LIFE IN THE BRITISH COLONIES THE BRITISH COLONIES BECAME THE MOST POPULOUS AND SUCCESSFUL BY THE 17TH CENTURY BUT REMAINED DIVIDED AMONG THREE DISTINCT COLONIAL REGIONS: NEW ENGLAND, MID-ATLANTIC, AND SOUTHERN COLONIES.

POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS: BRITISH COLONIES The Northern, Middle and Southern colonies were very different from each other…yet they shared some common traits in their political, economic and social characteristics.

POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS: BRITISH COLONIES Government in the colonies  All British colonies were governed with the policy of Salutary Neglect British parliament and the king controlled the colonies, but did not enforce its policies as long as Britain profited from the colonies. Almost all the colonies had a royal governor, but their salaries were paid by the colonists so governors rarely overturned local laws. This loose control allowed the colonists to create their own governments.

COLONIAL GOVERNMENT Technically, the Parliament & King had absolute authority over all parts of the British Empire In practice, the British government rarely exercised this control over the colonies Almost all the British colonies had royal governors who were appointed by the king who oversaw trade, approved laws, & appointed judges But, governors salaries were paid by colonial assemblies so governors rarely overturned local laws or taxes Colonial assemblies were self-governed made up of colonists who passed their own laws and taxes Typically, colonial assemblies were controlled by the elite

Virginia House of Burgesses Massachusetts town meetings TWO EXAMPLES OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: BRITISH COLONIES Trans-Atlantic Trade America became an important part of the trans-Atlantic trade network. The colonies produced profitable raw materials, such as tobacco, wheat, fish, indigo, & whale oil Britain sold manufactured goods back to the colonists, such as clothing, tea, guns, & tableware African slaves were brought to America via the Middle Passage Increased demand for colonial raw materials, increased the demand for British goods. This network created a series of trade routes among America, Europe and Africa.

MERCANTILISM By the 1650s, the British government began to embrace the economic policy of mercantilism: The colonies exist to generate wealth for the mother country Promoted a balance of trade (more exports than imports) Meant that colonial trade must be regulated & controlled  In 1660, Britain began the first of a series of Navigation Acts designed to restrict colonial trade and increase British wealth.  The Navigation Acts required the colonists to trade only with Britain.

ECONOMICS: REGIONAL DIFFERENCES The British colonies produced a variety of profitable materials & were populated by a variety of diverse peoples By the 1700s, the differences among the “Southern” & “Northern” colonies led to long-term differences among these societies

SOUTHERN COLONIES Southern economies were dominated by cash-crop agriculture, rural towns rather than cities, large gaps between rich and poor, and slaves and indentured servants.  English colonists typically made up the plantation owners in the fertile lands in the east.  Former English indentured servants, free blacks, and poor immigrants moved to the back country with poor soil, near Indians, and lived in poverty.

SLAVERY IN THE “SOUTHERN” COLONIES Slavery in the Southern colonies was far more common than in the Northern colonies: Cash-crop agriculture, like tobacco & rice, required workers By 1660, fewer indentured servants were coming to America 80-90% of Southern slaves were field workers, most on plantations

SLAVERY IN THE “SOUTHERN” COLONIES Slave culture in the South: Slaves came from a variety of places in West Africa & had a variety of languages & cultures Music & dance were used to maintain their African culture Families were common, but marriage was not recognized Slave religion often blended African rituals with Christianity Slaves resisted by faking illness, slowing down work, or sabotaging equipment

STONO REBELLION

LIFE IN THE “NORTHERN” COLONIES Northern economies were much more diverse than in the South: Were restricted to much smaller farms that grew multiple corps Included wheat, corn, livestock, lumber, shipbuilding, fishing, & iron Boston, Philadelphia, New York were important port cities that allowed for international trade

NORTHERN COLONIES Northern cities gave people more professional and trade opportunities than anywhere in the colonies. Like the Southern colonies, English, Germans, & Scots-Irish were the major immigrant groups & most moved to the backcountry as small-scale farmers Slaves worked on small-scale farms or as domestic servants Northern women could not vote or own property & were to serve & obey their husbands Benjamin Franklin represented social mobility/opportunity in America by rising to fame through his printing business, technological inventions and political writings.

THE GREAT AWAKENING By the 1700s, American colonists saw a decline in religious devotion: Church sermons were seen by many as “cold” & impersonal In the 1730s & 1740s, the Great Awakening was a series of revivals in which people experienced religious conversion in response to gifted preaching Preachers like John Edwards and George Whitefield were popular evangelists. Preachers used “fire and brimstone” and camp revivals to encourage people to examine their faith. The Great Awakening led to a rise of new religious denominations like Baptists and Methodists. The Great Awakening took place in all colonies and became the first religious revival event.