1. Chapter 3 The Colonies Come of Age
Section 2
The Agricultural South

2. Plantation Economy The Plantation System dominated the South.
Society in the South would be rural with very little infrastructure development.
Slaves would play an important role in Southern economy.

3. Rice and indigo in the South…
Cash crops were grown primarily for sale, and not the farmer’s own use.
Tobacco in the North…
Rice and indigo in the South…

4. Plantations developed instead of towns.
Water ways were used for shipping, so roads were usually unnecessary.
Everything was produced on the plantation, so shops, bakeries, and markets were unnecessary.
The only big cities in the South (Charleston) developed because they were trading hubs.

8. Life in Southern Society

9. Diverse Population
German immigrants settled throughout Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina and operated farms.
Scots and Scots-Irish settled in the hills of North Carolina.
Small farmers made up the majority of Southern population but the large planters controlled the economy and politics as well as social institutions.

11. Southern Women Southern women were considered second-class citizens.
They had few legal or social rights…They could not vote or preach. They were taught only the basics (reading, writing, and arithmetic). They learned “social graces” and domestic tasks.
Only widows could own property or run a business.

15. Indentured Servants Young, mostly white men…
Very few rights while under contract…
Usually could afford land only on the outskirts of the colonies…
Their numbers decreased after 1630 because of hardships.
When the number of available indentured servants declined, English colonists turned to slave labor.

17. Slavery Why? It was difficult to enslave the Native Americans.
The indentured population decreased in the 1700s.
A slave worked for life….a much larger return on the original investment.
Most white colonists were convinced that they were superior to dark skinned people.
Colonists thought that the Africans were better suited to labor in hot climates.

19. Numbers of slaves increased from 13,000 in 1690 to 200,000 by 1750.

20. European Slave Trade
Africans were part of the transatlantic trading system known as the triangular trade (a three-way trading process).
1. Merchants carried rum and other goods from New England to Africa. 2. In Africa, they traded their merchandise for enslaved people. 3. The enslaved people were transported to the West Indies (America) and sold for sugar and molasses. 4. The sugar and molasses was shipped to New England to make rum and start the process over.

21. The Middle Passage
This was the voyage that brought enslaved Africans to North America.
European traders branded the Africans in West Africa and packed them into large cargo holds on ships.
Onboard the ships, the enslaved people became victims of more abuse and disease.
Many of the captives died along the way.
Only about 80% of the enslaved people actually arrived in the New World alive.

22. Slavery in the South Most slaves in the South worked in the fields.
On large farms, white slave owners directed the laborers through field bosses or overseers.
10-20% of slaves worked in the houses.
Other slaves developed skills like carpentry, blacksmithing, etc., and were often “rented out” for their services.
Full-time work began at the age of 12 and continued until death.
Slave owners whipped and beat the slaves that were disobedient or disrespectful.
Killing the slave during punishment was not considered murder.

23. Africans Cope in Their New World

26. Culture and Family
Slaves based their daily lives on their cultural heritage.
People wove baskets and molded pottery, skills learned in Africa or passed down by family.
They kept their musical traditions alive and retold stories of their ancestors.
Slave merchants tore families apart, so slaves created new families among the people with whom they lived.
Slaves stepped in to raise children left behind.

28. Slaves continued to practice what became known in the colonies as a ring shout, a circular religious dance.
The dance paid tribute to the groups’ ancestors and gods.
White colonists tried to outlaw it, but the ritual endured.

30. Resistance and Revolt
Slaves would fake illness, break tools, and stage work slowdowns.
Some slaves revolted.

31. Stono Rebellion (1739)
20 slaves gathered at the Stono River south of Charleston.
They killed several planter families and marched south.
Along the way, they beat drums loudly inviting other slaves to join them.
They planned to flee to Spanish held Florida.
A white militia caught up to the escaped slaves and several slaves died fighting.
Captured slaves were executed.

32. The Stono Rebellion led to a tightening of the already harsh slave laws.
Slaves still continued to try and run away.
Runaway slave notices were published in newspapers all over the South.
Many succeeded in running away and took refuge with Native American tribes.

34. As the Southern colonies grew, they became even more dependent on the use of African slavery.