1. 4.1 Colonial Economy

3. Making a Living in the Colonies
Largely based on agriculture & terrain/climate that surrounded it
Commercial New England:
Long winters, thin rocky soil
Subsistence farming: produced enough to meet family needs only
Everyone in family worked (even children were laborers)
Small businesses mainly by craftsman
Waterpower used to run grain/saw mills
Shipbuilding & fishing was important

4. Making a Living in the Colonies cont…
Middle Colonies:
Fertile soil, milder climate
Cash Crops: crops easily sold on the market/overseas
New York City & Philadelphia were largest cities due to ports
Industries:
Small businesses – craftsman
Large businesses – lumber mills, mines, iron works, etc
Diverse population brought their farming methods (immigrants were successful farmers)

5. Making a Living in the Colonies cont…
Southern Colonies:
Rich soil, warm climate
Most made money from farming (cash crops)
Large Plantations locate in Tidewater (flat low- lying plains along seacoast)
Plantations built on rivers to be able to ship crops to market via boat
Plantations are like small villages
Backcountry – between Tidewater and Appalachian Mountains
More backcountry people than plantation owners but plantation owners were wealthier so plantation owners ruled economic/political life

6. Making a Living in the Colonies cont…
Tobacco:
Principal cash crop of Maryland/Virginia
Indentured servants  enslaved Africans
Tobacco sold mainly to Europe  too much tobacco on market  lower tobacco prices  farmers not making enough profit  change crop to wheat/corn
Rice:
Main crop for South Carolina/Georgia
Paddies – rice fields (flooded field for young rice; drained field to harvest)
Relied on slave labor
More profit than tobacco

7. Growth of Slavery Slavery existed in West Africa and Arab lands
Slave demand increased when Europeans take America
Slaves taken in West Africa during wars/raids  sold to Europeans  traveled to America via ship on the Middle Passage  sold to plantation owners as slaves
Middle Passage – part of triangular trade route (triangle made between America, Europe, and Africa)
Middle Passage was the hardest part: enslaved were chained, received little food/water, some died

8. Life of the Slave Most worked in field
Overseers ensured slaves worked hard
Slave codes – rules governing behavior/punishment of slaves
Codes: Can only leave plantation with permission, Illegal to teach slaves to read/write, Can’t gather in groups
Punishments: whipping, hanging, burning to death (depended on the crime)
Most slave families torn apart; Some learned trades (carpentry, blacksmith, etc); Some bought their freedom
Puritans, Quakers, Mennonites did NOT believe in slavery