The Colonial Economy Main Idea A commerce-based economy developed in the northern colonies, while the southern colonies developed an agricultural economy. Reading Focus What were the characteristics of northern colonial economies? What were the characteristics of southern colonial economies? What was the impact of slavery in the colonies?

Colonial Economies Agriculture was the main economic activity Farming in New England Soil was thin and rocky; growing season short. Subsistence farming – growing enough food for their own family. Some raised extra for trade Rarely enough to export Farming in middle colonies - German colonists (Pennsylvania Dutch) Used fertilizer and crop rotation, women worked in the fields too Farming in the South – Better land & climate. Grew for sale; raised cattle and hogs for export

Northern Colonial Economies Natural resources When fur trade declined, colonists turned to timber & fish. Due to Navigation Acts, coastal towns were centers for shipbuilding. Fish Some fish exported to Europe & West Indies. In early 1700s whaling industry began in N.E. Whale products: lamp oil and materials used in perfumes, candles, and women’s corsets

Northern Colonial Economies Colonial industries English goods were expensive, so colonists made things at home. Small industries developed: Mills run by water - ground grain into flour Distilleries – alcoholic beverage were major businesses Ironworks, bricks, leather goods, glass and cloth

Northern Colonial Economies Trade and commerce Good harbors, inexpensive ships encouraged development of commerce. Port cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were thriving centers of trade.

Southern Economy Cash crops - products grown to be sold Triangular trade – trade routes that linked the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the West Indies Middle Passage –journey enslaved Africans made from West Africa across Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies. Cash crops - products grown to be sold tobacco, indigo (used to make blue dye), rice rope, tar, and turpentine used in shipbuilding

South Colonial Economies Plantation system Planters – wealthy, dominated society & politics. Plantations - hundreds of workers, indentured servants or slaves Most worked in the fields, some performed other tasks, such as shoemaking, weaving, and carpentry.

Southern Colonial Economy Small Farms Most farms had fewer than 30 workers Slaves worked alongside farmers. Independent yeoman farmers livestock corn, wheat, fruit, & vegetables for home market tobacco, sold it through large planters

The Impact of Slavery African Slave Trade Olaudah Equiano By the 1600s Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, and England were involved in trans-Atlantic slave trade. Most captured Africans were taken to colonies in the Caribbean and South America, then to North America. The Middle Passage was a horrifying experience where men, women, and children were packed in the ships African Slave Trade Former slave who wrote a book about his life in slavery His description of the Middle Passage horrors encouraged readers to call for the end of slavery. Olaudah Equiano

The Impact of Slavery Reasons slavery continued: English considered themselves superior Cost less and easier to obtain than indentured servants Slaves’ children - next generation of workers Resisting slavery Many slaves used physical resistance, sabotage, or ran away. Stono Rebellion: In 1739, 100 enslaved Africans in South Carolina took weapons from a firearms shop and killed several people. Some skilled artisans bought their freedom by hiring out their labor.