1 Basic model of settlement

1 Bulk of the population were European who displaced native populations by ‘transplanting’ with European people. Tried to establish a society that was a replica of the parent society was the beginning of sustained population growth in England. It was over-peopled and experiencing problems of poverty and crime. The English felt it was their God-given right to colonise the earth. In comparison the Spanish model was much more feudal in nature. They established an elite class (conquistadors) that used the native population as serfs. Settler Societies

2 Protestantism Distinctive pattern of religiosity Strongly religious – came to the New World to re-establish pure faiths

3 Slavery was to a large extent responsible for the rapid peopling of North America.

4 Decentralised power structures

‘Empire on the cheap’ – privatisation of some colonies and government operated very much on a local/community level. Stark contrast to Spain which had a very centralised and well-organised system of administration for their empire. The English model eventually caused problems when England tried to re-establish more direct control. Became one of the major causes of revolution. 4 Decentralised power structures

In particular New England, largely Puritan. Highly organised migration. People often moved in family groups ie ‘transplanted communities’ Primarily nuclear and extended families. Life expectancy rose rapidly – healthy population (drier climate), age of marriage declined due to the availability of land (due to decimation of native population), birth rate increased. Rise of villages and commercial centres and towns. Rise of Puritan merchants with well-organised trading networks. Dominant ideology and social values that revolved around the notion of ‘hard work’ and a frugal existence.

First English colonies to take off. South was all about rivers. Very dispersed population. Land not very fertile – subsistence agriculture, family farms aiming to self-supply, small surpluses to trade for other commodities that were required. Skewed age and sex ratios. Many young men (15-24) immigrating as indentured servants, few women. Very low life expectancy (most didn’t make 40) Much more violence (why??, male-dominated, fewer family units)

Marriage and re-marriage were a way of life eg. Mary Keeble – married, 7 children, widowed by 29, remarried, 5 more children, died at age 41, her widower remarries and has more children, he dies, his widow remarries and has more children. Six marriages between seven people producing 25 children. Each child would have lived through the death of at least one parent and a period under at least one step-parent. Ability to marry early and remarry – conclusions??? (suggests that they were land-owners) Children’s names often reused within families – conclusions??? (high mortality rate, low emotional attachment to children)

Little sense of community or distinctive culture due to lack of large towns. Emerging southern gentry developed from 1750 onwards. Very aspirational, aristocratic families with close networks and strategic marriages. As time went on a significant free white population emerged with small farms and emerging family units.