Life in 17 th Century English Colonies

1. Life in 17th CenturyEnglish Colonies The Economic, Social, & Political Culture of the English Colonies

2. Colonial Society in the 17th Century: New England

3. Families in New England Possibly the 1st society in history to reasonably expect to live long enough to see their grandchildren • New England society was much more stable than other colonies: • New England Puritans migrated to America as families • Marriage was easy as most people shared common values • Colonists lived longer due to more a dispersed population, purer water, & a cooler climate New England “invented” grandparents Towns became networks of intermarried families

4. Education in New England • NE towns regarded education as fundamental family responsibility; towns began to create elementary schools funded with local taxes: • NE had, by far, the highest literacy rate in America • In 1638, Harvard became America’s first college

5. Women in New England • Was the colonial era the “golden age” for women? • Women contributed to society as wives & mothers, devout church members, & ran small-scale farms • But were not equals with men: • Women could not legally own or sell property; divorce was difficult • Women did what “God ordained”

6. Colonial Society in the 17th Century: The Chesapeake

7. Families in the Chesapeake • “Normal, English” family life was impossible in Virginia: • 70-85% of immigrants were young male indentured servants • High death rate (average age was 10-20 years lower than NE) • One married spouse often died within a decade • Children often never knew their parents (let alone grandparents)

8. Women in Chesapeake Society • Scarcity gave some women bargaining power in the marriage market; allowed some women to improve their social status • But women were vulnerable: • sexual exploitation • Childbearing was dangerous • Chesapeake women died 20 years earlier than women in NE

9. Chesapeake Culture • By 1680, social mobility in the Chesapeake was limited: • An American-born elite class had emerged (this social aristocracy was absent earlier) • The plantation economy & ownership of slaves allowed the gentry to produce more tobacco • High death rates halted the development of schools & towns

10. Colonial Society in the 17th Century: African Slaves

11. The Roots of Slavery • The importation of African slaves was based on a “need” for labor: • Native Americans made poor slaves because they were decimated by European disease • Indentured servant-pool waned after 1660 • An estimated 11 million slaves (mostly males) were brought to the English American colonies

12. The Roots of Slavery • Slaves were originally treated as indentured servants but the growing black population in VA by 1672 prompted stricter slave laws: • Africans were defined as slaves for life; permanent slave status was passed on to slave children • By 1700, slavery was based exclusively on skin color

13. The Slave Population Free & enslaved blacks were much less numerous in NE & Middle colonies 40% in VA 60% in SC • In the Chesapeake & Southern colonies with large black populations, slaves found it easier to maintain their African culture • By 1720, the African population became self-sustaining: • Fertility rates exceeded immigration rates for the 1st time • Did not occur in the Caribbean or in South America

14. The Slave Population 150 blacks rose up & seized a munitions hold & killed several white planters • Widespread resentment of their slave status led to resistance in the 18th Century: • Armed resistance such as the Stono Rebellion of 1739 (SC) • In 1741, 106 slaves were hung or deported due to a rumor that slaves planned to burn NYC • Runaway slaves were common

15. The Colonial Economy in the 17th Century: Commercial Empire

16. Economic Diversity of the English Colonies

18. Rise of a Commercial Empire • English gov’t largely ignored the colonies until the 1650s (salutary neglect); The colonies were not state-funded nor state protected • But…Charles II initiated colonial intervention in 1660 to maximize exports, decrease imports, & generate more gov’t revenue

19. Response to Economic Competition “Enumerated goods” (tobacco, sugar, cotton, rice, rosin, tar) could only be sent to English ports • “Mercantilism” became the blueprint for England’s empire: • Wanted more money & a favorable balance of trade • Wanted to eliminate Dutch rivals • Wanted a stronger navy • Began to restrict colonial trade: • Navigation Act of 1660 • Navigation Act of 1663 No ship could trade in colonies unless it was made in England Goods shipped to English colonies must pass through England (Increased the price paid by colonial consumers)

20. Implementing the Acts • NE merchants found loopholes to avoid paying taxes so the English made more restrictions: • In 1696, created a Board of Trade to oversee colonial trade • Created maritime courts to mediate disputes • The Navigation Acts eventually benefited the colonial merchants & smuggling virtually ended

21. Colonial Factions Spark Political Revolt, 1676-1691

22. Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia • Former indentured servants living in the VA frontier suffered due to: • Poor tobacco prices in 1660s • Indian attacks in 1675 • These farmers blamed VA’s royal governor Berkeley who did little to help; Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion in 1676 against Berkeley & was joined by small farmers, blacks, & women

23. King Philip’s War • In 1675, Metacom (“King Philip”) led the Wampanoag Indians against NE colonists: • 1,000+ Indians & colonists died • Large war debt led James II to annul the Mass Bay charter & create the “Dominion of New England” by combining Mass, Conn, RI, Plymouth, NY, NJ, & NH under a new royal charter

24. King Philip’s War

25. Dominion of New England • Edmund Andros was hated by Puritans, moderates, & merchants • In 1689, Andros was deposed when William & Mary began reign • Massachusetts was given a new charter that incorporated Plymouth but shifted power from the “elect" to those with property

26. Witchcraft in New England • Charges of witchcraft were common in New England • But the “Salem panic” of 1691 led to 20 public executions before the trials were halted in 1692 • Possible causes: • argument over church ministers • poor farmers accusing rich farmers to gain land • reactions to independent women

27. Salem Witch Trials

28. Conclusions • By 1700: • England’s attitude toward the colonies had changed dramatically • Sectional differences within the colonies were profound • All the colonies were all part of Great Britain but had little to do with each other

29. Experience of Empire: 18th Century America American Colonial Culture: 1700-1780

30. Growth & Diversity in 18th Century America

31. Growth & Diversity in British America • By 1770, the English colonies became much more different from New Spain & New France: • Population boomed 1,000% due to increased birth rates, falling death rates, & a huge wave of non-English immigration • Surging economic growth • New political & religious ideas

32. Distribution of European & African Immigrants in British North America by 1770

33. 18th Century Immigrants • 1790 census showed less than 50% of American colonists were English; 18th Century immigration brought unprecedented diversity: • African slaves were largest group to immigrate • The Transportation Act (1718) allowed English judges to send convicted felons to the colonies (50,000 forcibly immigrated)

34. 18th Century Immigrants • The Scotch-Irish were the largest European group to immigrate: • Initially welcomed as a frontier barrier between Indians & PA • Challenged authority wherever they settled • Germans were the 2nd largest European group to immigrate: • Seen as hard-working farmers • Clung to German traditions rather than “Anglicizing”

36. 18th Century American Commerce

37. Economic Transformation • In the 1700s, Spanish & French colonial economies stagnated but English colonial economies grew: • Led to an increased standard of living & affluence for Americans • The colonial economy kept pace with its expanding population • English mercantilism increased a desire for American products (esp. tobacco & sugar)

38. Birth of a Consumer Society • The availability of cheap English mass-produced goods led to a rise in colonial consumption • Colonists grew an insatiable desire for goods from “home” • The increase in inter-colonial & Caribbean trade gave colonists the money they needed to buy British manufactured goods • But, many colonists fell heavily in debt to English merchants

39. American Urban Life • Few colonists lived in cities: • Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, & Charles Town contained only 5% of total colonial population • Cities were geared toward intermediary trade but… • Cities began to attract colonists seeking opportunities

40. 18th Century American Politics

41. Contrasting Colonial Politics • Unlike state-controlled Spanish & French colonies, the English colonies were decentralized: • All colonies (except CT & RI) had royal governors • But all had colonial assemblies that controlled local finances • Colonies were not democratic; Power was centralized with the wealthy, landed elite The legacy of “Salutary Neglect”

42. English Control over America • In the 18th century, England maintained a unique political & economic relationship with America: • As long as the colonies were profitable few British regulations were enforced & colonists could do as they pleased Economic relationship was defined by mercantilism Political relationship was defined by salutary neglect

43. The Great Awakening

44. Decline in Religious Devotion The Half-Way Covenant (1662) was a way for NE churches to increase membership to the “unconverted” children • The 1700s saw a decline in religious devotion: • Outside of NE, 1 in 15 people was a member of a church • NE suffered a decline in church attendance (1:5 were members) • Church sermons were seen by many as “cold” & impersonal • Led to a rise in Arminianism(free will, not predestination)

45. The Great Awakening Was not really “American” either as similar phenomena occurred in Europe • The Great Awakening was a series of revivals among Protestants in which of people experienced religious conversion in response to gifted preaching • It was not a unified movement; Great Awakenings occurred in many denominations in different places at different times The Great Awakening hit New England in the 1730s & in Virginia in 1750s & 1760s

46. The Great Awakening • The 1st stirrings of the Great Awakening began with Jonathan Edwards in Northhampton, MA: • Used “fire & passion” to reach the discontent youth of NE • Encouraged people to examine their eternal destiny A reading from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741)

47. The Great Awakening • George Whitefield became the most popular of the evangelists of the Great Awakening • He preached outdoor sermons to 1,000s in nearly every colony • As a result, itinerants disrupted their established churches claiming ministers were not taught to see the “New Light”

49. From Authority to Individualism Activity: Comparing Puritanism, the Great Awakening, & the Enlightenment

50. The Great Awakening • The impact of the Great Awakening • New universities such as Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, & Rutgers were formed to educate “New Light” preachers • 1st “national” event; Encouraged contact among scattered colonists in different regions • Empowered non-elites to challenge their social superiors Including women & African-Americans