AEH Exam 1 - from Walton

what determined the specializations of the colonists?

comparative advantage

what 3 crops did the south specialize in?

tobacco, rice, indigo

why was tobacco cultivation suited to the south? (4 reasons)

1. needs a longer growing season
2. can be cultivated in small areas
3. requires only simple tools
4. they could move on to other land once fertility was exhausted

why was the tobacco industry dominated by large plantations?

slavery: number of slaves didn't increase production costs

why was slavery so instrumental in the rice industry in the south?

rice requires a lot of infrastructure (dikes), and therefore a lot of labor

what crop was a complement to rice and highly subsidized by Britain?

indigo

What were the 2 purposes of the "Georgia experiment"?

1. to provide relief for debtors prisoners
2. to create a white buffer between the colonies and Spain

why did the Georgia experiment fail?

1. they didn't have good soil
2. they didn't have the labor and capital to build the infrastructure for rice

what was the main livelihood of people living in the western frontier of the middle colonies?

subsistence farming

what were the main crops of the middle colonies? (2)

cereal grains (wheat, rye, oats, barley) and corn

why was slavery unpopular in the middle colonies? (2 reasons)

1. limited growing season
2. Africans were more susceptible to norther diseases

what was the main livelihood of New Englanders?

subsistence farming, mostly corn

what fraction of the world's iron did the colonies produce?

1/7

why did the colonies have a comparative advantage with iron smelting?

because they had lots of wood for charcoal and bog ore

what was one of the first industries to be run by venture capitalists?

whaling

what parts of the whale were used and why? (3)

1. whale oil - light and lubricant
2. ambergris - base for perfume
3. whale bones - stays (corsets)

what fraction of ships in the British Merchant Marine in 1775 were made in the colonies?

1/3

what was the second largest industry after tobacco?

shipping/commerce

what was the most common job for unmarried women under 25?

domestic service

what is one reason why the south had primogeneture and the north had multigeneture?

keeping child labor

what were 2 reasons for increased productivity in tobacco farming?

1. new seed type
2. learning by doing

what are 3 reasons for increased productivity in grain and livestock in the middle colonies?

1. family size was decreasing
2. learning by doing
3. more organized market participation

how did shipping costs change from 1675-1775?

they decreased by half

what were 4 reasons for increased productivity in shipping?

1. ships got bigger
2. reduced or eliminated armaments
3. less travel risk = less insurance
4. port layover time decreased

what were 4 effects of the introduction of the horse to native americans?

1. they could travel more miles per day and cover more territory
2. hunting groups became smaller and more independent
3. they killed more bison --> light butchering, meat-heavy diet
4. more intertribe warfare

who researched probate inventories to investigate colonial wealth?

Alice Hanson Jones

how much did wealth increase 1650-1725, 1725-1750, and 1750-1775?

0.3, 0.4, and 0.5% pa

rank the colonial regions in order of wealth inequality (most to least):

1. south
2. new England
3. middle colonies

what was the richest class of people?

merchant shipowners

uncharted territory beyond coastal or riparian areas

hinterland

the top 10 staple crops were what percent of the value of all exports?

77%

why did British shippers dominate southern trades to England and not NE and BWI trade? (3 reasons)

1. high risks of maritime trade --> trust --> proximity
2. market information was scarce --> proximity
3. labor efficiency --> crew was not paid for time spent in home ports

what was the most common trade pattern for all colonial regions?

shuttle pattern

what is the purpose of the practice of "tramping"?

to get the best price

what fraction of colonial trade was intercolonial?

1/3