"Our principal wealth consists in tobacco; this commodity is our offensive and defensive weapon, and the only thing that keeps us alive. All our talks and thoughts are of tobacco, and how we may obtain hands to plant it. To this end, we buy servants from England, who bind themselves for a term of years in exchange for their passage."
— John Pory, Secretary of Virginia, letter to Dudley Carleton, 1619
In which of the following ways did the economic and labor systems described in the excerpt differ most significantly from the Spanish colonization model in the Americas?
- AThey aimed to create a self-sustaining economy that operated independently of the mother country's trade regulations.
- They relied on imported European and African labor rather than integrating the Native American population into their economic system.Answer
- CThey sought to establish close-knit, religion-centered family communities focused on subsistence farming.
- DThey developed a system where labor contracts bound workers and their descendants to permanent, hereditary service.
Answer
The British model in the Chesapeake relied on imported European and African labor rather than integrating the Native American population into their economic system.
The British colonization model in the Chesapeake, as highlighted by the focus on tobacco cultivation in the excerpt, relied primarily on agricultural settlements populated by European settlers (initially indentured servants) and, over time, enslaved Africans. Unlike the Spanish model, which incorporated Native Americans into a coercive labor and tribute system (like the encomienda or repartimiento) and integrated them into a complex social hierarchy (the casta system), the British largely excluded Native Americans from their colonies and did not rely on them as a primary agricultural workforce.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Comparison of Spanish and British colonization models, specifically regarding labor systems and Native American relations.