Colonial America
Land
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Land was the greatest economic asset of the colonies, North and South
Land was distributed in different ways in different regions
§ In New England, township grants were awarded to groups who petitioned
to settle a specific area, ranging form 4 to 8 square miles
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all members of the town could use the common to graze livestock
each household was also assigned strips of farmland outside of town
§ In Middle Colonies (except NY) individual land grants were easy to obtain
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farms of 100-200 acres were common in colonial NJ and Penn.
§ In Chesapeake, headright system initially accounted for land distribution
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system began when the Va. Co. offered 50 acres of land to each immigrant who
paid their way over, or for each person who paid the way of someone else
§ system was abolished in Md. in 1683 & Va. in 1715
§ In NY and the Carolinas, large land grants were awarded to individuals,
often court favorites, who could then do with the land what they wished
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Landownership important for economic advancement, social position,
and political participation
§ by the Revolution:
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70% of white males in Virginia owned land
75% "
"
"
" N. Car.
""
"
86% "
"
"
" S. C.
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"
§ These numbers compare favorable with the North, where about 75% of
white males owned land at the time
Common Agriculture and Industry
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Agriculture dominated all of the American colonies
§ Colonists adopted Indian crops, and crop-raising techniques
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Indian corn (maize) was the staple domestic foodstuff in all the colonies
colonists also raised other indigenous crops
§ peanuts, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, potatoes
potatoes (white and
sweet), and various berries
§ Colonists also added a number of European staples:
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wheat, barley, rye, oats, carrots, garlic, onions, cabbages, radishes
§ Asian crops—rice and hemp—were also planted widely in areas.
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Livestock important in all the colonies
§ most farmers had milk cows, beef cattle, hogs, and some fowl
§ Livestock was raised for both domestic consumption and export
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barreled pork was an exportable commodity in most colonies
sheep raised as a source of both wool and meat
beef was prepared fresh for domestic use and salted for export
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Almost every colonist engaged in a certain amount of home industry
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Craftsmen and artisans established themselves in colonial towns
§ spinning, weaving, making soap and candles, carpentry, beer/cider making
§ Occasionally home industries provided families with goods they could trade
or sell
§ cobblers, blacksmiths, rifle makers, cabinetmakers, silversmiths, printers
Southern Colonial Economy
► Plantations
§ Large farms which produced crop for overseas
market
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cash crops—tobacco, rice, sugar, indigo,
§ worked by indentured servants or slaves
►1000s
of acres, 100s of slaves
► Non-Agricultural
Economic Activities
§ mining, timber, and skin/fur industries
§ Merchants and craftsmen in Southern cities
Northern Colonial Economy
► Agriculture
§ Small farms developed—subsistence farming
§ Modest cash crops—livestock, apples, and corn
► Industry
§ Extractive industries
► Furs,
lumber, fish, minerals
§ Shipbuilding
§ Iron
► Iron
Act (1750)
§ restricted colonists from engaging in metal processing
Obstacles to Colonial Industry
► British
mercantilist policies
§ Navigation Acts, Iron Act, Woolen Act, Hat Act
► Inadequate
labor supply
► Inadequate domestic market
► Inadequate infrastructure
Colonial Commerce
► Obstacles
to trade:
§ No commonly accepted medium of exchange
§ British policies
► Coastal
trade
§ Colonies did business with one another
§ Traded with the West Indies
► rum, agricultural products, meat, and fish
► Sugar, molasses, and slaves in return.
► International
to the WI
trade
§ “The Triangle Trade”
► Rum and other goods from New England to Europe and Africa
► Manufactured goods from Europe to Africa and the Americas
► Slaves from Africa to the Caribbean
► Sugar and molasses from the Caribbean
to North America
Triangle Trade
Mercantilism
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British sought to control colonial economy
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Navigation Acts, 1660 [continually modified until independence]
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Mercantilism/Navigation Act helped colonies in some ways:
§ get raw materials from colonies, sell colonies manufactured goods
§ All trade between England and her colonies must be carried in ships built,
owned and manned (75%) by British subjects
§ “Enumerated articles” produced by colonists could ONLY be shipped to GB
or other British colonies
► tobacco, sugar, hemp, cotton, naval stores all put on list by 1775
§ All European goods to be imported into American colonies had to go through
Britain first
► increased profits of English shippers
► taxes levied against non-British goods
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Tobacco colonies (MD, VA) had monopoly over tobacco market in GB
Government subsidies to producers of indigo, naval stores
Exclusion of foreign competition allowed shipbuilders to develop and profit