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SSUSH2A & B
Development of the Colonial Economy and Society (The New England and Southern Colonies)
Economic Development of the New England Colonies
• New England’s economy was greatly influenced
by a Puritan belief known as the Puritan Work
Ethic, which was based on the idea that God
commanded six days of work a week.
• Agriculture actually played a minor role in
Colonial times because the soil was too rocky
and thin to support many large farms.
• Clearing fields for farming involved removing
trees that produced lumber that was often
exported to England, where it was in short
supply due to their depleted forests.
Economic Development of the New England Colonies
• However, fishing and whaling were actually
the main supporters of the regions economy.
• New England also had a few factories where
manufactured goods were produced, such as
the Saugus Iron Works near Boston.
• Water power was used as a source of
energy to run the equipment like the large
bellows that kept the wood fires burning .
• Some of the iron was shipped to England,
but most of it was used in colonial
blacksmith shops to make nails and tools .
Economic Development of the New England Colonies
• Shipbuilding was another big industry
in New England.
• Large numbers of ships manufactured
in New England sailed the Trans-
Atlantic Trade Route creating a
prosperous region trade system.
• The Colonial shipping trade
followed certain, three way,
Triangular Trade Routes
Development of the Triangular Trade Routes
Development of the Triangular Trade Routes
• Ships leaving the American
colonies carried manufactured
goods, such as tools and rum,
to the west coast of Africa.
• In Africa, these items were traded for slaves, gold, and pepper, which
were then shipped to the West Indies (Caribbean) .
The First Triangular Trade Route
• Then, in the West Indies, these items were traded for sugar and
molasses, which in turn were shipped to America and sold for a profit .
Development of the Triangular Trade Routes
The Second Triangular Trade Route
• Ships from the American
colonies sailed to the
West Indies carrying
food products and lumber.
• These goods were traded
for fruit, sugar and
molasses and shipped to
England.
• Then, these goods were traded in England for manufactured goods,
which were then carried to the American colonies and sold for a profit .
Development of the Triangular Trade Routes
The Third Triangular Trade Route
• Ships from the American
colonies sailed to
Southern Europe
carrying lumber, fish,
meat, and grain.
• These goods were then
traded for fruit and wine
and shipped to England.
• Then, once again, these goods were traded in England for manufactured
goods, which were then carried to the American colonies and sold for a
profit .
Development of the Triangular Trade Routes
• American traders did quite well for themselves using these trade routes
until the British developed an economic policy called Mercantilism.
• Mercantilism was designed to protect English industries from colonial
competition and caused interference with the colonial shipping trade .
• Economic problems arose in New
England when the Navigation Acts
were put into effect restricting
colonial shipping of certain goods.
• As a result, angry colonists in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island
burned British ships.
Economic Development of the Southern Colonies
• Tobacco was the main crop grown in Virginia and most
of the Southern Colonies.
• Most southern farms were not large plantations since
they usually contained only about 200 acres.
• Southern farmers grew tobacco as a cash crop to make
it possible to buy the other things they really needed.
• Although tobacco farming was a very
labor intensive and long process, most
Virginia farmers would have only two
or three slaves
Economic Development of the Southern Colonies
• The tobacco growing season started in January and
lasted until August.
• After the tobacco was
harvested, it was hung in
a tobacco barn to dry.
• After the tobacco
was dried, it would
be packaged in a
wooden barrel known
as a Hogshead.
Economic Development of the Southern Colonies
• Once the Hogshead was full, it
would be taken to town where
an inspector would check the
tobacco for color and smell
• If the tobacco passed inspection,
the farmer would receive a tobacco
note with the type and weight of
the tobacco recorded on it.
• The farmer could then take
the tobacco note to a
merchant for credit towards
goods he wished to purchase.
Economic Development of the Southern Colonies
• Other southern colonies made
attempts to grow:
Indigo
Rice
Cotton
• However, these crops proved to be much more costly and labor
intensive requiring them to be grown on much larger plantations.
• Obviously, the greater need for
labor on the plantations
facilitated the development of
the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade:
Development of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The Dominant Triangular Trade Route
• Ships from the American
colonies sailed to England
carrying sugar, tobacco, tea,
and cotton.
• These goods were traded for
textiles, gunpowder and rum
and carried to West Africa.
• In Africa, these items were traded
for slaves and carried to both the
West Indies (Caribbean) and the
American Colonies .
Development of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
• In 1672, King Charles II granted a charter to
the Royal African Company to engage in the
slave trade.
• Between 1450-1870, an
estimated 10-12 milion
Africans were transported
across the Atlantic Ocean.
• The worst part of this terrible
journey across the Atlantic was
nick-named the Middle Passage.
Development of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
• By 1705, Virginia had consolidated all its different
slave laws into one singe Slave Code.
• In 1712, South Carolina had followed Virginia’s
example and created their own slave law.
• Most of the early slave laws dealt with the status of children born from
slave parents in the American colonies.
• Maryland’s earliest slave law (in 1664), dictated that
any free-white woman that married a slave was to
serve her husbands master as long as he lived and
that any of their children were considered slaves.
Development of Early Colonial Society
• Because of the wealth generated by
trade, Colonial America developed very
distinct social classes.
• In the south there was a rise of an elite
planter class, or gentry, mostly located
in coastal or tidewater areas where
there was easy access to shipping.
• Northern elites were mostly
wealthy merchants who lived
in cities and towns where they
gained prestige and power.
• While the Western Frontier and Colonial
Backcountry was settled by the smaller
yeoman farmers and former Indentured
Servants.