Life in the Colonies

Chapter 4

Facts about the colonies

• Higher birth rate, lower death rate• Larger populations from immigration• Farming was main economic activity, followed

by small businesses, and ship building• Major trade routes throughout the Atlantic

ocean

Colonial TradeTriangular Trade Route

Colonial Trade

Exports (goods leaving):

England: Iron, Cloth, Weapons, Luxuries

Colonies: Tobacco, Furs, Whale oil/bone, Rice, Silk, Indigo

West Indies: Molasses, Sugar, Wood

Africa: Slaves, Ivory, Gold, Spices

Middle Passage

• Refers to part of the trade route from Africa to the West Indies

• African Diaspora• Environment was

inhumane, disease infested, and death nearby

• Many slaves were captured and trade by African tribal leaders for English luxury goods

Slavery

• Most lived on plantations

• Worked under an overseer

• Slaves Codes– Punishments for crimes

-ex. reading or writing, leaving plantation without permission, running away

Comparison of Middle and Southern Colonies

Middle Colonies• Fertile Soil, large cash crops• Industries: lumbering,

mining, carpentry, flour milling

• Plantations not as common• More small scale farmers,

subsistence farming

Southern Colonies• Rich soil, warm climate• Industries: primarily farming• Plantation owners switched to

slaves• Tobacco main cash crop. Rice

main cash crop in GA & SC. • Plantation owners controlled

the economic and political life of the region

Government, Religion, & Culture

Chapter 4.2

English Rule over the Colonies

• Government– England viewed the Colonies as an economic

resource• Used raw materials to produce finished goods• Mercantilism: theory that a nation’s power depends on

their wealth– Exports > Imports

• Navigation Acts (1657-1673): directed flow of goods between England and the Colonies– Ships had to belong to England– Certain products could not be sold outside of English Empire

» Result: Illegal smuggling

Religion

• Great Awakening– John Edwards and

George Whitfield• Encouraged people to

express themselves more overtly

• Taught people that they could break away from their church if it wasn’t living up to it’s expectations

• Prepared them for the War of Independence

Culture

• Family Roles– Farms: home and

workplace• Women: cooked, wove

clothing, tended cows and chicken

• Men: worked farmland, represented family in community affairs

• Sons: typically worked as indentured servant to a tradesman in order to learn the trade

Culture

• Education– Strong emphasis on

education• parents often taught their

children to read and write

– Public Education Law (1647): MA: communities with 50 + households had to have a tax funded schoolhouse

– 1st college were founded to train ministers (Harvard)

The English and French Rivalry

Chapter 4.3

Reasons for Rivalry

• Competition for wealth• Competition to be the strongest world power• Disputes along British/French territory in

Americas– Ohio River Valley

History 0f the Ohio River Valley

• French established fur trade throughout Ohio Country

• British built fort within this land area, and were forced out

• As a result, the French built many forts along the rivers of the upper Ohio, which brought them closer than ever to the British colonists

Indians Choose SIdes

• Native Americans often aided the French

• They would raid English settlements and steal supplies for French

• The French were mainly interested in trading fur, not land, which is why the Indians helped the French

Iroquois Confederacy

• Most powerful group of Native Americans• Based out of New York, includes many other

tribes• Skillfully remained neutral with both British

and French when it came to trade or areas that benefited them

• Eventually were forced to become allied with British

The First Step

• Virginians had made plans to expand land into Ohio River Valley

• Informed French they were trespassing on British lands

• George Washington led militia at Fort Necessity

• Washington and militia made first attack on French

The Albany Plan

• June 1754, representatives met to draft a plan for colonists to defend themselves against the French and to get the Iroquois Confederacy to join their side

• “Albany Plan of Union”– Created by Benjamin Franklin

• Power to collect taxes• Raise troops• Regulate trade

• The Plan Failed, the colonies did not approve

THE FRENCH AND Indian War

Chapter 4.4

Beginning of the War

• Late 1750’s-early 1760’s• 1754- British government intervened– General Edward Braddock in Command• Washington is his aid

– 1st battle at Fort Duquesne- British defeated, Braddock killed, Washington led survivors back to Virginia

Beginning of War

• 1st years were disastrous– French captured Forts– Indians allied with the

French raided settlements, killed colonists

William Pitt

• William Pitt– Englishman who

becomes Prime minister of England and in charge of the affairs of the war with the French and colonists

– Under his command: • Fort Quebec falls• Captures Montreal• Treaty of Paris is signed

Treaty of Paris

• Signed in 1763• France is allowed to keep some it’s sugar

producing lands in the west indies, must give up Canada and most of land east of the Mississippi river

• Spain gives up Florida, but gains Louisiana and Port of New Orleans

• Mississippi River becomes new boundary between the Spanish and British territories

Pontiac’s war

• Native Americans were threatened by the British colonies

• Had lost trading partners in the French

• Created a small alliance with other Indian tribes and attacked settlements and Forts

• Their failure to capture major forts eventually leads to their surrender.

Proclamation of 1763

• King George the III declared the Appalachian mountains the temporary boundary of the colonies – This created friction for

many colonies who has set their eyes on westward expansion