Chapter 6: Life in the English Colonies
1. Apprentice- a young person who learns a skill from a more experienced
person.
2. Name the three disadvantages to being an apprentice.
1. expected to work long hours, often more than 12 hours a day
2. very little free time
3. rarely got a day off
3. What is the main reason some children became apprentices and others
worked on family farms? (essay)
Children who became apprentices typically lived in cities and
towns. Children who worked on farms grew up there and helped
their family with the farm work.
4. Artisan- a skilled worker who makes things by hand.
5. How did colonists in the New England Colonies use trees? (essay)
Trees were a very important natural resource to the New England
Colonies. Timber was exported to England. Trees were also used
to build houses, ships, and barrels.
6. What was the nickname of the Middle Colonies and why was it nicknamed
this?
“The Breadbasket of the colonies” because they milled flour and
shipped it to other colonies.
7. What are the cash crops of the Southern Colonies?
Tobacco, rice, and indigo.
8. Triangular Trade Routes- routes shaped like giant triangles.
9. How many stops are made on a triangular trade route before the ship
returns home?
2
10. Middle Passage- the second leg of a three-part voyage.
11. If you lived in an English colony you might work as a miller, cooper, or a
surveyor.
12. Benjamin Franklin started many things in Philadelphia. Name them.
1. Newspaper,
2. Public Library
3. Hospital
4. Volunteer Fire Department
13. How did the city of Philadelphia and Benjamin Franklin help each other?
(essay)
Benjamin Franklin wanted to be a printer. He found a job in
Philadelphia working for a printer in town. Franklin had a lot to
do with the city’s success. He founded the city’s first newspaper,
first public library, first hospital, and first volunteer fire
department.
14. Self-Sufficient- people who rely on themselves for most of what they
need.
15. Most towns in a New England had one characteristic is common. What is
it?
They were self-sufficient
16. Town Common- an open space where sheep and cattle could graze.
17. The most important building in colonial New England town is a meeting
house.
18. What were towns like in colonial New England? (essay)
Families who lived in towns owned small plots of land in surrounding
fields, where they grew crops and raised animals. Workshops
belonging to the blacksmith, cooper, and shoemaker were often
found around the town common. The town common was an open
area for cattle and sheep to graze. The meeting house was the
most important building in town.
19. Southern plantations grew what cash crops?
1. tobacco
2. rice
3. indigo
20. How are the ways we communicate today similar to and different from
those in colonial times? (essay)
Similar: We stay in touch with people who live far apart, letters
are common.
Different: We use envelopes, phone, and email to communicate.
21. Describe what school was like in the colonies.
All students no matter what age were in one classroom.
22. What was daily life like for colonial children? (essay)
Some children in towns or cities attended one-room schools. By
their teens, most worked on family farms or as apprentices. Free
time was spent on chores or simple games and sports.
23. What was the reason that most people left Europe?
To escape religious persecution
24. Great Awakening- a religious movement that revived many colonists’
interest in religion.
25. What was the most popular book during this time besides the bible?
Poor Richard’s Almanac
26. Almanac- reference book with facts and figures.
27. Name the food that colonists were known for cooking?
Fish stew with vegetables
28. Describe slavery in the south.
Most were forced to work on large plantations.
29. What did enslaved people bring to the colonies in the south?
They had a variety of skills that could be used in cities and on
plantations.
30. Why were laws passed that denied slaves many rights? (essay)
Slaves were considered property. Their owners wanted to restrict
their freedom so they wouldn’t be as likely to escape.
31. How did Africans try and keep their culture alive?
1. drums
2. banjos
3. supporting each other
32. How did Olaudah Equiano feel about slavery? Explain. (essay)
He despised it. Equiano believed slavery violated a person’s
natural rights.
33. Name the ways that slaves tried to resist slavery?
1. trick their owners and overseers by working slowly
2. breaking tools
3. pretending to be sick
4. attempting to escape
34. Stono Rebellion- fight between enslaved people and owners near a river
in South Carolina.