Chapter 4 American Life in the 17 th Century:

The Tobacco Economy Intense tobacco cultivation in the American colonies quickly exhausted the soil 1630s - ships were hauling 1.5 million lbs of tobacco out of the Chesapeake Bay –40 million lbs/year by the end of the 17 th century More tobacco = more labor –Birth rate was slow, where would labor force come from? –Indians died too quickly, African slaves cost too much Displaced farmers signed themselves or their children into indentured servitude for a chance at a better life in the colonies –5-7 years –Essentially slave labor until contract was fulfilled –Received transatlantic passage & “freedom dues” when their service was fulfilled Over 100,000 indentured servants came to the colonies by 1700 –¾ of all European immigration to Virginia & Maryland in 17 th cent

Bacon’s Rebellion Most freed servants couldn’t afford land after their contract ended & there were few eligible women in the colonies –1670 – Virginia assembly disenfranchised the landless, causing much discontent 1676 – 1,000 Virginians rioted, led by 29 yr old Nathaniel Bacon Gov. William Berkley refused to retaliate for a series of Indian attacks on frontier settlements; Bacon & his followers to matters into their own hands –Attacked Indians (friendly & hostile) and chased Berkley from Jamestown & torched the capital Bacon died suddenly of sickness & Berkley was able to crush the uprising (and hung 20 rebels in the process) Rebellion had been contained but the lordly planters were still surrounded by malcontent farmers –Had to find a new source of labor to do the back-breaking work in the fields –Focus shifts to the African slave trade for labor

Colonial Slavery – estimated 10,000,000 Africans brought to the Americas in chains –Only 400,000 came to North America; the rest went to the Caribbean or South American colonies 1619 – 1 st African slaves brought to Jamestown, but only 2,000 in Virginia by 1670 –Only 7% of pop in the southern colonies as a whole White servants might die too, but they were less costly –Rising wages in England led to less interest in indentured servitude –Bacon’s Rebellion showed the discontent of freed servants who still toiled as tenant farmers – slave importation rose sharply in the American colonies –By 1750, African slaves accounted for ½ Virginia’s population –South Carolina – slaves outnumbered whites 2:1

Most slaves reached America from the west coast of Africa –Captured by coastal African tribes & sold to European & American traders –Death rates are estimated to be as high as 20% for Middle Passage Early in the 17 th cent, legal difference between slave & servant was unclear –A few of the earliest slaves gained their freedom & became slave owning farmers themselves –“Slave Codes” made blacks and their children the property of their white masters –Some colonies made it illegal to teach slaves to read or write –Not even conversion to Christianity could save Africans from slavery Slavery may have begun in America for economic reasons; by the end of the 17 th cent, it was clear that racial discrimination affected the American slave system.

Africans in America Slave life in the deep South was very tough—growing rice harder than tobacco Blacks in America evolved their own language, gullah also contributed to music with instruments like the banjo and bongo drum few of the slaves became skilled artisans –most were relegated to sweaty work in the fields Revolts did occur: –1712, a slave revolt in New York City cost the lives of a dozen Whites and 21 Blacks were executed –1739 – Stono Rebellion, South Carolina blacks along the Stono River revolted and tried to march to Spanish Florida, but failed Slaves in the south proved to be more manageable than indentured servants, b/c no slave revolt matched the scale of Bacon’s Rebellion

Southern Society In Virginia, a group of extended families (the Fitzhughs, the Lees, and the Washingtons) owned tracts and tracts of real estate and dominated the House of Burgesses social gap appeared and began to widen –Planters – small social class but wealthy & landed –Farmers – largest social group, lived modest lives –Landless whites – usually former indentured servants –Indentured Servants – diminished as slave labor replaced them in late 17 th cent. –African slaves – oppressed, remained in society’s basement Few cities in the South, so schools and churches were slow to develop Waterways become primary source of travel –Roads in horrible condition

Life in the New England Towns New towns were legally chartered by colonial authorities town usually had a meetinghouse surrounded by houses and a village green –Towns of more than 50 families had to provide primary education. –Towns of more than 100 had to provide secondary education Massachusetts Puritans established Harvard College to train boys to become ministers Puritans ran their own churches, and democracy in Congregational church government led logically to democracy in political government Due to the hard New England soil (or lack thereof), New Englanders became great traders climate of New England encouraged diversified agriculture and industry –Fishing became a very popular industry

The Half-Way Covenant & Salem Witch Trials 1662 – the Half-Way Covenant passed, admitting the unconverted children of existing church members –Conferred partial rights –Widening membership erased distinction between the “elect” and other members of society 1692 – a group of young women accused a group of older women of bewitching them –20 people lynched (19 hung, 1 pressed) –The accusers came from subsistence farming families; the accused came from merchant families –Showed the developing stratification of socioeconomic division in New England The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways (81-83)