Life in the Colonies Chapter 4, Section 1

The Colonies Between 1700 and 1770 the English colonies in America experienced a huge increase! 1700------ 250,000 1770------ 2.5 million The slave population also grew during this time. In 1700 you had approximately 28,000 slaves but by 1770 there were around 500,000!

Why do you think growth occurred so quickly in the colonies? New England Colonies Why do you think growth occurred so quickly in the colonies?

The Colonies Growth occurred for several reasons: Immigration Increase in African slaves Women in the colonies tended to marry early, sometimes as young as fifteen. People in the colonies also tended to have very large families.

New England Colonies New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut

New England Colonies Surprisingly the New England colonies were actually a very healthy place to live. New England consisted of well organized towns. Most farmers tended to their farms which were located on the outskirts of town.

New England Colonies Farming was the main activity in all the colonies, however, farms were much smaller in New England than those in the south.

Subsistence farming New England practiced subsistence farming which means that they grew just enough to support their family. New England colonies relied on children for much of the labor.

Commerce in New England New England also had a variety of small businesses. People living near streams would create grinding mills or saw mills.

New England Commerce Many women made candles, soap and garments that could be sold or traded. Large towns had shoemakers, furniture makers, printers, gunsmiths and blacksmiths.

New England Commerce Port cities became involved in shipbuilding. Fishing was also important commerce.

Middle Colonies New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware

Life in the Middle Colonies The Middle colonies enjoyed better soil than did New England. Farms were larger and produced better harvests.

The “Bread Basket” The large quantities of wheat and grain produced in places such as New York and Pennsylvania were known as “cash crops” because they were sold easily in markets and overseas.

Life in the Middle Colonies The middle colonies also had industry such as carpentry, flour making, mining and iron mills.

Diversity in the Middle Colonies Immigrants from Germany, Sweden and other European countries came to these places because of their tolerance for religious differences. Types of Religious Peoples: Quakers, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Mennonite, Dutch Reformed, German Reformed, Jews

Southern Colonies Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia

The Southern Colonies With their fertile soil and large harvest many people in the south were either small or large scale farmers.

Plantation System Plantation system: type of farming with large pieces of land mostly run by slave labor. This system is the main reason for the growth of slavery in the south.

The Southern Colonies Tobacco was the main cash crop in both Maryland and Virginia. Preparing tobacco for sale required much labor so indentured servants or African slaves were used.

Life in the Southern Colonies The main cash crop in South Carolina and Georgia was rice. Rice fields have to be flooded and drained. When harvested you would have to often work in knee deep mud, in the blazing sun with no protection from things such as mosquitoes. Thus, Georgia and South Carolina relied heavily on slave labor.

Slavery Slaves could have various jobs. Some would work in the plantation home, however, the majority would work as field hands. Many slaves suffered great cruelty. Large plantation owners would hire overseers, or bosses, to keep slaves working hard.

Slavery In the early 1700’s, colonies created slave codes which governed how slaves could be punished. Slaves could not leave plantations without written permission from the master. The codes also stated that slaves could be whipped for minor offenses and hanged or burned to death for serious crimes. Those who tried to run away would be punished severely.

Social Levels of Colonial Society