Colonial Population, Economies & Patterns of Society Chapter 3 Colonial Population, Economies & Patterns of Society

Population of the New England Colonies What factors Contributed to Rapid increase In population?

Population Comparisons: New England v. the Chesapeake

M.C. During 17th century, at least ¾ of the immigrants who came to Chesapeake colonies came as: Slaves Artisans Indentured servants Convicts families

Indentured Servitude Headright System

Indentured Servitude Headright System: Indenture Contract: Each Virginian got 50 acres for each person whose passage they paid. Indenture Contract: 5-7 years. Promised “freedom dues” [land, £] 1610-1614: only 1 in 10 outlived their indentured contracts!

T/F, M.C. Africans were enslaved from the time of their arrival. Which is a correct statement about the use of slave labor in colonial Virginia? It was forced on reluctant white Virginians by profit minded merchants It was first case in which Europeans enslaved blacks It fulfilled original plans of Virginia Co. It first occurred after invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin It spread rapidly in late 17th c, as blacks displaced White indentured servants in tobacco fields

English Tobacco Label First Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619. Their status was not clear  perhaps slaves, perhaps indentured servants. Slavery not that important until the end of the 17c.

17c Population in the Chesapeake WHY this large increase in black popul.??

The Atlantic Slave Trade

The “Middle Passage”

Colonial Slavery As the number of slaves increased, white colonists reacted to put down perceived racial threat. Slavery transformed from economic to economic and racial institution. Early 1600s  differences between slave and servant were unclear. By the mid-1680s, black slaves outnumbered white indentured servants.

Colonial Slavery Beginning in 1662  “Slave Codes” Made blacks [and their children] property, or chattel for life of white masters. In some colonies, it was a crime to teach a slave to read or write. Conversion to Christianity did not qualify the slave for freedom.

MC In the Puritan colonies, the principal economic and religious unit in the community was the Family Meeting house Town meeting Small farm

Characteristics of Puritan NE Winthrop’s colony was one guided by English law and the Bible Expected to work together for the common good Voting rights granted to all freemen – those who were church members and property owners Freemen in each town then elected representatives to make laws for the colony – General court ½ the men could vote none of the women had right to vote

The New England Way Depended on educated people who could understand the Bible General Court’s Laws: required parents to make sure that their children learned to read 1636, Harvard College, Yale (1701) – ministry training William and Mary (1693) 1647, “the old deluder law 50 or more people = private tutor for kids 100 or more people = mandatory school built

Characteristics of Life in New England settlements Educated farmers, artisans Orderly families Patriarchy extremely important Total obedience to fathers or husbands Worked in fields during harvest Made family essentials like, soap, candles, yarn, clothes, butter, cheese

Characteristics…. Many large families No food problem like Jamestown Average 6 children Average marriage age, women (22), men (27) No food problem like Jamestown Diseases couldn’t survive in cold climate Low mortality – average life expectancy was 70 years old In one town, 85% of all children lived to adult

Commerce Very little need for indentured servants and slaves Large families, fathers, and sons provided the labor needed Cold winters and poor soil prevented farmers from raising a large surplus of crops to sell Business of New England: fishing and trade Distilled rum, built ships Sold fish, grain, lumber, meat, turpentine

Puritan Rebels

Fear and Paranoia Conflicts also existed within the MA bay colony. The Salem Witch trials caused mass hysteria and deaths. {Unsolved History: The Salem Witch Trials} Possible Causes: New England’s environment of fear/accusations Puritan beliefs and New England Folklore Economic and Political tension divided the community – socio-economic factors Men’s fear of women gaining economic/social independence, which would threaten the power structure and social order

Differences - Population Farmers, Artisans, Religious, Very few slaves and indentured servants (NE) Printers, Artisans, Farmers, Religiously tolerant, indentured servants and slaves (MC) Gentry, Indentured servants, slaves, Debtors/Criminals, Religiously tolerant (SC)

Economy The Southern Plantation as an economic unit Tobacco, rice, indigo The commercial economy in the North alongside agriculture More diverse Wheat, lumbering, shipbuilding, Home industries – blacksmiths, printers, etc Sangus Ironworks

Differences – Death Rates Low (NE) vs. High (SC) Widowarchy – women had more autonomy and independence

Differences – Family Patterns NE colonies – more sense of community, more stable family relationships, low divorce rate, large immediate families Southern colonies – less sense of community, started off slow bc more men than women, multiple marriages, large extended families (step-parents/children/siblings, etc.)

Society NE – smaller communities clustered together, Boston (hub) Middle – mixture of towns and cities (NY, Philadelphia), Southern – more rural society, plantations spread out from each other

Education NE colonies – very important, see NE notes Middle colonies – more important, Southern colonies – no formal education system, children of wealthy privately tutored, children needed on farms more than in schools

A Distinct American Character “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." ~ B. Franklin (1706-1790)