Father Junípero Serra

Why was Father Junípero Serra such a controversial and significant figure? How did the ideas of republicanism and liberalism differ in eighteenth century British North America? Three distinct slave systems were well entrenched in Britain’s mainland colonies. Describe the main characteristics of each system. What were the bases of the colonists’ sense of a collective British identity in the eighteenth century? What ideas generated by the American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening prompted challenges to religious, social, and political authorities in the British colonies?

How involved were colonial merchants in the Atlantic trading system, and what was the role of the slave trade in their commerce? We often consider the impact of the slave trade only on the United States, but its impact extended much further. How did it affect West African nations and society, other regions of the New World, and the nations of Europe? Using eighteenth-century concepts, explain who had the right to vote in the British colonies and why the restrictions were justified. FREEDOM QUESTIONS

Although many British colonists claimed theirs was an “empire of freedom,” most African-Americans disagreed. Why would African-Americans instead have viewed Spain as a beacon of freedom, and what events in the eighteenth century demonstrated this? The eighteenth century saw the simultaneous expansion of both freedom and slavery in the North American colonies. Explain the connection between these two contradictory forces. Explain how the ideals of republican liberty and liberal freedoms became the widespread rallying cries of people from all social classes in the British empire. Today we treasure freedom of expression in all its forms, and codify these rights in the First Amendment. Why were these freedoms considered dangerous in the eighteenth century and thus not guaranteed to everyone in the British empire?