new england: commerce & religion chapter 4 - section 1
TRANSCRIPT
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