Colonial Society

The swampy site chosen for its settlement almost caused the failure of Jamestown.

The early years of the Jamestown settlement were full of hardships because many of the settlers simply refused to work.

New England colonies:

Massachusetts New Hampshire Connecticut Rhode Island

Middle Atlantic colonies:

New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware

Southern colonies:

Virginia Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Georgia

Colonial Government

Relations with the Amerindian societies

In the colonial period of American history, from around 1607 to 1775, wars and other military conflicts produced economic cycles of boom and bust, dependent on the exact period, place, and circumstance of the event. For the most part, warfare in the settlement period of the 17th century, when the American economy was struggling just to get started, was simply destructive and costly. First, there were the direct costs of war, including soldiers' salaries, provisions, weapons and ammunition, and economic aid to civilians displaced by the war. The colonies directly affected by war had to borrow to meet these needs. One well-known early example during the 17th century is King Philip's War in New England. Estimates of the war debt to the colonies vary widely and can range anywhere from £80,000 to £150,000. These costs were absorbed by the colonies themselves, not by Great Britain. Such huge deficits took decades to pay back; they were finally paid off by raising taxes to incredibly high levels. These taxes hurt the entire economy, with those who had to rebuild their entire lives hurt most of all. Second, in addition to the actual costs of fighting the war, the loss of production and profits during King Philip’s War and the massive loss of property, dwellings, farms, livestock, crops, and personal property cannot even begin to be measured. Fifty-two colonial towns, such as Andover, Brookfield, Deerfield, Groton, Hatfield, Northampton, and Springfield to name just a few, were attacked, with 25 pillaged and between 13 and 17 completely destroyed. The costs of rebuilding those towns must also be figured into the total costs of 17th century war. Similar scenarios had already come to pass in Virginia during the three Anglo-Powhatan wars, and it would occur again in the Carolinas during the Tuscarora and Yamasee wars, among others.

The rapid expansion of English settlements threatened the way of life among the Amerindian tribes that inhabited those areas.Amerindians moved westward as a result of colonial migration westward.

Amerindian conflicts included: Bacon’s Rebellion, King Philip’s War, Little Turtle’s War, the Massacre of 1622, the Pequot War, Pontiac’s Rebellion, and the French and Indian War.

Both sides used the “divide and conquer” technique. Amerindians took advantage of the Anglo-French rivalry.

King Philip’s War Started when the Algonquins tried to drive the British out.

King Philip’s War Started when the Algonquins tried to drive the British out.

Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Bay colonies were founded in an attempt to escape religious persecution.

Pennsylvania was founded as a haven for Quakers.

Quakers believed that all people were equal.

Colonial Economies

Competition over resources and markets and the inter-colonial rivalries resulted in numerous wars.

Inter-colonial conflicts (imperial wars):

Anglo-Dutch Wars (First, Second, and Third)King George’s WarKing William’s WarQueen Anne’s War

French and Indian War(Main cause of French and Indian War was France and Britain’s competing claims over land)

“As time went by, and colonial economies grew, especially along the eastern seaboard,…the imperial wars of the late 17th and early 18th centuries (listed above), with a newly interested England paying some—but by no means all—of the costs of colonial wars,…. brought about a boom in ship building, which not only made money for the owners of shipyards, but also ensured full employment for shipwrights of all kinds. Good employment opportunities also occurred in the shipping trade itself, with sailors and shore men kept busy by the upturn of trade during the war, based in large part on the movement of provisions for armies. Other young men, some without much economic hope or marketable skills, found employment in the volunteer provincial armies being raised. Thus, war brought a miniboom in the colonial economy along the Atlantic seaboard. Yet, the ending of the war usually brought about an economic bust—shipwrights, sailors, and soldiers were sent home and war provisions were no longer needed. Worse yet, the war now had to be paid for, with a sharp rise in colonial taxes to pay the war debt. This cycle was devastating for Boston, which was intimately tied to the imperial wars because of its closeness to the military front in French Canada, while New York and Philadelphia saw less distress with each post-war economic bust.” Source:

Typical slave ship