The Tobacco Economy

Indentured Servitude Working for “Freedom Dues” A few barrels of corn New suit of clothes Small piece of land Headright System Pay the passage of a laborer & get 50 acres Wealthy amassed huge landholdings Frustrated Freedmen Land becomes scarcer Can’t find a wife

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676 - 1677) Nathaniel Bacon represents former indentured servants. Governor William Berkeley of Jamestown

BACON'S REBELLION Involved former indentured servants Not accepted in Jamestown Disenfranchised and unable to receive their land Gov. Berkeley would not defend settlements from Indian attacks

Nathaniel Bacon acts as the representative for rebels BACON'S REBELLION Nathaniel Bacon acts as the representative for rebels Gov. Berkeley refused to meet their conditions and erupts into a civil war. Bacon dies, Gov. Berkeley puts down rebellion and several rebels are hung Consequence of Bacon’s Rebellion Plantation owners gradually replaced indentured servants with African slaves because it was seen as a better investment in the long term than indentured servitude.

Colonial Slavery African coastal tribes captured and sold slaves to merchants More than 20% would die on the “Middle Passage”… Harsh slave codes passed… A few slaves eventually become slaveholders themselves…

GROWTH OF SLAVERY

SLAVE REVOLTS Slaves resorted to revolts in the 13 colonies and later in the southern U.S. 250 insurrections have been documented; between 1780 and 1864. 91 African-Americans were convicted of insurrection in Virginia alone. First revolt in what became the United States took place in 1526 at a Spanish settlement near the mouth of the Pee Dee River in South Carolina. Slave Revolts

Stono County Rebellion SLAVE REVOLTS Stono County Rebellion September 9, 1739, twenty black Carolinians met near the Stono River, approximately twenty miles southwest of Charleston. They took guns and powder from a store and killed the two storekeepers they found there. "With cries of 'Liberty' and beating of drums," "the rebels raised a standard and headed south toward Spanish St. Augustine. Burned houses, and killed white opponents. Largest slave uprising in the 13 colonies prior to the American Revolution. Slaveowners caught up with the band of 60 to 100 slaves. 20 white Carolinians and 40 black Carolinians were killed before the rebellion was suppressed. Slave Revolts/Stono

Navigational Act of 1660 The colonies represented a lucrative source of wealth and trade. The Navigation Acts were designed to regulate colonial trade and enabled England to collect duties (taxes) in the Colonies. The Purpose of the Navigation Acts was to encourage British shipping and allow Great Britain to retain the monopoly of British colonial trade for the benefit of British merchants. The 1660 Navigation Act ensured that the importation and exportation of goods from British Colonies were restricted to British ships which were under the control of British mariners. The 'goods and commodities' were tobacco, sugar, rice, cotton, wool, dyeing woods - indigo, etc.  Such goods could only be shipped to England. Such goods were to pay heavy duties (taxes) when shipped to England.  The money from the taxes went to England, not the colonies from where they originated

The Triangular Trade New England merchants gain access to slave trade in the early 1700s Rum brought to Africa, exchanges for slaves Ships cross the Middle Passage, slaves trades in the West Indies. Disease, torture, malnourishment, death for slaves Sugar brought to New England Other items trades across the Atlantic, with substantial profits from slavery making merchants rich

MERCANTILISM DEFINED AS AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM PRACTICED DURING THE 18TH CENTURY BY EUROPEAN NATIONS. BASED ON THE BELIEF THAT THERE WAS A LIMITED AMOUNT OF WEALTH IN THE WORLD AND THE WAY TO GET THE MOST GOLD AND SILVER WAS TO HEAVILY REGULATE MANUFACTURING, TRADE, AND PRODUCTION WITHIN A COUNTRY AND ITS COLONIES. GREAT BRITAIN, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD PURCHASE RAW MATERIALS FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES AT A LOW PRICE DETERMINED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. THEN THE COLONIES WERE REQUIRED TO PURCHASE THE FINISHED GOODS MANUFACTURED IN BRITAIN AT HIGH PRICES ALSO SET BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES WERE ONLY ALLOWED TO TRADE WITHIN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. THIS SYSTEM LED TO BITTERNESS ON THE PART OF THE COLONISTS WHO HAD VERY LITTLE INPUT IN THEIR ECONOMIC POLICIES.

COLONIAL TRADE ROUTES

POPULATION EXPLOSION AND COLONIAL SELF-RULE THE COLONIAL POPULATION INCREASED AT AN EXTREMELY FAST PACE AFTER 1700 NEW ARRIVALS MADE UP OF: INDENTURED SERVANTS FROM EUROPE, SLAVES FROM AFRICA, AND BIRTHS FROM COLONISTS CLEAN DRINKING WATER, PLENTY OF FOOD, AND GOOD CLIMATE WERE MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE SPIKE IN BIRTHS BETWEEN 1680-1776 MOST COLONIES HAD SOME FORM OF AN ELECTED LEGISLATURE WHICH FOSTERED A DESIRE TO SELF-RULE

America, a “melting pot”

Structure of Colonial Society 18th century society very equal compared to Europe (except for slavery) Most Americans were small (“yeoman”) farmers Most striking feature: opportunity for “rags to riches”

Structure of Colonial Society Yet compared to 17th century, some barriers to mobility New social pyramid: Top: Wealthy merchants, lawyers, clergy, officials joined large planters, aristocrats at top 2nd: Lesser professional men 3rd: Yeoman (own land) farmers, though farm sizes decreasing due to family increase, lack of new land 4th: Lesser tradesmen, manual workers, hired hands 5th: Indentured servants and “jayle birds,” convicts exiled to America by punitive English justice system 6th: Black slaves – some attempts to halt imports for fear of rebellion

Workaday America 90% of population involved in agriculture ~ led to highest living standard in world history Fishing pursued in all colonies, major industry in New England ~ Stimulated shipbuilding Commerce successful, especially in New England ~ Triangular trade was very profitable

Horsepower & Sailpower No roads connecting major cities until 1700, even then they were terrible Heavy reliance on waterways, where population clusters formed Taverns along travel routes: mingling of social classes Taverns also served as cradles of democracy, clearinghouse of information, hotbeds of agitation