AS

2.5 Notes on Economic and Social Life in the English Colonies — Mercantilism, Trade, Regions, and Education

Mercantilism and the English Economy

  • Mercantilism: wealth and power come from developing industries and exporting manufactured goods in exchange for gold and silver; aim to minimize imports and push rivals out of colonial markets.
  • Colonial fit: England had scarce land but many people (cheap labor) and abundant investment capital; colonies had land but less money; result: colonies contributed agricultural outputs and imported goods from Britain.
  • Demographics: more than 90\% of colonists lived and worked on farms or plantations.

The Navigation Acts and Colonial Trade

  • Purpose: treat colonial commerce as key to imperial power; collect customs duties to fund a navy to defeat rivals (Dutch, later French).
  • Provisions: Navigation Acts required that only English ships with English sailors could trade with English colonies; tobacco, sugar, and other goods shipped primarily to England; colonies had to import European goods via English ports with duties; violations risked confiscation.
  • Effects: dramatic growth of English colonial commerce; during the 1600s, merchant shipping doubled; imports and exports increased at least sixfold; London became Europe's leading seaport by 1700; early acts hurt colonists, but protection spurred improvement in British manufacturing and shipping by the 1700s.
  • Consumer Revolution: more and cheaper goods reached colonies; imports per person rose by 50\% between 1720 and 1770; British exports to colonies grew from about 10\% of exports in 1700 to 37\% by 1772.
  • Key Acts:
    • 1651: goods imported to England from Asia, Africa, and the Americas could be transported only in English ships.
    • 1660: colonies export sugar, tobacco, cotton, and indigo only to England, Ireland, or another English colony.
    • 1663: Staple Act — all foreign goods to the colonies pass through English ports and are taxed.
    • 1733: Molasses Act — duties on sugar traded between the French Indies and the American colonies.
  • Triangular Trade: three-continent pattern involving Britain, West Africa, the Americas; manufactured goods to Africa, enslaved Africans to the Americas, raw materials back to Europe.

Regional Economic Differences

  • By the early 1700s, three distinct colonial regions emerged—New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies—each with its own economy and social structure.
  • Common base: majority of people were farmers; few industrial towns; seaports drove trade.

New England Economy

  • Climate/geography: cold winters, short growing season, rugged terrain; limited cash crops; concentrated on livestock, wheat, rye, corn, potatoes for own use.
  • Exports and industry: lumber, fish (cod), shipbuilding; shipyards and seaports (Boston was the principal port, ~16{,}000 people in 1750).
  • Activities: fishing, timber, shipbuilding; water transport and coastal trade.

Middle Colonies Economy

  • Agriculture: more prosperous than New England; temperate climate allowed more wheat and other crops; export trade grew.
  • Ports and cities: Philadelphia and New York as major seaports; Philadelphia ~25{,}000 in 1760.
  • Diversity and opportunity: ethnically and religiously diverse; greater economic opportunities for immigrants.

Southern Colonies Economy

  • Profitable crops: tobacco (Chesapeake), some wheat; NC cattle and lumber; SC and GA rice and indigo; cotton becomes important later (1790s).
  • Slavery and plantation system: enslaved Africans concentrated near coast; plantations spread across wide areas; backcountry farms less connected to plantation society.
  • Cities: Charleston as major port; richer planter class amid widespread small farmers.

Regional Social Differences

  • Population composition: NE and Middle Colonies had relatively few enslaved people; the South had enslaved Africans forming the majority in many coastal areas.
  • Immigration patterns: South attracted many indentured servants; NE attracted families; Middle Colonies were the most ethnically diverse with religious tolerance and opportunities.
  • Health and literacy: New England healthier with longer life expectancy (~70 years) vs. Chesapeake (~45 years); literacy higher in New England due to emphasis on schooling.
  • Education and opportunity: NE favored public schooling and literacy; Middle Colonies offered broad opportunities; South lagged in public education due to distance and dispersed population.
  • Women: general legal and political restrictions; women could not vote or hold office; property rights limited, especially for married women.

Education and Higher Education

  • Public education: Massachusetts required towns to provide schools to teach basics; dame schools for girls; grammar schools for boys; aim to read the Bible.
  • Higher education: colleges founded to train ministers and leaders; key institutions founded by 1770s include:
    • Harvard (1636)
    • College of William & Mary (1693)
    • Yale (1700)
    • Princeton (1746)
    • University of Pennsylvania (1751)
    • Rutgers (1766)
    • Columbia (1754)
    • Dartmouth (1755)
    • Brown (1764)
  • Regional emphasis: most educated population lived in New England and the Middle Colonies near coastal cities (e.g., Boston, New York, Philadelphia).
  • Regulation of student life: colleges enforced strict moral rules (example: Yale College Regulations, 1745).

Roles of Women and Family Life

  • Domestic duties: women managed households and families; men carried out fieldwork and other labor.
  • Legal status: women generally lacked property rights, voting rights, and political power; widows could inherit but still limited in public life.

Exam Focus and Quick References

  • Mercantilism and colonial policy: how wealth and power were pursued through trade and manufacture.
  • Navigation Acts: what they required and their economic impact on Britain and the colonies.
  • Regional economies: climate, crops, labor systems, and urbanization differences among New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South.
  • Social structure: enslaved populations, immigrant patterns, literacy, health, and gender roles.
  • Education: emphasis on Bible literacy, grammar schools, dame schools, and the emergence of colonial colleges.
  • Where educated colonists lived: concentration in New England and Middle Colonies along the coast (near flagship cities and colleges).

Key Terms

  • mercantilism
  • Parliament
  • Navigation Acts
  • staple crop
  • cash crop
  • dame school
  • Triangular Trade
  • enslaved
  • Molasses Act
  • Staple Act
  • colony
  • colony’s economy
  • yeoman/farmer
  • planter
  • port town
  • public education