1. 7th Grade Unit 2 Ch 4, Section 1
Life in the Colonies
7th Grade
Unit 2
Ch 4, Section 1

2. New England Colonies
The number of people living in the Colonies grew from about in 1700 to 2.5 million by the mid- 1770s.
Factors behind the growth of the Colonies:
Immigration
Europeans, Africans, & Jews.
Colonial women married early and had many children.
Americans, especially New England, were unusually healthy and lived longer

3. New England Colonies
Farming was the main economic activity in the Colonies.
New England farms were smaller. Why?
Long winters = shorter growing season
Thin rocky soil made large scale farming difficult
Farmers in New England practiced subsistence farming, which means that they only produced enough to meet the needs of their family.

4. Commerce in New England
New England had many small businesses
mills, lumber yards, candle makers, garment makers.
Large towns attracted craftspeople
shoemakers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths and printers.
Shipbuilding was an important industry in New England.
Local forests were used as a source of wood to build ships.
New England had many coastal towns.
Fishing was also an important industry.

5. Colonial Jobs

6. Colonial Trade
As shipbuilding grew in the northern Colonies, trade with other Colonies grew.
New England linked the northern Colonies with the southern Colonies and with other parts of the world.
Trading ships followed routes that came to be known as the triangular trade routes because the routes formed a triangle.

7. Triangular Trade Route

8. How did New England take part in the triangular trade route?
Ships brought sugar and molasses from the West Indies to the New England Colonies
molasses was made into rum.
Rum and other goods were shipped to West Africa and traded for slaves.
Enslaved Africans were shipped to the Americas
this journey was called the Middle Passage.

9. The Middle Passage
Slavery had been practiced in Africa for centuries. When the Europeans arrived they took advantage of the system.
The journey from Africa to the Americas was a terrible and inhumane journey. Many died from disease on the way.

10. The Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies had a milder climate and more fertile soil than the northern Colonies.
This meant that farmers in the Middle Colonies could cultivate larger areas and produce larger harvests.
In New York and Pennsylvania farmers grew large quantities of wheat and other cash crops.
Cash crops could be sold easily for profit.

11. Industries of the Middle Colonies
Home based crafts, like carpentry and flour making.
Small scale manufacturing.
Iron works opened in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Many German immigrants moved to the middle colonies, and other non-English speaking immigrants gave these colonies cultural diversity.

12. The Southern Colonies Advantage of the Southern Colonies:
Rich and fertile soil
Warm climate
Settlers made their living from farming.
Tobacco was the main cash crop in Maryland and Virginia.
Planters first used indentured servants, then used enslaved Africans instead.

13. The Southern Colonies
The main cash crop in South Carolina and Georgia was rice.
grown in flooded fields and harvested when the water drained from the fields.
This was difficult work, and planters relied on slave labor.

14. Rice cultivation in South Carolina and Georgia
Workers had to stand knee deep in mud all day as they toiled in rice paddies.
Rice was profitable and the price rose steadily. By the 1750s S.C. and Georgia had the fastest growing economies.

15. Tidewater and Backcountry
Most large plantations were in the Tidewater
low lying plains along the coast.
Each plantation was a self contained community.
West of the Tidewater lay the hills and forests climbing toward the Appalachian Mountains. This region is called the backcountry.
These farmers grew corn and tobacco on smaller plots.
The Tidewater planters were the most wealthy.

16. Agricultural Enterprise in the Colonies
New England
Southern
Large scale plantations of cash crops
Use of slave labor
Milder climate, longer growing season
Subsistence farming
Family labor
Long winters, short growing season
Farming is main economic activity

17. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES
New England
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
Small subsistence farms
Small businesses
Fishing
Shipbuilding
Center of trade
Large farms, cash crops (wheat & livestock)
Small-scale manufacturing
Lumbering
Mining
Trade
Large-scale plantations, cash crops (tobacco & rice)
Use of indentured servants and enslaved Africans

18. Slavery Most African slaves lived on plantations.
Most slaves worked in the fields, although some were house slaves.
Overseers made sure that slaves worked hard.
By the 1700s, slave codes, or strict laws, ensured that slaves worked hard and were obedient.
If slaves broke the rules they were often harshly punished.
It was only the wealthy plantation owners who had slaves, most Southerners did not own slaves.
A number of groups in the colonies were against slavery, including Quakers, Puritans and Mennonites.