Life in the English Colonies Chapter 6 Life in the English Colonies

Introduction: Benjamin Franklin A young runaway, he found a job as a printer’s assistant in Philadelphia. Before long he owned his own printing business. Wrote and published “Poor Richard’s Almanac”. Franklin’s success served as an example of how the English colonies could achieve in North America.

Chapter 6 Section 1 Different Ways of Life New England Colonies: Poor farmland and a harsh climate led to subsistence farming. Many in NE turned to shipbuilding or fishing. Settled in close-knit towns, valued literacy and set up schools. Subsistence farming-they raise enough to subsist or survive. Literacy- the ability to read and write.

Middle Colonies Land was good for farming. People spread out rather than settling in towns. Trade kept port towns busy with imports and exports. Imports-products brought in from another country to be sold.

Southern Colonies: Many people settled along the fertile shore line, laced with rivers and swamps. They called this area Tidewater. Most in SC did subsistence farming. Plantation owners had tracks of land and work forces large enough to grow cash crops. Tidewater- the area where the water level moves up and down with the tide. Cash crops- crops raised to be sold for a profit. * In the Backcountry, the land was a hilly, densely wooded region. Settlers farmed, hunted and fished.