Chapter 4-2 The Colonial Economy

THE SOUTHERN ECONOMY The colonists needed manufactured goods such as farm tools, furniture, guns, and ammunition, pots and pans, books, and glassware. They had to get most of these goods

by producing crops that England or other countries could use by producing crops that England or other countries could use. Crops that farmers raise in large quantities to sell are called staple crops.

The southern colonies had an advantage in growing staple crops because of their warm climate. Tobacco provided a staple crop for the colonists of Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Originally when American tobacco

became popular in England its price was very high, but then the price fell. However, farmers were still able to make a good profit from the crop. Another staple crop found in South Carolina and later in Georgia was rice.

It grew well in the swamps and low lying lands along the Atlantic coast. The main source of labor for the rice fields was slaves. Plantation owners tried to purchase slaves from West Africa because they were highly

skilled and knowledgeable about growing rice skilled and knowledgeable about growing rice. They were also more resistant to the tropical diseases common in the rice fields. Indigo is a blue dye used by English cloth manufacturers.

It was grown by South Carolina farmers It was grown by South Carolina farmers. Eliza Lucas the daughter of an English colonial official from the West Indies eventually perfected southern Indigo. By 1746 they were exporting 40,000 pounds of the crop.

THE NORTHERN ECONOMY The economy of the northern colonies was more diverse than that of the southern colonies. The climate from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire was too cold to grow

most of the southern staple crops most of the southern staple crops. Also, there was no demand for wheat in Europe during most of the colonial period. Fur however, was highly valued in Europe. Colonists hunted and trapped

many animals for their own use, sale and export. Northerners were fisherman making their living in the waters off Newfoundland. There wasn’t any demand in England for the fish but they

could sell it in southern Europe because it was not an enumerated article. Shipbuilding and foreign commerce were also important economic activities in the northern colonies. Merchants and ship owners in Boston, New York and

Philadelphia competed with English shippers for the trade with Europe Philadelphia competed with English shippers for the trade with Europe. Also, New York and Boston became centers of the slave trade in the mainland colonies.

TRADE NETWORKS AND SLAVERY Because the islands in the Caribbean are small, nearly every acre of the fertile soil was devoted to raising sugar cane. Also, because producing sugar

required a great deal of labor, the islands were heavily populated by slaves who needed large amounts of food. Plantation life was hard, many slaves were literally worked to death. West Indian plantation owners needed a

constant supply of new slaves from Africa. A complex trade network soon developed linking the northern colonies, England the sugar islands the southern colonies and Africa.

Describe one of these triangular trade routes: American merchants frequently bought

molasses in the West Indies instead of sugar molasses in the West Indies instead of sugar. The Americans took this molasses to the mainland where it was made into rum. The rum was then shipped to West Africa where it was traded for slaves. The slaves were taken to the West Indies.

THE MIDDLE PASSAGE The transporting of enslaved Africans to the Americas was called the Middle Passage. This trip usually took between six and nine weeks and was a horrifying experience for the

Africans. Defying the limits Parliament set on the number of slaves that could be carried on ships, most captains packed as many as possible below decks. The death toll was very high On some ships nearly 1/2 the Africans

died before reaching the colonies .died before reaching the colonies. Some historians estimate that less than 1/2 of the more than 10 to 15 million people removed from Africa ever became useful workers in the Americas. The others either died

during the passage or were disabled for the rest of their lives. List two reasons why overcrowding was bad business never mind terribly cruel and inhumane: Contagious disease could spread among the slaves

and even sicken the captain and crew, overcrowding could leave a slave permanently disabled. The slave trade proved very profitable. Profits ranged from 10 to 100 %. To the Europeans involved in the slave trade, African

lives were far less important than the money the traders made.