British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution

What British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution covers

British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution is examined in Paper 2, Period study and British depth study. It covers Developments in colonial society, slavery in North America, problems within the colonies, the impact of cultural developments, war in the colonies, the aftermath of the French and Indian war, American colonist relations with Britain: growing opposition, 1765-75, the War of Independence 1775-83 and consequences of the war in America.

The 9 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Developments in colonial societyScots-Irish and German migrants, population growth, the backcountry, indentured servants, the colonial elite, frontier resentment and clashes with Indigenous nations, tobacco and the West Indies trade, the Navigation Acts, and piracy: Bellamy, Blackbeard at Charleston, the pardon and Piracy Act of 1717, Spotswood and Blackbeard's death.Open →
• Slavery in North AmericaThe three legs of the Atlantic trade triangle, the Middle Passage, how captives were bought, the profits of Bristol and Liverpool, the turn from indentured servants, rice in South Carolina, larger estates, the task system, the slave codes, poor white colonists, and the punishment and hunting of runaways.Open →
• Problems within the coloniesThe Stono Rebellion of 1739 and Spanish Florida's offer of freedom, the New York Conspiracy of 1741 and doubts about it, smuggling, weak customs collection, and the struggle to control the fur trade.Open →
• The impact of cultural developmentsThe Great Awakening, George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards, how the revival weakened authority, the Enlightenment and education, the spread of newspapers, subscription libraries, and Benjamin Franklin as printer, philanthropist and scientist.Open →
• War in the coloniesKing George's War and the capture and return of Louisbourg, why Indigenous nations sided with France, the French and Indian War from Fort Necessity to Quebec, the Treaty of Paris and the Proclamation line.Open →
• The aftermath of the French and Indian warBritain's debt and the case for colonial taxes, the standing army, the Sugar Act and vice-admiralty courts, James Otis on representation, Pontiac's Rebellion and the Paxton Boys.Open →
• American colonist relations with Britain: growing opposition, 1765-75The Stamp Act and the Sons of Liberty, the Boston Massacre and its use in propaganda, the Tea Act and Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and the two Continental Congresses.Open →
• The War of Independence 1775-83Paine's 'Common Sense', the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson's role and the contradiction at its heart, Washington's leadership, Saratoga in 1777 and the French alliance, Spain's part, British mistakes, Yorktown in 1781, the Peace of Paris of 1783, Franklin's part and what the treaty left unsettled.Open →
• Consequences of the war in AmericaSlavery's retreat in the north and strengthening in the south, the British offer of freedom, the peace settlement's cost to Indigenous nations and the Iroquois, and the fate of the Loyalists.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Sugar Act vs Stamp Act

  Sugar Act: the 1764 duty on foreign molasses and other imports, enforced to raise revenue. Stamp Act: the 1765 law taxing newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents and playing cards.

• First Continental Congress vs Second Continental Congress

  First Continental Congress: the 1774 meeting that agreed to stop trade with Britain and petition the king. Second Continental Congress: the 1775 meeting that took charge of the war and gave Washington command.

• Saratoga vs Yorktown

  Saratoga: Burgoyne's surrender in 1777 that brought France into the war. Yorktown: Cornwallis's surrender in 1781 that ended Britain's will to fight.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which groups of European migrants arrived in the mainland colonies in large numbers after 1713?

   Model answer

   Scots-Irish and German migrants arrived in growing numbers, alongside continued migration from England.

2. 2

   Why did the colonial population rise so fast in the early eighteenth century?

   Model answer

   Land was cheap and families were large, and heavy immigration added both free settlers and enslaved Africans.

3. 3

   What was the backcountry?

   Model answer

   The belt of frontier land inland from the older coastal counties, where poorer newcomers cleared farms towards the Appalachians.

4. 4

   What was an indentured servant?

   Model answer

   Someone who agreed to work without wages for a fixed number of years in return for their passage across the Atlantic.

5. 5

   Which people stood at the top of colonial society?

   Model answer

   A small elite of planters, big landowners and merchants, who also filled the assemblies and the courts.

6. 6

   Why did resentment grow between frontier farmers and the older coastal counties?

   Model answer

   Frontier districts were given few seats in the assemblies and little defence, while the coast set the taxes and controlled land grants.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution revision questions

What does British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution cover in Edexcel GCSE History?

9 subtopics: developments in colonial society, slavery in north america, problems within the colonies, the impact of cultural developments, war in the colonies, the aftermath of the french and indian war, american colonist relations with britain: growing opposition, 1765-75, the war of independence 1775-83 and consequences of the war in america. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution organised?

By the Edexcel 1HI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.