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

Overview

• European maritime empire expansion from 1450 to 1750 met with significant opposition.
• Empires expanded globally, centralizing power for economic and political control.
• Resistance arose both from colonized populations and within European empires.

Key Resistance Movements

The Fronde (France)

• Context: French monarch Louis XIV practiced absolutism, centralizing power.
• Cause: Increased taxation to fund wars of expansion.
• Event: French nobility led peasants in rebellion.
• Outcome: Resistance crushed; monarchy's power increased.

Queen Anna Nzinga's Resistance (Africa)

• Region: Sub-Saharan kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba.
• Opposition: Portuguese encroachment in West Africa.
• Actions: Allied with Dutch and the Kingdom of Kongo.
• Outcome: Successfully resisted Portuguese forces.

Pueblo Revolt (North America)

• Region: Spanish-controlled territories in North America.
• Cause: Oppressive Spanish missionary efforts and forced labor.
• Event: 1680, Pueblo people, led by Popé, rebelled against Spanish.
• Outcome: Temporarily expelled Spanish; Spanish returned a decade later.

Opposition from Enslaved Populations

Maroon Societies (Caribbean and Brazil)

• Context: Plantation economies based on enslaved labor.
• Action: Enslaved Africans escaped to form maroon communities.
• Example: Jamaica, maroon societies resisted British attempts to crush them.
• Outcome: 1738 treaty recognized maroon community freedom.

Stono Rebellion (British North America)

• Region: South Carolina's rice and indigo plantations.
• Event: 1739, 100 enslaved persons revolted, attacking enslavers.
• Outcome: Rebellion crushed by local militia; instilled fear in slaveholders.

Summary

• European empires' expansion led to resistance from various groups adversely affected.
• Resistance movements varied in success but showcased opposition to imperial control.
• Enslaved Africans also actively resisted through revolts and forming independent communities.