Colonial Economy- New England

1. Colonial Economy- New England New England had long winters and thin, rocky soil made large-scale farming difficult. So farmers practiced subsistence farming to only meet the needs of their families with little left over to sell or trade. New England farmers depended on their children for labor. Everyone in the family worked to spin yarn, milk cows, fence fields, and sow and harvest crops. Women made cloth, garments, candles, and soaps for their families. Throughout New England there were many small businesses. Every town had a mill for grinding grain or sawing lumber. Some people in New England used waterpower from streams to run grain and lumber mills. Large towns attracted skilled craftspeople like blacksmiths, shoemakers, furniture makers, and gunsmiths. Fishing and shipbuilding were the major industries that made the New England Coloniesprosperous.

2. Colonial Economy- Middle Colonies Most people in the middle colonies were farmers. This region had more fertile soil and a milder climate than New England. Fertile soil and moderate climate grew bumper wheat and grain crops so Middle Colonies was known as “the Breadbasket”. In New York and Pennsylvania farmers grew large quantities of wheat and other cash crops. Cash crops were sold for money. These two states became busy ports for shipping wheat and live stock. The Middle Colonies also had industries. Some industries were small and home-based like carpentryand flower-making. Some were larger business like lumber mills, mines, ironworks, small-scale manufacturing and so on. The Middle Colonies attracted many Scotch-Irish, German, Dutch, and Swedish settlers. They were successful farmers using methods from their homeland. They made these colonies diverse, a trait not found in New England.

3. Colonial Economy- Southern Colonies The Southern Colonies had rich soil and a warm climate. They could plant in large areas and produce harvest crops of tobacco and rice. Most settlers in the Southern Colonies made their living from farming. There was little need for commerce or industry so mostly London merchants managed Southern trade. Most large plantations were located in Tidewater, a region of flat, low-lying plains along the seacoast. Planters built their plantations on rivers so they could ship their crops to market by boat. A plantation was like a small village with fields stretching out around a cluster of chapels, schools, cabins, barns, stables, carpenter shops, blacksmith shops, storerooms, and kitchens. Small plantations had 50 slaves while large ones had 200 or more. The Backcountry ran along the Appalachian Mountains from New England to Southern Colonies. Settlers grew corn and tobacco on small family farms with one or two slaves. Backcountry farmers outnumbered plantation farmers, but plantation farmers were more wealthy and powerful by controlling the economic and political life of the region.

4. Assignment: Colonial Economy New England Colonies Middle Colonies Southern Colonies • Create a Colonial Economy Brochure: use page 91-95. Include Climate, Farming (Subsistence farming, planting on large areas or plantations- include types of crops), and Industries (big or small, what they produced), for the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies. • DRAW ONE PICTURE FOR EACH COLONY (3 TOTAL) Climate- Farming- Industries- Climate- Farming- Industries- Climate- Farming- Industries-