Book Analysis for THE AMERICAN COLONIES.

By Alan Taylor

Directions: Students are to read carefully the book by Alan Taylor. Each chapter will have a set
of questions/list of topics for which short answer responses will be asked to probe for
understanding. Each answer must be handwritten on loose-leaf paper, stapled, and returned by
the first day of class. Students are to label each section and number each question. Short
analytical quotes are permissible; however, we do not want the student to copy the material
directly from Taylor’s book. It should be written in the student’s own voice as a summary of
understanding. A total grade for this assignment is 150 points.

Part One: The Encounters

Chapter One: Natives:

• 1. Old world explorers encountered in the new world complex and diverse peoples—who,
where, etc?
• 2. Pre-Columbian America is “fraught with controversy.” What conflicts were they?
• 3. Some natives had a culture that demanded less of the environment than that of other
natives—such as:
• 4. What are Taylor’s three ideas which he argues about migration?
o A.____________________________________
o B. ____________________________________
o C. ____________________________________

Chapter Two: Colonizers:

• 5. Taylor makes a big issue over environmentalism—why?
• 6. What caused the expansion of Europe—and why?
• 7. What were the two major religions of the age of expansion? How do they come to
impact the new world?
• 8. Why is the Atlantic Ocean such a central vital environmental concern for the
colonizers?
• 9. Once across the Ocean, what were contributions of the colonizers to the New York
area?
• 10. What does Taylor say about slavery in the new world?
• 11. Discuss the role of the Treaty of Tordesillas (you may need to look to other sources)?

Chapter Three: New Spain. [Using bullets, summarize Taylor’s assessment of]
• 12. Conquests:
• 13. Conquistadores:
• 14. Consolidation:
• 15. Colonists:
• 16. Empire:
• 17. Gold & Silver:

Chapter Four: “The Spanish Frontier”:

• 18. Make a list of the achievements of Cabeza de Vaca
• 19. Where did Hernando de Soto explore? What was his legacy?
• 20. What did Coronado do and how does the seven cities myth develop? What happened
to his money?
• 21. Florida became the focus of Spain—why? How?
• 22. Discuss the encomienda system and haciendas (note you may need to look to other
sources).
 • 23. What significance can be attached to New Mexico Missions? Franciscans,
Benedictines, Dominicans.
• 24. What was the Pueblo Revolt, how did it begin and what happen to cause the
fanaticism?

Chapter Five: Canada & Iroquoia [a shift in geography, a new culture, and very different group of
Native Americans]
• 25. Northern parts of North America became the base of the French—discuss the map
area.
• 26. What were the two major Native American cultural groups? How were they distinct?
• 27. The key for economic development was the fur trade of New France. Why was that
so?
• 28. How and why did trade develop? Discuss.
• 29. How did the fur trade operate in its widest applications
• 30. What was the role of Canada in development of New France?
• 31. Analyze and characterize The Five Nations. Who were they?
• 32. What impact did old world disease have upon new world natives?
• 33. How important was the formation and development of Dutch trade system &
involvement?
• 34. In the new world the French brought the militant Jesuits to catholicize the new world.
Did it work?
• 35. Finally, how did destruction befall the organized settling of the new world

Part Two: The Colonies

Chapter Six: Virginia 1570-1650

• 36. What was the social composition of the Virginia colony?
• 37. What does the map reveal about the topography and land/water ratio of the
Chesapeake?
• 38. What was the role of Roanoke?
• 39. Who was Powhatan? What is the character of the Native Americans in the area?
• 40. Discuss the motivation for English settlement (including the role of a “joint stock
company”)
• 41. Jamestown becomes significant because: A)___, B)___, C)___, D)___
• 42. What is the significance of tobacco? Discuss this in detail.

Chapter Seven—Chesapeake Colonies

• 43. What significant difference is there from Virginia to the Chesapeake Colonies?
Which were they?
• 44. What does it mean to be a commonwealth?
• 45. Why are labor, health, and profit the driving motives of Chesapeake settlers?
• 46. What sources of labor were there in the Chesapeake?
• 47. Why is prosperity a concern of the area? What is there about the class structure?
Discuss the five tiered pyramid..
• 48. Rebellion—why did it come? For how long would it endure and remain an issue?
• 49. What significance can be attached to the frontier? Who was this character Berkeley?
• 50. Who were the great planters? Where did they come from? How and why did this
arrangement come about? What were the characteristics of the planters?
• 51. Discuss the whole issue of the coming of slavery—why, when, from where, and for
what purpose?
Chapter Eight—New England:
• 52. Define the area of land commonly referred to as New England. [See map p.163] Why
is the etching of Richard Mather so important to the development of the territory of the
northeast?
• 53. Analyze and identify the Puritan values of the period and place?
• 54. Who were the “Puritans”? Why are they so incredibly important to the study of
American history?
• 55. Why were the Puritans concerned with a: Theocracy? Education? Morality? Were
they as bad as contemporary writers have alleged? Or, are modernist engaging presentism
as a value judgment?
• 56. Why were Puritans concerned over the British Monarchy? Also, with the Anglican
Church?
• 57. What was the “Great Migration all about?”
• 58. Why did New England attract a different set of immigrants from the Old World?
• 59. What was the advantage of climate and population ratio more beneficial than in the
Chesapeake?
• 60. Discuss the relationship of land and labor in New England. What was the social
relationship of Puritans?
• 61. Analyze and compare and contrast family life in New England. Pay attention to the
role of women.
• 62. Why was commerce the major source of economic sustenance and development?
• 63. Why was Massachusetts known as the “Bible Commonwealth” Why all the concern
over education?
• 64. What was the pull of puritans to the New World? From whence came the disputes &
discontent?
• 65. Why was there such a flap over the Witchcraft issue? Where did it occur?

Chapter Nine—Puritans and Indians:

• 66. Alan Taylor in this chapter reveals an insightful awareness of the culture and
contributions of the Natives. Give a bulleted list of his concerns:
• 67. What was the issue of property? What was meant by tribute? Were the natives
exploited? Why?
• 68. Discuss the issues and causes of the Pequot War.
• 69. Why 1676 did war break out as “King Philip’s War?” It eventually became what type
of war?
• 70. What ultimate end came as victory, and yet, end in defeat?

Chapter Ten—The West Indies:

• 71. In this chapter Taylor takes us off the mainland continent of North America to
explore the West Indies—Why? What was the motivation?
• 72. What significance does he attach to Barbados? Discuss or bullet several points!
• 73 The development of the sugar industry became the major economic back-bone of
Indies—why?
• 74. What is revealing to the reader from the map of the West Indies?
• 75. Discuss the major demand for the use of slavery, from whence did it come and who
benefitted? Give multiple ideas for Taylor’s arguments and analysis:
• 76. Discuss the planter aristocracy. Analyze the social strata for the West Indies
population.

Chapter Eleven—Carolinas—A Century of Develop: (1670-1760)

• 77. Who were the colonists? Why did they come, what was their environmental fate?
 • 78. Why does Taylor have a section in which he discusses the gun trade?
• 79. Just as sugar was the crop of the West Indies, so did rice become the crop of
Carolinas? Why?
• 80. What good reasons does Taylor have for discussing “terror” in the territory?
• 81. Finally, the issue of Georgia is discussed. What role does Oglethorpe play?
• 82. What is Taylor’s final conclusion about this area during this century?

Chapter Twelve—Middle Colonies—The 17th Century of Development:

• 83. Between the Chesapeake and New England a multi-cultural, racial and ethnic diverse
society established itself—why? From the broad Hudson River, West to the
Appalachian Mtns, south to Virginia boundary lay an area of land with a new vibrant
economy and a diverse society developed—why?
• 84. What was Taylor’s assessment of the Dutch Empire?
• 85. Why can this be called the Germanic area of development? Was it more than just
ethnic culture of central Europeans to establish this area?
• 86. Make a list of Dutch (New Netherland) contributions to the area: (bullet points)
• 87. What was the status of religious dissenters in the Middle Colonies?
• 88. Why did “New Netherlands” falter? What vacuum was created by it? How did
England become the heir of the territories?
• 89. What was the issue involved in the conquest? Discuss the “covenant chain?”
• 90. What is the background account for establishing New Jersey?
• 91. More important, how did Pennsylvania become the center of the Middle Colonies?
• 92. What was the status of religion in the Middle Colonies? This is detailed section—
why?

Part Three: The Empires: [SECOND HALF OF BOOK]

Hereafter follow the topics Taylor discusses with the student whose job is to outline why they are
historically significant and what impact they had on colonial development. This is your first set
of “concepts.” *You may need to use additional sources to complete.*

• Concepts are due every Monday; typed work will not be accepted as all work must be
hand written to receive credit.

Minor Concepts: These require adequate identification of the topic at hand; a bullet-type listing
of your information is acceptable.
• 93. Dominion
• 94. Glorious Revolution
• 95. Mayflower Compact
• 96. Maryland Toleration Act of 1649
• 97. Men and Money
• 98. Colonial and Indian War
• 99. War of Spanish Succession
• 100. Pirates
• 101. English Immigrants
• 102. Germans
• 103. Scots
• 104. Pluralism
• 105. Unitarianism
• 106. House of Commons
• 107. Proprietary Colony
 • 108. Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina
• 109. Pennsylvania’s Charter of Privileges
• 110. Leisler Rebellion
• 111. Bacon’s Rebellion
• 112. Differences indentured servitude and slavery
• 113. Reasons for colonial resistance of English expectations
• 114. Coureurs de bois
• 115. Town meeting

Major Concepts: These require a thorough, thoughtful, and organized explanation of the topic at
hand. They should be hand written in sentence format and be a few paragraphs long. (10 points
each)
• 116. Great Awakening
• A. Revivals
• B. Whitefield (George)
• C. Old Lights vs New Lights—who was what?
• D. Radicals
• E. Southern Revivals
• F. Race
• G. Legacies
• 117. French in America
o A. Geography
o B. Opportunity
o C. Authority
o D. The Upper Country
o E. Louisiana
o F. Rebels and Allies
o G. Dependence