more typical. The Caribbean plantation system, reliant on sugar cultivation, resembled the oppression and labor practices found in the southern colonies.

Q: What were the motivations behind the founding of Maryland and Georgia as plantation colonies?

Maryland was founded as a haven for religious freedom for English Catholics, while Georgia was established as a colony for debtors to work off their debts. Slavery was later introduced in Georgia due to economic pressure.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• British colonies in the Americas were not limited to the 13 colonies along the eastern seaboard but also included the profitable Caribbean islands and the southern colonies.

• The Caribbean islands focused on growing sugar, a labor-intensive cash crop that brought immense wealth to a handful of wealthy plantation owners.

• The Carolinas shifted from sugar to rice cultivation, relying on West African slaves who had experience working on rice farms.