Life in the English Colonies

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Life in the English Colonies
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Chapter 6 Time Line

• 1619 First Africans brought to Jamestown
• The arrival of more than 20 Africans in Jamestown
  marked the beginning of slavery.
• 1636 First college in the English colonies
• The Puritans founded Harvard College.
• 1676 Bacons Rebellion
• The revolt against Virginias government
  reflected the tension between colonial
  governments and the backcountry settlers.

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• 1730 Great Awakening begins
• The Great Awakening revived interest in religion
  throughout the colonies.
• 1732 Ben Franklin publishes Poor Richards
  Almanac
• This almanac was a compilation of advice and
  proverbs and became the second most popular book
  in the colonies.
• Ben Franklin was like other colonists because he
  was hardworking, thrifty, talented, practical,
  and self-reliant.
• 1735 Trial of Peter Zenger
• The acquittal of Peter Zenger on the charge of
  libel inspired colonists to speak out for freedom
  of the press.

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6.1 Different Ways of Life

• Subsistence farming-raising just enough to
  survive on
• Literacy-the ability to read and write
• Imports-products brought in from another country
  to be sold
• Tidewater-low, wet area on the Atlantic Coastal
  Plain
• Cash crops-crops raised to be sold for a profit

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The New England Colonies

• New Englanders turned to the sea and forests to
  earn a living because of poor soil and harsh
  climate. Fish were abundant and forests provided
  lumber for shipbuilding.
• New Englands geography affected settlements near
  harbors and land that was good for subsistence
  farming.
• Fish and forests helped to make New England a
  trade center by selling fish to other colonies
  and overseas and using lumber to build merchant
  ships.

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• Boys learned to work the fields and work in
  family businesses, as apprentices, in New
  England.
• Girls in New England learned housework,
  gardening, and barnyard work.
• Both boys and girls in New England were required
  to learn how to read and write.
• Puritans valued education so that everyone could
  read the Bible.

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The Middle Colonies

• Settlers found the Middle Colonies attractive
  because land was good for farming and offered
  religious tolerance.
• In the Middle Colonies, each family or religious
  group decided how children were educated.
• The Middle Colonies were a good place to
  manufacture many kinds of goods because rivers
  along the Fall Line (land that drops sharply with
  waterfalls and water rapids) provided power to
  operate mills and workshops.

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The Southern Colonies

• The Southern Colonies had fertile soil and plenty
  of rainfall which made the area suitable for
  growing crops on a large scale.
• The kind of farming for which the Southern
  Colonies became famous was the plantation, where
  a single crop was grown for profit.
• In the Southern Colonies, many plantations had
  access to oceangoing ships so some towns grew
  into trade centers.
• Large numbers of Africans were brought to the
  English Colonies because plantation owners needed
  workers.

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The Backcountry

• The region stretching from Pennsylvania south to
  Georgia is known as the backcountry.
• The backcountry was a hilly, densely wooded
  region.
• - This region was prized Indian hunting ground.
• The backcountry offered elbowroom where
  colonists could live a rough, simple life without
  being under the rule of English landlords and
  soldiers.
• Wives and daughters in the backcountry raised
  small crops of corn and vegetables.
• Husband and sons hunted and fished.
• The greatest source of conflict between colonists
  and Indians was who owned the land.
• In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a group of 300
  neighbors in attacking local Indian villages.

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6.2 Diversity in the Colonies

• Prejudice-a bad opinion of people based only on
  such factors as their religion, nationality, or
  appearance.
• Revival-a renewed interest in religion.
• Racism-the belief that one race of people is
  superior to another.

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• The first settlers in the colonies were mostly
  English.
• English settlers looked down on settlers from
  France and Germany.
• Most colonists were Protestants and were
  intolerant of people who did not share their
  beliefs.
• The strongest prejudices were related to race and
  religion.
• Quakers, Roman Catholics, and Jews experienced
  prejudice. Roman Catholics experienced
  restrictions to worship in Maryland, Virginia
  passed laws to drive out Quakers, Jews were not
  allowed to vote or hold office.

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• The greatest source of conflict between
  Indians and colonists was over land.
• Colonists wanted Indians to accept their way
  of life and began taking over Indian lands.
• Colonists destroyed the resources that Indians
  depended on for shelter and food.
• Colonists viewed Indian cultures as inferior and
  felt justified in taking Indian land and
  destroying Indian ways of life.
• The Indians were faced with the decision to stay
  and fight the settlers or flee their homelands.

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• Large number of Africans were brought to the
  English colonies because plantation owners were
  in need of workers.
• The Middle Passage was a voyage of horrors
  because so many Africans were crammed together in
  ships where many died of disease, suffocation,
  and despair.
• New England and the Middle Colonies had fewer
  enslaved Africans than the Southern Colonies
  because farms were smaller and did not require a
  large labor force. Slavery was not necessary to
  the trade and commerce of the New England and
  Middle Colonies

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6.3 Colonial Government

• Tyranny-the harsh use of power
• Militia-citizens trained to fight in an emergency
• Libel-printing statements that damage a persons
  good name

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• English heritage influenced the colonists with
  the tradition of limiting royal power,
  representatives, and guaranteeing basic rights
  and freedoms.
• English colonies were governed by royal governors
  and elected assemblies.
• English colonists thought self-government was
  important because they were far from home and
  needed to make their own decisions.

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• Peter Zenger was accused of LIBEL for printing
  information about a public official. He was
  defended and acquitted on the grounds that
  newspapers do a public service by printing the
  truth. This, however, did not guarantee freedom
  of the press in the English colonies.

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• Parliament passed a series of laws known as the
  Navigation Acts to control trade with the
  colonies in three ways
• -to ensure that all trade goods were carried by
  English or colonial ships.
• -to ensure a steady supply of colonial resources
  at low prices.
• -tax foreign goods to encourage colonists to buy
  English goods

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• Parliament passed the Navigation Acts in order to
  control trade with the colonies.
• The Navigation Acts helped colonial shipbuilders
  because goods could be carried only on colonial
  or English ships.
• The Navigation Acts hurt colonists because they
  made it illegal for colonists to sell goods to
  other countries and made foreign goods more
  expensive in the colonies.

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