New England: Commerce & Religion Chapter 4 - Section 1.

New England: Commerce & Religion

Chapter 4 - Section 1

Distinct Colonial Regions Develop

• New England – long, cold winters & rocky soil – mostly English settlers

• Middle Colonies – shorter winters & fertile soil – immigrants

• Southern Colonies – warmer climate & good soil – slave labor

• Backcountry – Scot – Irish immigrants, area along Appalachian Mountains

Farms & Towns of New England

• Short growing season – rocky soil

• Subsistence farming – produce just enough for the family to live on

• Land sold to the church/congregation

• Land was divided among church members

• Towns were small – usually built around a green/common

Harvesting The Sea

• Poor soil conditions = difficult farming

• Economic opportunity – Atlantic Ocean & forest

• Resources: Fish - whales - trees

• Key coastal cities = Boston – Salem – New Haven – Newport

The Sea & Forest• 6 million lbs. of fish a year• Ship building – cost ½ that of England

– 2,500 trees to build a ship• Boston – 15 ship yards

– Build more ships than all of England• Employs a lot of people

– Saw mill – sail & rope makers – black smith - barrel maker – taverns

• Tree Mast Law – 1691– Best trees reserved for British Navy

Atlantic Trade

• Triangle trade

Middle Passage

• Leg between African and West Indies/colonies

• Slave traders could make 200 % profit

• 1808 Congress bans slave trade

Navigation Acts

• Make sure England made money off trade• 1. all shipping had to be done on English ships• 2. the colonies had to sell certain products to

England [tobacco – wood - sugar]• 3. all imports to the colonies had to go through

England = tax• 4. tax any colonial products not sold to England

Purpose of Navigation Acts

• Dutch competition in shipping – charge 30% less

• 1660s – 1670s naval wars w/ Dutch• 1664 Charles II – eliminated Dutch in North

America• W/ Navigation Acts England hope to:

– Increase custom revenue– Stimulate ship building & related jobs– Supports economic theory of mercantilism

African Americans is New England

• Few slaves in New England

• b/c short growing season – not enough work to justify buying a slave

• Slaves worked as house servants – cooks – stable hands – on docks - warehouses

Changes in Puritan Society

• Gradual decline in Puritan religion

• Drive for economic success – materialism

• Competition from other religious groups

• Mass. became royal colony – religious freedom to everyone

• Own property = voting rights

• Weakened the Puritan community

Slave Trade

• Begun by Portuguese & Spanish

• African tribes would capture rival tribes– Sell their captives into slavery– Seize men/women from the interior & bring

them to the coast where they were sold