Lecture Notes: Resistance to Empire Expansion (1450-1750)

Overview

• European states expanded maritime empires aggressively from 1450 to 1750.
• Efforts to centralize power led to resistance from both home countries and colonized populations.
• Lecture provides examples of significant resistance movements.

Key Resistance Movements

France: The Fronde

• Context:
  • Louis XIV exemplified absolutism, consolidating power under monarchy.
  • Engaged in expensive wars of expansion.
  • New edicts increased taxation.
• Resistance:
  • Led by French nobility, peasants rebelled in movements called "The Fronde."
  • Lasted six years; ultimately crushed, increasing monarchy's power.

Africa: Queen Ana Nzinga

• Context:
  • Ruled kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba.
  • Concerned about Portuguese encroachment in West Africa.
• Resistance:
  • Allied with the Dutch and the Kingdom of Kongo.
  • Successfully resisted Portuguese armies.

North America: Pueblo Revolt

• Context:
  • Pueblo people suffered under Spanish missionary oppression and forced labor.
  • Population reduced to 25% due to disease and labor conditions.
• Resistance:
  • Led by Pope in 1680, Pueblo people violently rebelled.
  • Temporarily expelled Spanish; Spanish returned a decade later to regain control.

Other Forms of Resistance

Enslaved Africans

• Context:
  • Slave trade fueled agricultural economy with cash crops like sugar, rice, and tobacco.
  • Enslaved Africans transported via the Middle Passage faced brutal conditions.

Maroon Societies

• Formation:
  • Enslaved Africans escaped plantations to join free black communities.
  • Notable in the Caribbean and Brazil.
• Resistance:
  • British efforts to crush Jamaican maroon societies failed.
  • Treaty in 1738 recognized maroon community's freedom.

Stono Rebellion

• Context:
  • Occurred in South Carolina, a heavily enslaved colony.
  • Specialized in rice and indigo production.
• Resistance:
  • In 1739, 100 enslaved individuals attacked local armory and killed enslavers.
  • Rebellion crushed by militia, instilling fear in slaveholding colonies.

Summary

• European efforts to expand and consolidate power led to resistance from various groups.
• Resistance took multiple forms, sometimes successful, sometimes not.

Additional Resources

• Continue reviewing for unit four.
• Video note guides available for those who prefer visual learning aids.

Presenter: L.

• Sign-off: Catch you on the flip-flop!