Chapter 4: Life in 17th Century

English Colonies

The Economic, Social, & Political Culture of the English Colonies

What did the

English

colonies look

like in 1650?

What did

the English

colonies

look like

by 1700?

Colonial Society

in the 17th Century:

New England

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

17th Century

Life

Expectancy

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

Colonial Society

in the 17th Century:

The Chesapeake

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

Colonial Society

in the 17th Century:

African Slaves

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

Origins & Destinations of African Slaves,

1619-1760

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

The Colonial Economy

in the 17th Century:

Commercial Empire

Economic Diversity of the

English Colonies

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 Political Revolt,

1676-1691

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

Bacon’s Rebellion

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

King Philip’s War

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

Salem Witch Trials

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