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Unit 2 (ch. 4.1) Notes COLONIAL ECONOMY
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I. Commercial New England
A. Agriculture Long winters, thin rocky soil = difficult for large- scale farming Subsistence Farming: NE practice = producing enough to meet the needs of their families, with little left over to sell or trade
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B. Roles Depended on children for labor
Whole family = spinning yarn, milking cows, fencing fields, sowing/harvesting crops Women = made cloth, garments, candles, and soap
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C. Industry Mills for grinding grain & sawing lumber
Used waterpower from streams to run mills Blacksmiths, shoemakers, furniture makers & gunsmiths Shipbuilding Lumber = used for ships came from region’s forests Floated lumber down rivers to shipyards Linked Northern Colonies to Southern Colonies Fishing (even whale hunting for oil and whalebone!)
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II. The Middle Colonies A. Agriculture
Fertile soil & milder climate = farmers Plowed/planted large areas = big harvests NY & PA = wheat & cash crops Crops that could be sold easily in markets in the colonies and overseas
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B. Ports Farmers sent wheat & livestock to NYC & Philadelphia
Became busy ports By 1760 New York (14,000 people) & Philadelphia (19,000 people) = two largest cities in the colonies
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C. Industries Home-based crafts Carpentry & flour making
Larger businesses Lumber, mills, mines, ironworks, small-scale manufacturing
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D. European Diversity Attracted Used European agricultural methods
Scotch-Irish, German, Dutch, & Swedish Used European agricultural methods
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III. Life in the Southern Colonies
A. Farming Rich soil & warm climate Planted in large areas Produced large harvests of cash crops = tobacco & rice
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B. Industry Little commerce & industry
London merchants (rather than locals) managed trade
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C. Plantations Located in the Tidewater = flat, low-lying plains along the seacoast Planters built on rivers so they could shop their crops to market by boat Like a small village Fields with cabins, barns, stables, carpenter & blacksmith shops, storerooms, kitchens, chapel, & school Small plantations = fewer than 50 enslaved workers Large plantations = 200 or more enslaved workers
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D. Backcountry Between tidewater & the Appalachian Mtns.
Region of hills & forests Grew corn & tobacco on small family farms Some had one 1-2 enslaved Africans Backcountry farmers outnumbered large plantation owners Plantation owners were wealthier & more powerful controlling the economic & political life of region
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