Life in the 17th Century

1. Life in the 17th Century Remember The Organizing Principal: Between 1607 and 1763, the British North American colonies developed experience in, and the expectation of self-government in the political, religious, economic, and social aspects of life.

2. Colonial Society On The Eve Of The Revolution

3. THE DIFFERENCES IN THE THREE COLONIAL REGIONS As we review the data consider one concept for the future: How did the economic, social, religious differences of the regions make the Revolutionary War inevitable?

4. COLONIAL ECONOMIES OVERVIEW: Economic systems varied widely through The British North American colonies. Sectional economic differences were largely determined by variations in climate and geography

5. COLONIAL ECONOMIES • Agriculture: Land acquired by European settlers had • been transformed to a limited extent by Native Americans • who already occupied it • Throughout the colonial period over 90% of the economy • was agricutlural • Most early settlers engaged in subsitence (self- • sufficient) farming; this pattern continued on the frontier

6. COLONIAL ECONOMIES

7. COLONIAL ECONOMIES • New England: Focus on small farm agriculture led to a more • equal society (compared to the Southern colonies). • The colonists benefitted from the natural resources such • as abundant forests and navigable rivers when they settled • there. • Profitable fishing industry included whaling (oil used for • lighting.) • Shipbuilding and coastal and trans-Atlantic commerce were • economically important. • Some small-scale manufacturing began including lumbering.

8. COLONIAL ECONOMIES • Middle- Atlantic economy: Blended economies of the other two regions. • This area became the colonial “bread basket” as its warm climate & fertile land a grain surplus. • River systems and ports such as Philadelphia and New York City provided access to the back country and to overseas commerce • Merchants and artisans flourished in coastal towns

9. COLONIAL ECONOMIES • Southern Colonies: With a favorable climate and abundant • land, developed the plantation system. • Staple export crops were often grown on large estates. • Examples: tobacco in Va, rice and indigo dye in SC • 50- acre headrights went to settlers • Southern farms tended to be scattered; there were less • urban development • Tobacco farming became successful in the South.

10. COLONIAL ECONOMIES *Overall the leading industry of the English colonies in the 17th century was agriculture. *Under mercantilism, the 13 colonies were expected to provide Great Britain with raw materials and markets for British products.

11. COLONIAL ECONOMIES *Overall the leading industry of the English colonies in the 17th century was agriculture. *Under mercantilism, the 13 colonies were expected to provide Great Britain with raw materials and markets for British products. *The lands along the southeastern U.S. was desirable for English colonization because fertile soil & warm climate made the area favorable for agriculture.

12. Society and Trade *Two ways of financing a colonial settlement in the New World was joint-stock colonies and proprietary colonies. *From the view of the New England colonies, the first step in the triangular trade was buying slaves from African American traders in Exchange for rum. *Trading patters between the American colonies, West Indies and the coast of Africa and the British Isles in the 18th century was known as triangular trade.

13. SOCIETY AND LABOR OVERVIEW: Although most voluntary settlers were transplanted Europeans, the economic conditions in the colonies and the evolution of the slave system produced a significantly different social structure.

14. SOCIETY AND LABOR • Population: Growth in British North America was extraordinary. • Despite high infant mortality and low life expectancy (though higher in Europe and highest in NE), population doubled every generation. • Population in the thirteen mainland colonies reached 2.5 million by 1775 and 4 million by 1790. • Average age: 16 • American born colonists vs. British born by 1770s: 3:1 • Men outnumbered women, particularly in the early period, resulting in somewhat better status for females than in Europe. • AA constituted nearly 20%. Indians were not counted.

15. SOCIETY AND LABOR • Women: Tended to marry early and bear many children • married women were deprived of most legal rights • most women were limited to domestic roles, but some became active in farming, crafts, business, and education.

16. SOCIETY AND LABOR • Family: The basic social and economic unit. • Children were economic assets in an agricultural society and families tended to be large. • Parents taught children their gender roles and responsibilities. • Epidemic diseases such as smallpox, diphtheria, and, in the South, malaria took heavy tolls especially in towns.

17. SOCIETY AND LABOR *The introduction of farming in North America led to success for the English colony of Jamestown. *The New England economy began to change from the 17th to 18th century from being agriculturally based to depending more on fishing, shipbuilding and trade with the West Indies.

18. SOCIETY AND LABOR *Following the initial failures during the early 1600s, prosperity finally came to the English settlers at the Jamestown Colony as a result of the introduction of tobacco farming.

19. SOCIETY/Diversity During the 17th century, the largest amount of ethnic diversity occurred in the Middle Colonies of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

20. Religion in the colonies A major difference between the Puritans and the Quakers was that the Quakers believed ALL people were equal in the eyes of God.

21. Religion in the colonies *The most tragic example of religion dominating colonial society in the 17th century was the Salem Witch Trials. The colonies of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Maryland enforced the principle of religious tolerance.

22. Religion in the colonies Religion promoted the principles of democracy in the New England colonies because the church was the main meeting place for people; congregation members voted for church leaders and church members would form laws and principles to govern the community.

23. Colonial Religion cont. *The colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn to provide a haven for Quakers. *In the 1600s, a group of Separatists came to America in order to escape religious persecution in England. The main difference between the Massachusetts Bay Colony & Jamestown was the Mass. colony was founded by people fleeing religious persecution in England.

24. Colonial Religion cont. *During the Great Awakening, preachers such as George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards gave descriptive sermons about sinfulness and the helplessness of humankind. *In the 17th century, Puritanism was most commonly found in the New England colonies.

25. COLONIAL CULTURE OVERVIEW: Colonial culture and values, originally patterned after England’s, were reflected in the press and education systems and in the person of Benjamin Franklin.

26. COLONIAL CULTURE • Localized cultures: Varied geographically • A majority of the population was illiterate and relied primarily on oral communication • Communities, especially in NE, focused on their churches as well as special political or civic events, such as election days or training of militia • A less concentrated population, the growth of slavery, and an Anglican church controlled from England all restrained cultural development in the South • In all sections a small but influential cultural elite emerged in the 18th century

27. COLONIAL CULTURE • Newspapers: Became significant public influences • Approximately 40 newspapers wer being published by the 1770s • John Peter Zenger was jailed by the NY Assembly in 1735 after his newspaper had criticized that body • At his trail for seditious libel, Zenger’s defense was based on the truth of what has been printed. He was acquitted. • 1st significant battle for freedom of speech

28. COLONIAL CULTURE • Education: New England was the leader in part because • of the stress on the importance of Bible reading • In general, education was a luxury, a sign of status, and was provided primarily to males • A Massachusetts law of 1647 required all towns of over 50 families to provide an elementary school • The first colleges (Harvard 1638, Wm and Mary 1693) focused on training clergy • The influential New England Primary (@1690) taught the alphabet through religion • Southern planter gentry secured private tutors for their sons

29. COLONIAL POLITICS 1775 • John Locke believed in a constitutional government, religious tolerance and natural rights. • The Mayflower Compact of 1620 is considered an important step in the development of democracy in America because it expressed the importance of self-government.

30. COLONIAL POLITICS 1775 • Representative assemblies was the feature of government developed most fully during the colonial era. • New England town meetings took place in the church.