■Essential Question:
–How did differences in values
affect distinct American
subcultures in the Chesapeake,
Southern, New England, &
Middle colonies?
■Reading Quiz 4A (p. 92-106)
th
17
Life in
Century
English Colonies
The Economic, Social, &
Political Culture of the
English Colonies
What did the
English
colonies look
like in 1650?
What did
the English
colonies
look like
by 1700?
Colonial Society
th
in the 17 Century:
New England
Possibly
the 1stin
society
history
Families
NewinEngland
to reasonably expect to live long
■New
England
society
was much
enough
to see their
grandchildren
more stable
other colonies:
New than
England
“invented”
grandparents
–New
England
Puritans migrated
to America as families
–Marriage was easy as most
people shared common values
–Colonists lived longer due to
Towns
became networks
more
a dispersed
population,
of intermarried families
purer water, & a cooler climate
17th Century
Life
Expectancy
Education in New England
■NE towns regarded education as
fundamental family responsibility;
towns began to create elementary
schools funded with local taxes:
–NE had, by far, the highest
literacy rate in America
–In 1638, Harvard
became
America’s first
college
Women in New England
■ Was the colonial era the “golden
age” for women?
–Women contributed to society as
wives & mothers, devout church
members, & ran small-scale farms
■ But were not equals with men:
–Women could not legally own or
sell property; divorce was difficult
–Women did what “God ordained”
NESocial
churchesHierarchy
focused on in
its New
members;
outsiders
England
were not welcomed & often moved away
Local gentry of religiously
devout families guided
town meetings
Large population of
yeomen farmers loyal
to the local community
Small population of
landless laborers,
servants, & poor
Colonial Society
th
in the 17 Century:
The Chesapeake
Families in the Chesapeake
■“Normal, English” family life was
impossible in Virginia:
– 70-85% of immigrants were
young male indentured servants
– High death rate (average age
was 10-20 years lower than NE)
– One married spouse often died
within a decade
– Children often never knew their
parents (let alone grandparents)
Women in Chesapeake Society
■Scarcity gave some women
bargaining power in the marriage
market; allowed some women to
improve their social status
■But women were vulnerable:
–sexual exploitation
–Childbearing was dangerous
–Chesapeake women died 20
years earlier than women in NE
Social
Hierarchy
The
plantation
gentryin
dominated society &
the House of Burgesses
the Chesapeake
Tobaccofarmers
was thewere
basisthe
Yeoman
of
wealth
& cause
largest
class;
Cameofas
social inequalities
indentured
servants; most
lived on edge of poverty
Indentured servants
were often mistreated
& cheated out of land
African slaves
Chesapeake Culture
■By 1680, social mobility in the
Chesapeake was limited:
–An American-born elite class
had emerged (this social
aristocracy was absent earlier)
–The plantation economy &
ownership of slaves allowed the
gentry to produce more tobacco
–High death rates halted the
development of schools & towns
Colonial Society
th
in the 17 Century:
African Slaves
The Roots of Slavery
■The importation of African slaves
was based on a “need” for labor:
–Native Americans made poor
slaves because they were
decimated by European disease
–Indentured servant-pool waned
after 1660
■An estimated 11 million slaves
(mostly males) were brought to
the English American colonies
The Roots of Slavery
■Slaves were originally treated as
indentured servants but the
growing black population in VA by
1672 prompted stricter slave laws:
–Africans were defined as slaves
for life; permanent slave status
was passed on to slave children
–By 1700, slavery was based
exclusively on skin color
Origins & Destinations of African Slaves,
1619-1760
Free & enslaved
blacks
were
much
less
40%
in
VA
60%
in
SC
The
Slave
Population
numerous in NE & Middle colonies
■In the Chesapeake & Southern
colonies with large black
populations, slaves found it easier
to maintain their African culture
■By 1720, the African population
became self-sustaining:
–Fertility rates exceeded
immigration rates for the 1st time
–Did not occur in the Caribbean
or in South America
150The
blacks
rose Population
up & seized a
Slave
munitions hold & killed
■Widespread
several resentment
white planters of their
slave status led to resistance in
the 18th Century:
–Armed resistance such as the
Stono Rebellion of 1739 (SC)
–In 1741, 106 slaves were hung
or deported due to a rumor that
slaves planned to burn NYC
–Runaway slaves were common
The Colonial Economy
in the 17th Century:
Commercial Empire
Economic
Diversity of the
English Colonies
Rise of a Commercial Empire
■English gov’t largely ignored the
colonies until the 1650s (salutary
neglect); The colonies were not
state-funded nor state protected
■But…Charles II initiated colonial
intervention in 1660 to maximize
exports, decrease imports, &
generate more gov’t revenue
Response to Economic Competition
“Enumerated goods”
■“Mercantilism” became
thesugar,
(tobacco,
blueprint for England’s
cotton,empire:
rice, rosin,
No ship could trade in
tar) could only be
–Wanted
&
a
colonies
unless itmore
was money
sent
to
English
ports
Goods
shipped
to English
colonies
madefavorable
in England
balance
of trade
must pass through England (Increased
–Wanted
to by
eliminate
Dutch rivals
the price paid
colonial consumers)
–Wanted a stronger navy
■Began to restrict colonial trade:
–Navigation Act of 1660
–Navigation Act of 1663
Implementing the Acts
■NE merchants found loopholes to
avoid paying taxes so the English
made more restrictions:
–In 1696, created a Board of
Trade to oversee colonial trade
–Created maritime courts to
mediate disputes
■The Navigation Acts eventually
benefited the colonial merchants
& smuggling virtually ended
■Essential Question:
–How did differences in values
affect distinct American
subcultures in the Chesapeake,
Southern, New England, &
Middle colonies?
■RQ Chapter 4B (106-122)
Colonial Factions
Spark Political Revolt,
1676-1691
Colonial Factions Spark Revolt
■The English colonies began to
experience unrest at the end of
the 17th Century:
–This unrest was not a social
revolution (or a forecast of the
American Rev) but a contest
between colonial “ins” & “outs”
–Bacons’ Rebellion, King Philip’s
War & witchcraft panic
Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia
■Former indentured servants living
in the VA frontier suffered due to:
–Poor tobacco prices in 1660s
–Indian attacks in 1675
■These farmers blamed VA’s royal
governor Berkeley who did little to
help; Nathaniel Bacon led a
rebellion in 1676 against Berkeley
& was joined by small farmers,
blacks, & women
Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia
■The rebellion ended after Bacon’s
death (dysentery) but the rebellion
convinced VA gentry that:
–Indentured servants were
destined to become rebellious
–African slaves were a better
solution than rebellious whites
because slaves had no
ambitions for political power
Bacon’s Rebellion
King Philip’s War
■In 1675, Metacom (“King Philip”)
led the Wampanoag Indians
against NE colonists:
–1,000+ Indians & colonists died
–Large war debt led James II to
annul the Mass Bay charter &
create the “Dominion of New
England” by combining Mass,
Conn, RI, Plymouth, NY, NJ, &
NH under a new royal charter
King Philip’s War
Dominion of New England
■Edmund Andros was hated by
Puritans, moderates, & merchants
■In 1689, Andros was deposed
when William & Mary began reign
■Massachusetts was given a new
charter that incorporated
Plymouth but shifted power from
the “elect" to those with property
Witchcraft in New England
■Charges of witchcraft were
common in New England
■But the “Salem panic” of 1691 led
to 20 public executions before the
trials were halted in 1692
■Possible causes:
–argument over church ministers
–poor farmers accusing rich
farmers to gain land
–reactions to independent women
Salem Witch Trials
Conclusions
■By 1700:
–England’s attitude toward the
colonies had changed
dramatically
–Sectional differences within the
colonies were profound
–All the colonies were all part of
Great Britain but had little to do
with each other
Discussion Question:
■How unified were the English
colonies?
–Are these colonies one society
or four?
–Explain with evidence
–Consider political, economic, &
social characteristics
Colonial Exploitation Inquiry
■ Examine each of the six documents
provided & explore:
–What is the manner of exploitation?
–Who are the “Ins” & the “Outs”?
–Why do you think this occurred?
■ Be prepared to discuss your findings
with the class
■ What themes can you find regarding
exploitation in the Chesapeake? New
England? The English colonies?