1. COMPARING THE ROLES OF WOMEN IN THE COLONIES New England and the Chesapeake

2. Women in New England  Literate  Household work  Kitchen gardens  Livestock  Gathering fuel and water  Conducted trade with other wives for vegetables, milk and eggs

3. Women in New England  Married women could NOT  Make contracts  Own property  Vote  Hold office  A subject of her husband  High birth rate- expect to bear 8-10 children  High life expectancy- up to 70 years (longer than in England)

4.  Women were midwives  Relied upon for the delivery of town babies  Society  Tightly knit villages  Built around the meetinghouse  Town meetings with direct democracy  Congregational Church  Central planning

5. Women in New England  Under suspicion  Unable to bear children  Widows  Economically independent  Assertive / Independent in nature  Different religious views

6. Salem Witch Trials  Massachusetts (1692)  Women persecuted for being “different”  Accusations  20 people- tried, condemned and executed  Feared differences

7. Women in the Chesapeake

8.  More men than women  Early endeavors involved men only  Female indentured servants  were subject to sexual abuse  Limited number of single females made the trip  Women outlived men  Remarried quickly with choices  Bargained for $$ and land

9. Women in the Chesapeake  A matriarchy  Much wealth and power held by widows  Community- weaker than New England  High mortality rate In some areas- 20 yrs. old  Smaller families  Weaker family bonds Children seldom had both biological parents living Lacked grandparents

10. Women in the Chesapeake  Women retained property rights while married  This was because of the likelihood of spousal loss