Life in the Colonies Notes

New England Colonies:
o Industries: ___________________________________________________
o Massachusetts was the first state to have a ________________ school system.
o __________________________________________________________- established the first
public school system in the colonies
o ____________________________ were the earliest form of democracy.
o Puritan life was centered around ___________________________.
o Subsistence farming - _____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
o A craft worker skilled in a certain area is called an ______________________________.
o 1st Colleges taught only __________________________.



1st College was Harvard (Massachusetts).
2nd College was College of William and Mary (VA).
Controls on Colonial Trade
o 1650-Parliament passed laws to regulate colonial trade.
o Mercantilism – _____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
o ____________________________ were passed to control colonial trade.


Colonists must use British built ships for all their trade.

Certain colonial products (tobacco, cotton, and indigo) could only be sold in England.
The Glorious Revolution
o English Parliament gave the throne to James’ daughter, Mary and her husband, William
o This peaceful change became known as the _______________________.
o A bill of rights (______________________________________________________________
_______________________) put limits on the king and queen’s power.
o William and Mary were the king and queen who passed the bill of rights and restored elected
assemblies.

Triangular Trade Route
o Traded rum to West Africa in exchange for _____________ and this route was called the
____________________________________.
o Items:
New England
New England
England
West Africa
West Indies
West Indies
England
West Africa
West Indies

________________________
o Tried for libel (_______________________________________________________) because his
newspaper openly opposed Governor William Cosby.
o Andrew Hamilton defended Zenger stating that he should be found not guilty since his
statements were true.
o Found not guilty—______________________________________________________________

Middle Colonies:
o Immigrants- ________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
o Children in the Middles colonies were taught by tutors in ____________________________.
o Frontier life was _______________________________________________.
o Conestoga wagon
 Covered top
 Large and sturdy
 Long with a curved, boat-shaped body

Southern Colonies
o Considered rural because they had
_____________________________________________________________________.
o Southern farmers wanted to live near the ____________________.
o First crop grown in Virginia was _____________________.
o The institution of _____________________ became most popular among southern plantation
owners.
o Slaves in the United States developed a new culture that drew on the __________________
________________ of their West African homelands.
o Why wouldn’t people want to live in Georgia? _________________________________

__________________________________
o 1676- Nathaniel Bacon charged that the VA Governor William Berkeley
was not protecting the frontier from raids by Native Americans and was more interested in the
profitable fur trade.
o This was a civil war between the colonists and the governor’s troops.
o This showed that colonists did not want to stay along the coastline.

Self-government
o Rights of Colonists
 Rights as English citizens
 Right to fair trial by jury of equals
 Right to be taxed by lawmakers elected by the people

Voters were _____________________________________________________
o Those who couldn’t vote were women, indentured servants, slaves, and Native Americans.

Barter

Exports

Imports

Patroon

Rural

Urban
Life in the Colonies Notes

New England Colonies:
o Industries: shipbuilding, whaling, fishing
o Massachusetts was the first state to have a public school system.
o Massachusetts School Law of 1647- established the first public school system in the colonies
o Town meetings were the earliest form of democracy.
o Puritan life was centered around religion.
o Subsistence farming – growing only enough food to maintain your family.
o A craft worker skilled in a certain area is called an artisan.
o 1st Colleges taught only white men.



1st College was Harvard (Massachusetts).
2nd College was College of William and Mary (VA).
Controls on Colonial Trade
o 1650-Parliament passed laws to regulate colonial trade.
o Mercantilism – system set up for the sole purpose of making money for the mother country
o Navigation Acts were passed to control colonial trade.


Colonists must use British built ships for all their trade.

Certain colonial products (tobacco, cotton, and indigo) could only be sold in England.
The Glorious Revolution
o English Parliament gave the throne to James’ daughter, Mary and her husband, William
o This peaceful change became known as the Glorious Revolution.
o A bill of rights (a document listing essential freedoms guaranteed to all citizens) put limits on
the king and queen’s power.
o William and Mary were the king and queen who passed the bill of rights and restored elected
assemblies.

Triangular Trade Route
o Traded rum to West Africa in exchange for slaves and this route was called the Middle Passage.
o Items:
New England
New England
England
West Africa
West Indies
West Indies
(WI to NE – Molasses;
NE to WA – rum, iron, tools;
WA to WI – enslaved persons, gold, & pepper)
(NE to E – tobacco, rice, furs, indigo;
E to WI – cloth & manufactured goods;
WI to NE – goods)
England
(WI to E- molasses, sugar, and fruit;
E to WA – iron, cloth, and weapons;
WA to WI – enslaved persons)
West Africa
West Indies

John Peter Zenger
o Tried for libel (act of publishing harmful statements) because his newspaper openly opposed
Governor William Cosby.
o Andrew Hamilton defended Zenger stating that he should be found not guilty since his
statements were true.
o Found not guilty—1st case in America to protect the freedom of the press.

Middle Colonies:
Immigrants- people who move from one place but are still ruled by that same country
o Children in the Middles colonies were taught by tutors in private schools.
o Frontier life was wild and untamed.
o Conestoga wagon
 Covered top
 Large and sturdy
 Long with a curved, boat-shaped body

Southern Colonies
o Considered rural because they had few towns and only one large city.
o Southern farmers wanted to live near the Tidewater.
o First crop grown in Virginia was tobacco.
o The institution of slavery became most popular among southern plantation owners.
Slaves in the United States developed a new culture that drew on the languages and customs of
their West African homelands.
o Why wouldn’t people want to live in Georgia? Convicts settled there

Bacon’s Rebellion
o 1676- Nathaniel Bacon charged that the VA Governor William Berkeley
was not protecting the frontier from raids by Native Americans and was more interested in the
profitable fur trade.
o This was a civil war between the colonists and the governor’s troops.
o This showed that colonists did not want to stay along the coastline.

Self-government
o Rights of Colonists
 Rights as English citizens
 Right to fair trial by jury of equals
 Right to be taxed by lawmakers elected by the people

Voters were 21 years old white male property owners.
o Those who couldn’t vote were women, indentured servants, slaves, and Native Americans.

Barter

Exports

Imports

Patroon

Rural

Urban