Chapter 4: Life in 17 th Century English Colonies The Economic, Social, & Political Culture of the English Colonies
Chapter 4: Life in 17th Century
English Colonies
The Economic, Social, & Political Culture of the English Colonies
Families in New England■ 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
Possibly the 1st society in history to reasonably expect to live long enough to see their grandchildren
Towns became networks of intermarried families
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
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”
Social Hierarchy in New England
Local gentry of religiously devout families guided
town meetings
Large population of yeomen farmers loyal
to the local community
Small population of landless laborers, servants, & poor
NE churches focused on its members; outsiders were not welcomed & often moved away
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)
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
Social Hierarchy in the Chesapeake
Tobacco was the basis of wealth & cause of
social inequalities
The plantation gentry dominated society &
the House of Burgesses
Yeoman farmers were the largest class; Came as
indentured servants; most lived on edge of poverty
Indentured servants were often mistreated & cheated out of land
African slaves
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
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
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
The Slave Population
■ 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
60% in SC40% in VA
Free & enslaved blacks were much less numerous in NE & Middle colonies
The Slave Population■ 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 hanged or deported due to
a rumor that slaves planned to burn NYC
– Runaway slaves were common
150 blacks rose up & seized a munitions hold & killed several white planters
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
Response to Economic Competition■ “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
“Enumerated goods” (tobacco, sugar, cotton, rice, rosin, tar) could
only be sent to English ports
Goods shipped to English colonies must pass through England (Increased the price paid by colonial consumers)
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
Colonial Factions Spark Revolt
■The English colonies began to
experience unrest at the end of
the 17th Century:
–This unrest was not a social
revolution (or a forecast of the
American Rev) but a contest
between colonial “ins” & “outs”
–Bacons’ Rebellion, King Philip’s
War & witchcraft panic
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
Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia
■The rebellion ended after Bacon’s
death (dysentery) but the rebellion
convinced VA gentry that:
–Indentured servants were
destined to become rebellious
–African slaves were a better
solution than rebellious whites
because slaves had no
ambitions for political power
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
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
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