Bellringer: T2D1 Which would be your colony of choice in the New World? Give 2 reasons why!

Ch. 4.1 Life in the Colonies, Part I Life in New England U.S. History I Ch. 4.1 Life in the Colonies, Part I Life in New England

Merry Olde (New) England The American colonies grew quite a bit in the next several years. In 1700, there were 250,000 in the English colonies. By 1775, there were 2,500,000. African-American populations also grew a lot: from 28,000 to 500,000. Immigration was key to this growth. 690,000 Europeans immigrated here during that period, while 278,000 Africans came here, most as slaves. Women also tended to get married early, and have lots of children. Many families had 7+ children, and as people grew accustomed to the New World, they were actually more healthy than in the Old World, so many of those children survived.

Living in New England Most people in New England lived in organized towns. The center of town would have a town common or green, which was a green area used for parties, animal grazing, etc. Meanwhile, a town meetinghouse was found nearby for church and town meetings. VID Most New Englanders were farmers. However, the poor, rocky soil made it hard to do large scale farming. Instead, it consisted of subsistence farming, which is farming just enough to survive and get by VID. Typical houses were called saltbox houses, because they looked like a saltbox. VID

Economics in New England Commerce in New England was busy. Many people ran small businesses. Water from the plentiful streams was used to run mills that processed wood, flour, and later cloth. Many women worked at home to create cloth and clothes to sell. There were others, such as shoemakers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, printers, etc. Shipbuilding was especially important in New England, since they were close to the ocean and had lots of wood to make them, and boats were the main mode of transport in that era. Also, those boats were heavily used for fishing for lots of creatures, like shellfish, crabs, cod, halibut, and especially whales, used for their meat, whalebone and blubber for oil. Ships VID, Whaling VID

“You Traders!” The Northern Colonies were the center of shipping trade for all of these reasons, and they became the focus of what became known as the Triangular Trade Routes. Lots of things were going back and forth from the West Indies, the English Colonies, and Great Britain and Africa. VID The most horrific part of this was known as the Middle Passage, where Africans would be forced to cross the Atlantic in incredibly packed ships on their way to the New World and a life of slavery. VID

Triangular Trade

Review & Reflect: Take out an index card. Answer the following in 2 minutes, quietly: Why was the slave trade so awful? Why did it continue for so long then? Afterwards: chat with Mr. Wright about your grade for Term 1 if you need to. Otherwise, enjoy the break!