The Colonial Era

The Half-Way Covenant was a form of Church membership in New England. It sacrificed purity in exchange for an increase in membership. It is an early example of a gradual opening in religious tolerance.

The Navigation Acts were passed in 1663, 1673 and 1696. Their purpose was to limit the trade of English colonies to England exclusively - this is known as mercantilism. Mercantilism stymies the colonial economies but strengthens both the influence of the mother country over her colonies and the economic power capable by the empire.

Also known as the First Indian War, this was a grievous conflict between Native Americans and English colonists. While it resulted in an English victory and created dominance in the Puritan region, it also acted as a great disaster. Twelve of the settlements in the region were destroyed and its economy was ruined. The Native Americans were the most galvanized, however.

Nathaniel Bacon, upset with Virginia's colonial governor William Berkeley's stance on Native American relations, rallied a thousand colonial settlers as vigilantes in order to incite an aggressive diplomatic policy with the Native Americans near Jamestown. It could be argued that the rebellion was a power play by Bacon, who seemed upset with Berkeley's lax nature; however the colonists under Bacon would see the first English colonial rebellion as a means of demonstrating anguish towards royal and far reaching influences acting on colonial provincial matters.

The Dominion of New England was an English attempt to unify its American colonies fully under royal control. It was shortly lived - the colonies detested the Dominion as it revoked the previous charters and governmental workings of the colonies. The failure of the Dominion could be seen as a prelude to the American Revolution.

The Glorious Revolution resulted from the deposition of the English King James II and the ascension of the Dutch King Willem van Oranje, after the latter's union with English parliamentarians and subsequent invasion - which ended nearly bloodlessly.

Willem van Oranje could been seen as an opportunistl Much of the English Parliament were Protestant, and sought to depose King James II.

In the end, Willem van Oranje was a top power in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and the Neatherlands.

The English Crown set into play the Toleration Act to promote a seeming of Christian unity. Catholics were specifically excluded, but many other Christian denominations were given equal status with Protestantism following the obviation of penalties previously assigned to these sects.

Leisler was a German American merchant that was infuriated with the state of English politics during the Glorious Revolution. He would take control over the southern half of the New York colony for three years.
In the end, the rebellion portrayed an upset colonial attitude towards the policies of the deposed king..

Amid the introduction of European disease and the encroachment of English settlers on land previously belonging to them, the Tuscarora Native Americans declared war upon the English. They worked with several other Native American tribes, attacking the English in several settlements simultaneously, but were ultimately overpowered.

The New York Slave Revolt was a small uprising in New York. 23 enslaved Africans killed 9 whites. The received retribution was rather different however. Several laws were enacted restricting the liberty of African slaves, and 70 were killed or executed.

The Great Awakening was a revitilization in the Christian religion during the 1730's and 1740's. In the New World, it incited disputations between traditionalists and revitalists. It acted as a religious upheaval similar (but smaller than) to the Protestant Reformation.

Zenger was a publisher and printer in New York City. He wrote works criticizing the corruption of the New York Governor William Cosby. He later was arrested and imprisoned under charges of sedition. A court date was set, and received rampant attention. He was successfully defended and the precedent was set: It is not sedition and libel if it can be proved - this set the basis of the freedom of the press in the New World.

Also called Cato's Rebellion, this English slave uprising was the largest of its kind prior to the American Revolution. Mostly composed of Catholic Kongolese, the band was, as others before it, upset with their current treatment.

The Negro Act of 1740 was enacted in response to this uprising. It put bans on the assembly, education, and at the same time banned slave importation for ten years.