Chapter 4: American Life in the 17th century

Chapter 4: American Life in the 17th CenturyScott MarburgerEnglish Colonies Prior to 1763

The Unhealthy ChesapeakeLife was Nasty, brutish and short Thomas Hobbs

Half the people born in early Virginia and Maryland did not live past 20.

Common diseases were dysentery, malaria, typhoid

Life in the ChesapeakeRatio of adult men to adult women was 6:1

Family ties were fragile at best; many children were raised in single-parent households because the death rate was so high

Introduction of TobaccoThe Chesapeake was the first permanent English New World settlement. The cultivation of tobacco helped stabilize its economyBy the 1630s, 1.5 million pounds of tobacco were being shipped out of the Chesapeake Bay every year

TobaccoLed to an increase in the number of indentured servants in the colonies.Tobacco is very rough on the soilThis caused colonists to move west in search of more land

Indentured ServentsNo other stable source of labor; slaves too expensive, and birthrate too low

In exchange for working, they received transatlantic passage and eventual "freedom dues", including a few barrels of corn, a suit of clothes, and possibly a small piece of land.

However, most did not receive these freedom dues

FreedmenFreed servants had no possessions and had to settle on the frontier

Growing problems with Indians

Governor Berkeley did not help fend off the Indian attacks

Frustrated Freemen House of Burgesses: colonial elected assembly in Virginia colony

1670: Landless whites (primarily freed indentured servants) lose the right to vote in colonial assemblies

Growing restlessness among landless whites; felt ignored and unimportant

This frustration led to many things, such as Bacons Rebellion

Land Disputes With IndiansIndians saw and as communal; no ownership, just rights of some to use certain land

Colonists saw land as property

Conflict caused by colonists clearing land for planting; required constant expansion

Clashes with Indians on frontier

Bacons RebellionNathaniel Bacon, a planter, led 1,000 Virginians against Governor BerkeleyDisliked the friendly policies towards the Indians. Berkeley refused to retaliate for a series of savage Indian attacks on frontier settlements (due to his monopolization of the fur trading with them)The crowd attacked Indians, chased Berkeley from Jamestown, and torched the capitol. As a result of the rebellions and tensions started by Bacon, planters looked for other, less troublesome laborers to work their tobacco plantations. They soon looked to Africa.

Propaganda for burning of JamestownSlavery1619-first slaves in AmericaHowever, most slaves sent to West Indies.

Switch from indentured servants to slaves after the 1660stroublesome indentured servantswaning supply of indentured servants as conditions in England improvedbreak of monopoly of Royal African CompanyBarbados slave code

Slaves used in Southern colonies for rice and indigo cultivation

Slavery (continued)1698- Royal African Company, which was first chartered in 1672, lost its monopoly on carrying slaves to the colonies. Americans rushed to cash in on the slave trade. cost went down as supply went upBlacks made up half of the Chesapeake population by 1750Middle Passage: voyage between Africa and Americas20% death rateslaves packed tightly in and transferred under horrible conditions

Triangular TradeEngland, West Africa, and the Americas

Exchange of goods between the continents; provided each with an economic need

Major stimulant of the slave trade in the Americas as most North American slaves came from AfricaSenegal to Angola, mostly Senegal and Gambia

Thriving SlaveryAs supply of slaves arriving to America begins to go up, cost of slaves begins to go down

Rhode Island becomes leading colony in slave tradeIronically, Rhode Island will become the first state to abolish slavery

Dependence on slave labor, especially in the South

Slave CodesBlurred line existed between slaves and indentured servants

Slave codes were adopted to clearly define the legal status of slavesBeginning in Virginia in 1662, these earliest slave codes made blacks and their children the property of the white masters for life

Modeled after Barbados Slave Code

Preservation of African CultureAlthough Slavery began solely for economic purposes, it was accompanied by racial discriminationto combat their growing sentiment, slaves tried to retain some of their own culture

Gullah: combination of Angola (African region) and English off of South Carolinas coast

Ringshout: West African dance that would later contribute to jazz movement

Stono RebellionExample of increasing slave unrestMore than 50 slaves tried to march to Spanish Florida, which promised them freedom in attempt to weaken the BritishStopped by local militia, returned to masters, and the South Carolina assembly enacted a harsh slave code

Southern HierarchySouthern society consisted of:1)Large landowners: small group; lots of land and slaves2) Small Landowners: largest group; one or two slaves3) Landless Whites: freed indentured servants4) Indentured Servants5) Black SlavesFFVs: First Families of Virginia families who arrived in VA before 1690; made up 70% of leaders before Revolutionary WarControlled most of the wealth and political prowess in the colony

Southern ColoniesCenter of society was the plantation, very little industryVery few citiesLow life expectancyhigh number of widowswomen had more property rightsEconomy dependent upon on slavery

New England ColoniesLonger life expectancy; clean water and towns; population growthOrganized in building cities; each had a meeting house, school, churchPuritan cause united colonistsLess diverse

The combination of Calvinism, soil, and climate in New England made for energy, purposefulness, sternness, stubbornness, self-reliance, and resourcefulness.Religion in New England ColoniesJermiad a new type of sermon preached by New Englands ministers in the middle of the centuryscolded parishioners for their lack of piety and the waning importance of religion.Half Way Covenant encouraged church membership become a member now, have spiritual conversion later

-Increase Mather: advocated Half-Way Covenant

Salem Witch TrialsA group of adolescent girls in Salem, Massachusetts claimed to have been bewitched by certain older women.

A witch hunt ensued and led to the legal lynching of 20 women in 1692

Witchcraft hysteria ended when the governor of Massachusetts prohibited any further trials and pardoned those already convicted

Family Life in New England ColoniesWomen married young (before twenty); high birth ratesFirst of the colonies to begin to confirm their own populations by birth rather than by immigration

New England IndustryPoor soil in Northern Colonies that was rocky and hard to tillPoor climate Not as hospitable to agriculture as the SouthCaused Northern colonists to get involved in fledgling industries lumber and fishing

Work in the ColoniesColonists worked from dawn till dusk, and only at night if it was worth a candleWomen performed domestic dutiesMen worked primarily in agriculture, although some small industries (lumber, fishing) existed in New EnglandVery little schooling for children, especially in the southern colonies

Migration to AmericaPopulation in colonies originally based on immigration to colonies; later they would confirm their own populations by birth

Dukes dont emigrate-most white emigrants came from neither the poor nor the rich.people who came to colonies did not tend to be previously wealthy in England

17th century English homeLeislers Rebellion 1689-1691: revolt in New YorkHostility between lordly landholders and aspiring merchants Merchants revolt violently against wealthy large landowners (created by patroonships similar to headright system)Caused by growing aristocracy in Northern colonies

leader of rebellion: Jacob Leisler