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Colonial period1607-1775
1
607-1860, Approximately 200 years
B
ased on subsistence agriculture Little mechanization Limited labor Goal was “get rich schemes”
Ex. Virginia Company that founded James Town Everyone was a farmer, regardless of previous profession or
trade as it was necessary for survival
Cottage industries: manufacturing goods (non-food) in the
household, primarily for personal use at this time
T
heocratic societies developed Pilgrims landed in Plymouth Harbor , MA Failed settlement by 1620 Created a homogeneous cultures with shared
dissents and values Protestant Work Ethic: value placed on hard work,
savings, and investment
Feudalism
Though this is not traditional feudalism there was a defined system of paying goods and revenue to higher royals
American Feudalism was based on: Quit Rents which were yearly rent payments to the king,
even if a person owned the land Primogeniture: total estates and privileges awarded to the
eldest son Entail: Permanently owned land, extending though the family
heirsP
opulation Doubled almost every 30 years in this period
Reaching 2.7 million in 1780
human labor was primarily used because of lack of efficient technology (other than hand tools) and lack of livestock
Three typical labor forms
1. Indentured servants: individuals contracted into service for passage fare to the new world.
Usually for 10 year contracts. Abuse of this system was common but did help get
many (eventually) free individuals over to popular colonies
2. Families: Families were large to make up for high incidents of death and for more hands for help.
Primogeniture was the flaw in this system, and with vast unclaimed land to the west, these children quickly left to find their own claim.
3. Slavery: This system was common in the southern colonies where plantations produced export cash crops with African slaves.
This labor system and crop varieties had been proven to work in the West Indies, a similar climate.
This institution was firmly establish by 1650
Crops that thrived in the colonies were foreign to colonists, and they struggled to survive until they mastered cultivation of these plants.
The food staples were:
Corn Squash Beans
Exhaustive agriculture was practical because Of low prices of expansive land.
Though crop rotations and other conservation practices were known, they were rarely utilized.
Livestock
Livestock agriculture was not practiced on a large scale. Animal husbandry was mostly ignored, resulting in poor stock
Hogs, which were the most common stock, wandered the forests and therefore grew rough and poorly
Markets
There was little trade within the colonies because of poor or no infrastructure
Profitable markets were abroad Great population and wealth were overseas, espcaily for
new American goods Sea transportation was the most efficient means of
travel, and transport and roads were almost nonexistent other than southern river travel.
Exports were as important in the colonies as the large markets (and money) was abroad.
The colonies were isolated from major wealthy populations
Each region had its specialty
Southern: Tobacco, rice, indigo, and short-staple cotton
Middle: was the bread basket: wheat, rye, and barley
New England: Furs, fish, and other resources
Tobacco became a craze in England
Colonies were required to market their product exclusively to England to meet this demand
Corn was used for everything
food export/processing for whiskey feed (in later times)
British restriction on trade limited the markets to the motherland
This is mercantilism, which was a British policy that demanded that the colonies exclusively supply Brittan with the raw materials and the colonies exclusively purchased Brittan's textiles This was implemented through the many
Navigation Acts…
Navigation Acts required
Ships and their crews to be British All imports to come from England (if not produced
there, it must first pass through its ports) Enumerated commodities could only be shipped
and sold to England
These acts were the key impetus for revolt and revolution
Trade patterns
Direct Trade: Commodities shipped directly to England mostly involved Southern commodities such as indigo and
tobacco
Triangular (Indirect) Trade: involved the processing of products before reaching England Most processing and shipping enterprises were based out of
the many bays and coves of New England and Middle colonies
Most important examples: the movement of Rum, Slaves, Molasses
Types of disposal
Political Land Grants: The King grants tracts of land to political allies or proprietors These proprietors often want to continue feudalistic
structures in the south. This failed as settlers refused to move into the same
exploitative system that existed in Brittan. So these proprietors would gift this land to friends and family
Headright System: A person was granted 50 acres of land in designated, unappropriated areas for himself and every additional person that he brought with him Common in Virginia and Maryland
New England Land Grant Method: Land distributed into strips including a common cultivation area by a utilitarian and fairly egalitarian method using a criteria of:
Amount of investment and Ability to use the land
Started by the Massachusetts Bay Company, and the practice continued to 1725.
Groups (usually religious) would petition local government for a grant of land.
This method is important in cultural development such as developing strong sense of community and greater equality and preventing land speculation by equal disposal .
Land Restrictions along the
Appalachian Mountains blocked western
development and trade
Beginning in 1763, the British government reserved all land from the Appalachians to the Mississippi River for Native Americans
Again this caused conflict because of the results of primogeniture.
Regional Differences began to develop and would set the stage for economic, cultural, and policy divergences and
conflicts.
Who:
Multi-national Religious dissenters Tradesmen
•Difficulties Poor, rocky soil Cold climate Indians and other ethic/national
colonies
• OpportunitiesExcellent use of natural resourcesUse knowledge of other settlers
New York & New Jersey
New Netherlands in 1624 fell to British in 1664
Many conflicts inhibited growth
Broad ethnicity
No major export market
Who:
Religious dissenters Families Indentured servants
Difficulties
Poor soil Dense forests for clearing Inexperience with native crops and growing cycles
Opportunities
Citizens were there for establishing sustainable communities
Pennsylvania
Grant to William Penn in
1681
Quickly growing Puritan colony supporting a liberal, fairly egalitarian society with a strong work ethic
Large export grain crops
such as wheat and rye
Who:
Nobility Slaves Gentlemen adventures
Difficulties
High rate of disease and death Isolated
Opportunities
Experience with viable cash crops from the Indies Little competition for land (because it was already all owned and
granted in) Navigable rivers
Maryland
Land Granted to George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) in 1632
Haven for Roman Catholics, as well as liberty for all Christians
Feudalistic practices failed so a headright system enveloped and prospered
High Religious freedom, high level of self governance, free land, and tobacco export helped the colony thrive
Carolinas
Proprietary grant in 1663
Settled by landed, wealthy owners who continued the feudalistic state through large estates and slavery with cash crops such as rice and indigo
The region remained isolated because of hazardous coasts and lack of land owning opportunity
Agriculture vs. Agri culture
Culture: Values
Beliefs
Lifestyle
Farming
•Culture of Food Production
Rural Communities
•Values
•Beliefs
•Lifestyle
Freedom to make own decisions
Opportunity for self-improvement
Way of life vs. business
Ability to work outdoors
Good place to raise a family
Independence--be own boss
Work with nature
Feelings of doing something worthwhile
A
B
C
1607 1800
1900Native
American Culture--hunting & gathering, hoe culture, tribal
Founding of Jamestown
Colonial Rule
Agrarian Culture
Modernization
Scientific
IndustrializationCommercialization
SURVIVAL
Subsistence
Life was fluid
Theocracy
Feudalism gets its roots
Integration of food production with daily living• everyone is a farmer--farming and agriculture are synonymous
Importance of religious values• Protestant work ethic
Navigation Acts
Abundant land
Labor scarcity
Export crops