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The Southern Colonies. Bell-work… Listen to the following song Please write what you think the song is about… Please o pen your books to page 84. The Southern colonies based their economies on commercial agriculture and cash crops Virginia and Maryland produced tobacco
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The Southern Colonies • Bell-work… • Listen to the following song • Please write what you think the song is about… • Please open your books to page 84
The Southern colonies based their economies on commercial agriculture and cash crops • Virginia and Maryland produced tobacco • South Carolina produced rice
Commercial agriculture gave way to the plantation system in the South • Plantations are large commercial estates where many laborers lived on the land and cultivated the crops for a land owner
By 1620 tobacco was a major cash crop for the Chesapeake Bay region • Producers made larger profits because demand for tobacco was high but supply was low (this raised the price of tobacco) • Not only this but it required very little cost, merchant ships could come up the river to load the tobacco and then haul it right out to sea • However, the process for growing and harvesting tobacco was difficult
During the 1600s there were large amounts of land to grow tobacco but there was a shortage of labor • This gave rise to indentured servitude • Indentured servants were contracted workers who would work an owner’s land in exchange for safe passage to America, shelter, and food. • Almost half of the indentured servants who came to America died before they finished their contracts • On top of this the cost of land and materials was so high that it prevented many from ever becoming free land owners
By 1690 slavery became the preferred labor source in South Carolina as opposed to indentured servitude • The major crops of South Carolina were sugar cane, rice, and indigo
It took years for North Carolina land owners to produce successful indigo crops • Eliza Lucas discovered that indigo would not grow well in the swampy low lands but in it grew well in the rich sandy soil of the North Carolina highlands • North Carolina’s system of planting was highly productive due to planting crops all year round • First they would plant rice and then indigo • This was hard on workers
This sudden surge in demand led many to become wealthy land owners • They called these wealthy owners Southern gentry • By having great wealth, owners had time for leisurely activities • Read primary account on page 84.
Sparseness in the South led plantations owners to create self containing communities • Often they had their own blacksmiths, weavers, churches, and schools
Not all land owners were wealthy plantation owners • Some were yeomen farmers • Yeomen farmers owned small farms with less than 4 slaves • They practiced sustenance farming • By 1670 society was divided sharply between the Southern gentry and yeomen • This stark contrast between classes lead to resentment and eventually rebellion
In 1660 the wealthy governor of Virginia Sir William Berkeley formed the House of Burgesses (a governing council) • He gave council members perks by exempting them from paying taxes and giving them large tracts of land. They also created laws that reserved voting rights just for the wealthy • This angered the poor farmers of Virginia
The poor Virginian farmers also grew angry because the wealthy had possession of the rich fertile land • This forced poor farmers to push west into occupied Native American land in search of farm land
Nathaniel Bacon angry over the House of Burgesses’ abuse of power and the attacks of Native Americans organized a small militia to retaliate • Fighting continued until the Virginia government reluctantly formed a 1,000 troop militia to attack the Native Americans and calm the angry farmers • Then to appease poor farmers the House of Burgesses ended the issuance of perks to its members and restored voting rights to all free men
This did little to appease the poor farmers • In 1676 Bacon returned with a small militia and ousted William Berkeley from power • They call this Bacon’s Rebellion
The Results of Bacon’s Rebellion • Convinced Southern gentry to have more land available for poor farmers • Accelerated the use of slaves
In 1672 King Charles II granted a charter to the Royal African Company to participate in the slave trade • Discuss the Middle Passage • The creation of Slave Codes-set of laws that formally regulated slavery and defined the relationship between enslaved Africans and free people • Primary Source Evaluation
