BELL RINGER
• Discuss with a partner:
• What was life like for women and slaves in the
various European colonies?
SOCIETY AND CULTURE
IN PROVINCIAL AMERICA
CHAPTER 3
THE COLONIAL POPULATION
• By the late 1600s Europeans and Africans dominated the
population on the eastern coast
• Most Europeans who migrated here were of modest means
• Many who came here were indentured servants
• What jobs did men do? Women?
• Others came here by force
• Prisoners—either criminals or those captured in battles
• Africans who would become slaves
• Indentured servitude decreased in the late 1600s,
especially in the South
• Low birth rates and more wealth in England meant fewer were
willing to come here and those who were worked in the North
THE COLONIAL POPULATION
• By the end of the 1600s there were 250K non-Natives
• ¼ of them were Africans
• New England’s population drastically expanded due to
natural increase
• People were also living longer
• This was not the case for the South
• 1:4 children died in infancy
• Life expectancy was ~40 years old
• Widows, widowers, and orphans made up a majority of the
population
• The population finally began to increase as people became
immune to diseases (seasoning) and more women showed up
THE COLONIAL POPULATION
• Medicine in the colonies was virtually nonexistent
• No understanding of communicable disease, infection or
sterilization
• Most “medicine” consisted of having the patient
purge their system
• This also included “bleeding” them which meant taking out
“bad” blood—usually resulted in death
• Medicine finally improved as the Enlightenment
brought about better science
WOMEN AND FAMILIES IN THE
CHESAPEAKE COLONIES
• The average age of a bride in the colonies could
be anywhere from 16-21
• It was not uncommon for indentured servants to
become pregnant before the end of their contract
• When this happened they lost the child after weaning, was
lashed, charged fines, or had their contracts extended
• The child was taken as an indentured servant
• If the child’s father was able to buy the woman’s freedom it
was likely she was married immediately
• Women were likely to have kids every two years
• Had average of 8 children, unlikely she’d live to see them
mature
WOMEN AND FAMILIES IN THE
CHESAPEAKE COLONIES
• Women generally were scarce allowing them to be
choosy when picking a husband
• No father or brothers to tell them how to run their lives
• They also outlived the man in many cases leaving them to run
the family and the household
• Usually remarried quickly
• Second marriages usually resulted in complex families
• Lots of children meaning step-brothers, half-sisters, etc.
• Women had to be the peacemakers between the two families
• Think “The Brady Bunch” only larger
• As families grew more stable there was a rise in the
patriarchal system
WOMEN AND FAMILIES
IN NEW ENGLAND
• Since life was more stable in New England women
did not have the ability to be choosy when picking
a husband
• They were still married young and produced a lot of
children
• Families were more likely to remain in tact (no Greg and
Marsha situations)
• Much more likely that parents could see grandchildren
• “Arranged” marriages were common as were dowries
• Fewer pregnancies before marriage
• In Puritan homes, the women were expected to be
completely subservient to the needs of the husband
and household
THE BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY IN
BRITISH AMERICA
• Demand for African labor increased drastically as
indentured servants decreased
• African chieftains would capture enemies and sell
them to slave marts on the coast of Africa
• Europeans when sail to the ports and purchase
slaves to take to the New World
• The slaves would then be taken through the “middle
passage” (journey to America)
• Some were treated well but most were crammed onto the
ships with the assumption that a percentage would die
before their arrival to America
WITCH TRIALS
DOCUMENT DAY
• Read p. 77-84 “The Colonial Economies”
• Summarize the section, making sure to talk about
the Triangular Trade, technology, and Consumerism
and their impact on the colonies
• Make sure you use this information when discussing
your colony and the colony you’ve used for
comparison in your project
ASSIGNMENT
• Colonial Flyer Assignment
BELL RINGER: WHAT DOES THIS
REPRESENT? EXPLAIN THE
CONDITIONS THESE PEOPLE ENDURED.
THE BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY IN
BRITISH AMERICA
• Life on the ships were harsh
•
•
•
•
They could hardly move
Given little food or water
Women were sexually abused
Dead were simply thrown overboard
• Arrival in America wasn’t much better
• They were thrown onto auction blocks like cattle
• They were patched together to cover scars, damages from
travels
SLAVE AUCTIONS
THE BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY IN
BRITISH AMERICA
• Most Africans who ended up in America came from the
West Indies—not Africa
• The Caribbean used slave labor much more the America did
(at first)
• By 1700 that was changing rapidly
• The South would have 250K by 1760; the North had 16K; the
Middle Colonies were at 29K
• Why were there such drastic differences between the regions?
• Through the 1600s many Africans were treated similar to
indentured servants, some were freed after a period of
time and some were even given land
• The weirdest part—some even owned slaves themselves
THE BEGINNINGS OF SLAVERY IN
BRITISH AMERICA
• In the 1700s attitudes changed towards Africans
• There was not contract requiring them to be set free
• White assumptions of superiority began arising
• This related to the idea that white people were superior to the
Natives and therefore it was only natural that they were superior
to Africans too (egotistical much?)
• Any African ancestry was enough to enforce slave
codes upon a person
•
•
•
•
Slaves could not assemble without a white person present
Could not own property
Couldn’t testify against a white person
Wasn’t allowed to learn how to read (exception for the
Bible)
CHANGING SOURCES
OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION
• The British stopped moving to America during the
1600s—so who was moving here?
• The German, Swiss, Irish, Welsh, Scottish,
Scandinavian, and French
• The French Huguenots (Calvinists) moved to escape the
Catholics who were forcing them out of France
• They established Fort Caroline (near St. Augustine) but the
Spanish defeated them too
• Germans moved mostly to PA and NC
• Scots-Irish moved to NJ and PA
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• “Country-born” slaves were called “creoles”
• Africans built the South through the labor
• Using their native experience, slaves worked as field hands
• Labor became specialized in the 18th c.
• They were provided clothing (not great for winter), often
very colorful—shoes were not
• Food was sufficient enough for rapid reproduction
• Some worked beside their owners, others worked in large
groups
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• Despite slave codes, slaves often lived on
plantation in nuclear families
• If on small farm, they would marry someone down the road
and visit in evenings and on Sundays with permission
• Marriage usually occurred after the woman got pregnant
• Naming often combined Anglo and African cultures and
tied usually to kin
• Children were taught to call all adults “auntie” or “uncle”
and all age mates “brother” or “sister”
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• Most African Americans were not introduced to
Christianity until the Great Awakening (1760)
• Death and burial was one of their most important
traditions
• They would place shells of pottery on the gravesite
• While burying the person, they would perform the ring shout
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• Slaves easily mastered music as a form of bonding
• They recreated African instruments such as the banjo and
European instruments such as the violin and guitar
• Drums were outlawed so they “pat juba” (slap thighs)
• The most important cultural development was
language
• They spoke Gullah or Geeche (some spoke this until the 20th
c.)
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• Africans became Americanized, but Southerners became
Africanized
• They often used the same conjures as slaves to cure illness
• Food such as BBQ, black-eyed peas (ewww), fried chicken, greens,
hot spices, and LA Cajun was adopted by the Southerners
• Architecture, decoration, and weaving practices were commonly
shared
• Slaves were used as wetnurses and therefore the children often
picked up on African words like goober, yam, banjo, okay, and tote
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• Violence was omnipresent amongst the slave
colonies
• Usually punishment came in form of extra work solitary
confinement, or humiliation
• Lashes, stabbing, burning, maiming, mutilating, raping, or
castrating came as other forms of punishment
• Slaves would often “resist” work by taking too long, hurting
equipment or animals, or “accidently” breaking stuff
BECOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN
• Running away was also a common option
• More common for males in their 20s
• They would runaway to FL which would become known as a
maroon colony (runaways were called maroons)
• The runaways and the Creek Indians of FL came together to
form the Seminoles
• Runaways in the Northern colonies were much less common
• Revolt was the most direct form of resistance
BELL RINGER
• Using the following prompt write a one sentence thesis
that addresses ALL PARTS of the prompt DIRECTLY
• Compare the ways in which religion shaped the
development of colonial society in TWO of the following
regions:
New England
Chesapeake
Middle Atlantic
• Be prepared to read out loud if called upon
PURITANS
• Puritans were not so pure
• Sex in marriage was celebrated
• “Snuggling” was allowed before marriage, as long as the
lower half of the body was bundled in an apron
• Women were subordinate to men
• They could not make contracts, own property, hold office,
or vote
• Women averaged 8 children in their lifetimes
• There was suspicion about those who did not have children
or widows who were financially independent
PURITANS
• There were occasional
suspicions of witchcraft,
most of which were quickly
dismissed
•
•
•
•
In Salem, a series of
accusations led to the
conviction and execution of
over 20 men and women
before the governor stopped
the inquisition
Outlet of social tension toward
outsiders
Most of the accused were
widows who lived alone on
the rich side of town
The trials exposed the Puritan
views about the proper place
of women in society
PURITANS
• The Puritan leaders did not allow religious dissention
• Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts and founded the city of
Hartford after a disagreement over the authority of Puritan
leaders
• Roger Williams, a Salem clergyman who supported religious
tolerance, separation of church and state, and fair
acquisition of Indian lands, was banished.
•
Williams purchased Narragansett land and founded the town of
Providence
• Anne Hutchison was banished from the community after
openly criticizing religious leaders and claiming to have
received a revelation from God
•
She and her followers moved to Williams’ colony and
established their own community
ENLIGHTENMENT
• The Universe was governed by natural laws
• Locke said the government existed to provide happiness
and security for individuals; people had inalienable rights to
life, liberty and property
• Enlightenment writers emphasized rationality, harmony, and
order
• Very different from the folk views of unexplainable acts of
God, and the inevitability of human failure and disorder
• Universities such as Harvard (1636), William and Mary (1693),
and Yale (1701) were modeled after Oxford and Cambridge
in England
• They were to train ministers originally, but evolved into
including programs like mathematics and philosophy
ENLIGHTENMENT
• Literacy rates among adults were among the best
in the world, especially in New England
• 85% males, 50% females
• The Bible was the best seller, followed by Sovereignty and
Goodness of God, a captivity narrative (type of novel,
unique to America, about being taken hostage by
natives)
• The almanac was another popular read
• Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac was the first to
bring the ideas of Enlightenment to the common man
• “The culture of minds by the finer arts and sciences was
necessarily postponed to times of more wealth and leisure.
…these times are come.”
DECLINE IN RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
• When Puritanism became an established church in the late
1600s they believed that all townspeople should be members
• The Half-Way Covenant allowed for members’ children to
be “half-way” members, restricted only from communion
• The issue of church and state would also weaken
commitment of church members
• Calvinism will be challenged (predestination)
• God allowed for salvation through good works and faith
(Arminianism)
• People were rational beings able to shape their own
destiny, God was loving rather than punishing
• These “liberal” ideas appealed to some, unnerved many
THE GREAT AWAKENING
• A renewal in religious fervor
• Led by Rev. John Edwards who sought to bring the youth
(discontent about being poor and unable to marry due to
money issues) back to the church
• He lead “fire and passion” sermons that had people
exclaiming “What shall I do to be saved—Oh, I am going to
Hell!—Oh what shall I do for Christ?”
• Revivals soon broke out throughout New England
• People abandoned “cold” ministers for impassioned ones,
even Ben Franklin was impressed by Rev. George
Whitefield’s oratory
THE GREAT AWAKENING
• Historians view this “Great Awakening” of religious interest as
part two of the Protestant Reformation
• The condemned the laxity, decadence, of the church;
called for purity and piety
• People feeling social and financial pressure found comfort
in this calling
• William Tennent and his son, Gilbert, were two influential
leaders
• Started “Log College” which became College of New
Jersey (later Princeton University)
• He traveled with Whitefield and preached “The Dangers of
an Unconverted Ministry”
• Splits over old vs. new separated entire churches
HOMEWORK
• “Geography was the primary factor in shaping the
development of the British colonies in North
America.” Assess the validity of this statement for
the 1600s.
• You will be allowed to take this essay home. Please
remember that when we start timed essays you will
only have 35 minutes to write this. I recommend
that you keep a timer while you are writing and
make a note on the paper where you were at at
the 35 minute mark.