Chapter 4 Flashcards
Men outnumbered women…
6/1
-most men couldn’t find mates
What killed much of the Chesapeake population?
Dysentery and malaria.
- 1/2 of the people died before they were 20
- 1/2 of the remainder did not make it to their 50th
Most marriages were destroyed by death…
In 7 years
-very few children grew up under the care of 2 parents and almost none knew granfparents
What led to population growth
- native born colonists became immune to dysentery
- the presence of women allowed more families to form and population growth
Tobacco
- the chesapeake was very good for tobacco
- tobacco before corn because people feared corn was an indian staging area
- moved further into river valleys provoking indian attacks
- tobacco needed labor
- indentured servants were cheaper at first
How many pounds of tobacco were produced in 1630? 1700?
1.5 mill pounds in 1630
40 million pounds in 1700
Headright system
- Virginia and Maryland
- Gave 50 acres of land to whoever paid for the passage of a laborer giving benefits to masters
- people with modest fortunes could become plantation owners
How many indentured servants came to the chesapeake by 1700?
100,000
Freedom dues
- when land became harder to come by, fewer laborers were given land
- misbehaving servants had their times of service extended
- many returned to their masters for little pay when they couldn’t find jobs
Before Bacon’s Rebellion
- Impoverished freedmen drifted around the Chesapeake in the late 1700’s
- They couldn’t find work or wives
- The Virginia assembly disenfranchised the men in 1670
Bacon’s rebellion right before the rebellion
- 1676 Nathaniel Bacon a 29 year old planter led a rebellion
- Opposed Governor Berkley’s Indian Policy, which refused to protect landholders on the western frontier and the monopoly on the fur trade
Bacon’s Rebellion
- Freedmen joined the rebellion and rampantly plundered and pilfered
- Bacon died of disease
- Berkley crushed the rebellion
What Bacon’s rebellion showed
- the frontier and the indentured servants
- needed a less troublesome work force (slaves)
After columbus’ landing how many slaves were taken to the new world?
10 million
- 400,000 to north america (most after 1700)
- most went to Portuguese south america and west indes
The first africans arrived in Jamestown in…
1619
In 1670 slaves only numbered… In Virginia
2000
- 7% in the plantation colonies as a whole
- it was costly to bring them and risked capital
Why was it easier to get slaves later?
- wages were rising in England in the 1680’s
- fear of servant rebellions
- Royal African Company lost its monopoly in 1698
How many slaves came ashore in the decade after 1700?
10,000
- in 1750 blacks were almost 1/2 of the population of Virginia
- in NC they outnumbered 2/1
Most slaves came from…
The west coast of Africa, or modern day Senegal
-most were captured by coastal tribes who sold them to European merchants
Middle Passage
A voyage across the ocean in a sweltering ship
- death rates were as high as 20%
- survivors were auctioned off in slave markets
Slaves vs Servants
- at first there was a very small difference between servant and slave
- statutes appeared that defined the slaves as property or “chattel”
- slave codes prevented teaching how to read and write or marry interracially
Conditions for slaves
- in the deep south most died needing new imports
- in the Chesapeake conditions were better and family life developed
Slave culture
- Gullah was a language of a blend of african languages (goober, okra, voodoo)
- ring shout dance was developed with performers circling a preacher and answering his shouts
- banjo and bongo drum
Slave rebellions
- 1712 New York
- 1739 South Carolina
-little sucess
South changed from a place of poverty and disease to…
A place with an ever widening social structure with a few wealthy planters.
- they had the most land and power
- controlled 70% of the House of Burgesses in Virginia before the revolution
Small farmers
- largest social group
- farmed their own land or had 1 or 2 slaves
Landless whites
-below the small farmers
Indentured servants
Below the landless whites
Slaves
At the bottom of the social structure
Professional class
Nearly nonexistent and slow to emerge
What was the main source of transportation in the south?
Waterways
-roads were poor and destroyed by bad weather
New England Families
- less disease than south bc of cooler temperatures
- 10 years added to one’s life living in the north
- came in groups
- population grew to natural reproduction
- early marriage
Childbirth
- children every 2 years
- fear of death in childbirth
- longevity contributed to stability
- grandparent concept
- low premarital pregnancy rate
- reduced women’s rights w/o property after marriage
Life in New England Towns
- closely knit towns and villages
- surrounded by Dutch, French, and Indians
- puritanism gave people a unity of purpose that would lead to abolitionist movement
New England town setup
Towns had to be chartered
- surrounded meeting house and village green
- elementary education when more than 50 people
Colleges
- Harvard 1636 to train Puritan ministry
- 1693 for William and Mary in Virginia
Village meeting houses
Appointed officials, school masters, discuss local issues.
The Halfway Covenant
- population grew and fewer people had the religious zeal of the first generation
- decline in conversions
- allowed partial membership for those who were not converted
- blurred line between elect and other members of society
Jeremiads
Sermons from puritan pulpits that scolded parishioners for their waning piety
Salem witch trials
- adolescent girls claimed they were bewitched by older women
- lower class accusing upper class
- ended when governor’s wife was accused
New England Way of life 1
- Poor soil made New Englanders hard workers and engaged in trade vigorously
- Less diversity in the north do to less settling do to poor soil
- harsh winters
- diversified agriculture
- Native americans didn’t understand ownership and burned land for deer
New England way of life 2
- condemned natives for “wasting” the land
- cleared woodlands for pastures
- livestock led to erosion and harsh microclimates
- natural harbors became famous for shipbuilding
- huge codfish population
- spirit for conquering nature
