I.

Chapter 3: Society and Culture in Provincial America

Introduction
o Africans and European dominated the colony population
o Not many aristocrats in colony
o Many came for religious problems
o Some came as indentured servants
The Colonial Population
A.
Indentured Servitude
1.
Received food and shelter for servitude
2.
Many servant were women in Chesapeake
3.
Origin
a)
1617, dumped convicts for servitude and some for battles
4.
It provided a means of coping severe shortage of labor
5.
Many traveled place to place and provided population growth till
1670
6.
People found the system less attractive
B.
Birth and Death
1.
Started bad, but when conditions got better grew a lot
2.
Immigration was one factor but reproduction also helped
a)
Average men lived to 71 but decreased the next gen
3.
Southern condition improved slower
a)
One in four children died in infancy
b)
Also high death rate in adult
c)
Population increased by immigration
4.
Men used dominate but became more balanced by 17th
C.
Medicine in the Colonies
1.
Knowledge disease was a factor in death rate
2.
Midwives became popular
a)
Felt like family]
b)
Rivaled male doctors
c)
But majority didn't have access to them
3.
Had no knowledge of Medicine
D.
Women and Families in the Chesapeake
1.
Male Dominance was Hard
a)
High morality rates
2.
Sexual Behavior was more flexible
a)
Marry age was lower and average wife became pregnant
every two years
(1)
Only few children survived
b)
Mostly in the South and caused greater independence
3.
Widows had children to oversee plantation
a)
Ones with no kids married
4.
Ratio became more equal and reproduction was the primary source
of reproduction
5.
Later in 18th male dominance (patriarchal) took over
E.
Women and Families in New England

1.

II.

New England widows decreased

a)
Woman no longer independent
b)
Child bearing took over women lives because of longer life
spans
2.
Parents in New England
a)
Sons usually depended on fathers land
b)
Daughter needed dowries from parents
c)
Fewer pregnant than South
3.
Puritan wives were assumed weak and modest
F.
The Beginnings of Slavery in British America
1.
Increase in demand
a)
Forced immigration of as many as 11 million Africans
b)
They were capture enemy tribesmen and packed into ships
(1)
Ships were in bad condition
c)
Slaves were auctioned
d)
In 1670 s colonist imported blacks directly to North
America
e)
The flow was low because the Royal African Company of
England kept prices high and supplies low
2.
Growth of Slaves
a)
When the company was broke, increased the number in mid
1690s
b)
More slaves were being born than imported in Chesapeake
by 1700s
c)
1700-1760, # was increased quarter million
(1)
Low in north, high in south
3.
African Status
a)
Not sure if different from white indentured servants
b)
For a time they worked but later the whites were freed
4.
Beginnings of Slave Code
a)
Spanish America, where people mixed race had different
status than pure Africans, English didn't
G.
Changing Sources of European Immigration
1.
English Immigrants declined
a)
Other Europeans still increased
b)
Many French immigrated because of religious prosecution
and problems in France (economy)
c)
Germans were also in a similar situation
(1)
Quakers gave them a warm welcome
d)
Scottish had the most newcomers
(1)
English gov restricted them in gov and trade
(2)
Claimed own land and took native land
e)
Scottish/Ireland
(1)
Became significant influence in NJ and Pen.
2.
In 1700, population totaled 250,000, by 1750 2 million
The Colonial Economies

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

Introduction
1.
English colonies was used for commercial use
2.
Made trade with Natives
3.
Some Farmers attempted to grow crops for export
The Southern Economy
1.
Tobacco was big in South
a)
Production exceeded demand
b)
After 1700, tobacco plantation employed several dozen
slaves
2.
Staple economy in South Carolina and Georgia was rice
a)
Created rice paddies by building dams
(1)
Hard task so passed to African slaves because better
3.
Another product was Indigo
a)
Only grow on high ground of South Carolina
b)
Important import to England
Northern Economic and Technological Life
1.
Diverse Economy in North
a)
Hard for commercial farming in North, better for South of
New England
b)
Middle colonies provided wheat for New England
c)
Many different craftsmen
(1)
Cobbler, blacksmith, rifle makers, cabinetmakers,
silversmiths, and printers
d)
Also large shipbuilding
2.
Iron technology
a)
Found in Saugus, Mass.
b)
Began service 1646, closed 1668
c)
Great part of economy but England limited
3.
Natural resources
a)
Lumber, mines, and fishes exported to England
The Extent and Limits of Technology
1.
Half of farmers were primitively equipped and population did not
own many household items
2.
Few colonists were self-sufficient in 16th and 17th
a)
Many bought their needs from others
The Rise of Colonial Commerce
1.
Shortage of Currency
a)
Hard to rely on barter system or crude money substitutes
b)
Engaged in a chaotic commerce, companies competing
makes the system unstable]
c)
Triangular Trade
(1)
The North Americans with England
(2)
England to west of Africa
(3)
Traded rum, slaves, sugar, and molasses.
(4)
Not really a triangle
2.
A Merchant class was emerging and developed markets

F.

III.

The Rise of Consumerism

1.
Social class was showed by the ability to purchase
a)
Ads increased
2.
Buying things became a important role in America
3.
Visible in public places
Patterns of Society
A.
Introduction
1.
Land was abundant in America
2.
Aristocracy became dependent on substantial workforce
B.
The Plantation
1.
Had many profit but brutal labor
2.
Had ups and downs in economy so everyone at risk
3.
They were self-contained communities
a)
Had a house, barns and a cabin for slaves
4.
Had slaves do housework
C.
Plantation Slavery
1.
Africans placed special kinship networks
a)
Had own language
(1)
Gullah- hybrid of English and African tongues
b)
Religion was different
(1)
Mix of Christianity and African folklore
2.
Received brutally/rape from master
3.
There was resistance such as Stono Rebellion
a)
Killed whites, attempted to escape to Florida, whites
crushed them
b)
Large plantation had self-sufficiency and learned skills to
make profit
D.
Puritan Community
1.
Settlement Patterns
a)
Town structures divided in commons and fields
2.
Democracy
a)
Only adult males and residents who could give evidence of
grace
b)
Father divided land to all sons
3.
Population made it hard for Puritan Communities
a)
Farmers moved farther from Puritan center
(1)
Often proposed new church but bitter topic
b)
Also moved because father to son farms needed more space
c)
Husbands and fathers are limited by economic necessity
E.
The Witchcraft Phenomenon
1.
Magical women accusations spread
2.
Non married woman were commonly accused
3.
Was common feature of Puritan religious conviction
F.
Cities
1.
Colonial cities grew
a)
NY had 28K and Philly had 25K

IV.

b)
Served as trading centers for the farmers of their region
c)
Cities were also centers of ironworks and distilleries for
rum
d)
Cities were vulnerable to fluctuation of trade
e)
Printers provided knowledge/news
G.
Inequality
1.
Rich were the largest group until 18th
a)
Partly because wealthy people move to cities and
participate in commerce
Awakenings and Enlightenments
A.
Introduction
1.
Importance in science and reasoning
2.
Could be explained scientifically
B.
The Pattern of Religions
1.
Toleration in states
a)
Protestants extended toleration
(1)
Feared/hated the pope
b)
Caused Anti-Catholicism
(1)
Viewed Catholic neighbors as rivals
(a)
Very dangerous
2.
Decline in piety in America
a)
Community lost touch with original religion
b)
Doubt traditional beliefs
C.
The Great Awakening
1.
Belief of new life
a)
Potential for everyone to break away constraint, start new
with god
(1)
Popular in women and sons with uncertain futures
2.
Two new groups
a)
Old Light
(1)
Traditionalist who still stick with old religion
b)
New Light
(1)
People who believe the new stuff
(2)
Encouraged education
D.
The Enlightment
1.
Don't turn to god for guidance but yourself
a)
Encouraged the use of science
b)
Logic backs up everything
E.
Education
1.
High Literacy Rate
a)
Schools were mandatory in every village
(1)
Not every village had schools
b)
Small number of students go ed
c)
African slaves rarely go ed
2.
Religion influenced Education
a)
Harvard founded because of training priest

F.

G.

H.

(1)
Still had different studies like logic and geometry
b)
Many other schools were founded
(1)
Princeton, Yale, William & Mary
Spread of Science
1.
Smallpox Inoculation
a)
Thought as a sin from god
b)
Cotton Mather experiments and creates an inoculation
Concepts of Law and Politics
1.
Colonial Gov.
a)
More use of trained lawyers
b)
Created institutions and appointed provisional governors
(1)
Lacked control and not sure if office
2.
Provisional Government
a)
Acted more or less independently
(1)
Most members were English born
Conclusion
1.
Settlements grew to big colonies
2.
North and South had different economies
a)
Slave system was used in the South
3.
Racial inequality in colonies
4.
White colonists believed in law and politics