17th century Colonial Period New England

New England Colonies New Hampshire--1623 Province of Massachusetts Bay (Massachusetts and Maine) --1620 Rhode Island --1636 Connecticut --1636

The Thirteen Colonies

New England Colonies England v. Colonies Economy = Tobacco Culture Land/Laborers Economy = Tobacco Culture Cultivate what you can to make MONEY! Labor Intensive Crop Mercantile Society Not to grow food but to grow tobacco!

New England Colonies Chance to make it! Tens of thousands of people enter Indentured servants come in hopes of serving then getting land Men, poor, young (16-24), unmarried and white Ratio is 7:1 Immature and chaotic colonies Society grows through migration, not procreation

New England Colonies Problem is… Life Expectancy was low! Indentured servants get the worst land Left to fend for themselves on the wild frontier Life Expectancy was low! Within three years of coming to the colony: 40 to 50 percent of the indentured servants died

New England-Religion Religion Puritans (Separatists) Escaping religious persecution Their goal was to create ‘a city on the hill, a shiny beacon to the world’ (Matthew) Build a godly utopia

New England-Religion Become a church member or else… No voting No owning land No power If you don’t go to church you must pay a fine! The ultimate goal is to become a visible saint Get “saved” in front of the church

New England-Religion Puritan Equality Men = Women (in the eyes of God) Both come to salvation the same way Inequality in terms of church members leaders Gender roles given by God Civil Equality is non-existent

New England-Women Traditional, Nuclear family is non-existent Single women hold their ‘power’ Women get to choose the ‘pick of the litter’ Economic success of a man is a plus! Marriage = Civil Contract (No love/romance) Married women become Coventry Average marriage 9 years Divorce rare but not uncommon

New England-Women Once widowed: 1/3 of inheritance goes to the woman after her husband dies (most leave it all to their wife) Another man sees this as an opportunity to make money!

New England-Women Women will: Travail birth 10 to 11 children Only 3 to 4 will survive Travail Part of culture Neighborly Badge of Honor Pre-marital pregnancy was not abnormal Not marrying soon after is SCANDAL!

New England-Women Deputy Husbands Man not present/sick—Woman may Vote for him! Could take on the man’s role…but always put back (19th century changed it all) **Things got worse** Upper middle class could afford to hide their women Frontier women were poor and needed to help with physical labor

New England-Women Women Were bartering/trading with one another Sustaining the colonial society Performing a SIGNIFICANT role made the decisions about what needs are needed in society were bringing Puritans into the modern world

New England-Women Highest Literacy Rate in the WORLD! 85% literacy vs. 20% in England Higher among women

New England-Women Puritan Women Elderly women Weak Susceptible to temptation Labored and Beautiful Elderly women Protect younger women from sexually aggressive men

What observations can you make about Puritan children?

New England-Children Born with sin Key is: Prone to do bad things To break the will of the child Prepare them for salvation Constantly try to do better

Decline of the Puritan Society Trade Materialism Commerce Money Happiness This is SINFUL Materials God 1700 to 1776 Trade increases 9X! Decline of Puritan society