1700sThousands of enslaved Africansare brought to America

1750South Carolina and Georgia have thefastest-growing colonial economies

c. 1760New York Citys populationreaches 18,000

Main IdeaEach region developed a unique wayof life.

Key Termssubsistence farming, triangulartrade, cash crop, diversity, Tide-water, backcountry, overseer

Reading StrategyClassifying Information As you readSection 1, re-create the diagrambelow and describe the differences inthe economies of the New England,Middle, and Southern Colonies.

Read to Learn what the triangular trade was and

how it affected American society. how the regions in the colonies dif-

fered from one another. why the use of enslaved workers

increased in the colonies.

Section ThemeEconomic Factors Ways of earning aliving varied among the colonies.

Life in theColonies

In 1760 Englishman Andrew Burnaby traveled throughout the North Americancolonies, observing American life. He could not imagine that these colonies wouldever join in union for they were as different from one another as fire and water,and each colony was jealous of the other. In short, such is the difference of charac-ter, of manners, of religion, of interest, of the different colonies, that I think . . . werethey left to themselves, there would soon be a civil war, from one end of the continent to the other.

New England ColoniesAlthough Burnaby believed that the colonies would never unite, the

colonies continued to grow. The number of people living in the colonies rosefrom about 250,000 in 1700 to approximately 2.5 million by the mid-1770s. Thepopulation of African Americans increased at an even faster ratefrom about28,000 to more than 500,000.

100 CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

Colonialspinning

wheel

Economic Development

New Middle SouthernEngland Colonies Colonies

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

1700 1750 1800

101CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

Immigration was important to this growth.Between 1607 and 1775, almost a millionpeoplean estimated 690,000 Europeans and278,000 Africanscame to live in the colonies.By 1775 about 2,500 Jews lived in the colonies.Most lived in the cities of New York, Philadel-phia, Charles Town, Savannah, and Newport,where they were allowed to worship as theypleased.

Another reason for the growing populationwas that colonial women tended to marry earlyand have large families. In addition, America,especially New England, turned out to be anunusually healthy place to live.

Most people in New England lived in well-organized towns. In the center of the town stoodthe meetinghouse, a building used for bothchurch services and town meetings. The meet-inghouse faced a piece of land called the green,or common, where cows grazed and the citizenarmy trained. Farmers lived in the town andworked in fields on its outskirts.

Farming was the main economic activity in allthe colonies, but New England farms weresmaller than those farther south. Long winters

and thin, rocky soil made large-scale farmingdifficult. Farmers in New England practicedsubsistence farming, which means that theygenerally produced just enough to meet theneeds of their families, with little left over to sellor exchange. Most Northern farmers relied ontheir children for labor. Everyone in the familyworkedspinning yarn, preserving fruit, milk-ing cows, fencing in fields, and sowing and har-vesting grain.

EconomicsCommerce in New England

New England also had many small busi-nesses. Some people used the waterpower fromthe streams on their land to run mills for grind-ing grain or sawing lumber. Women who madecloth, garments, candles, or soap for their fami-lies sometimes made enough of these productsto sell or trade. Large towns attracted skilledcraftspeople who set themselves up as black-smiths, shoemakers, furniture makers, gun-smiths, metalsmiths, and printers.

Shipbuilding was an important industry. Thelumber for building ships came from the forestsof New England and was transported downrivers to the shipyards in coastal towns.

$

Americas Architecture

A house design called a salt box became popularin many areas. The design featured a square or rectangu-lar house, often with an addition in the back that providedmore living space. These houses were called salt boxesbecause they were similar in shape to the wooden box inwhich salt was kept in colonial kitchens. Where was themeetinghouse located in many towns?

Pineapples symbol-ized hospitality in colonial America.

101CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

Immigration was important to this growth.Between 1607 and 1775, almost a millionpeoplean estimated 690,000 Europeans and278,000 Africanscame to live in the colonies.By 1775 about 2,500 Jews lived in the colonies.Most lived in the cities of New York, Philadel-phia, Charles Town, Savannah, and Newport,where they were allowed to worship as theypleased.

Another reason for the growing populationwas that colonial women tended to marry earlyand have large families. In addition, America,especially New England, turned out to be anunusually healthy place to live.

Most people in New England lived in well-organized towns. In the center of the town stoodthe meetinghouse, a building used for bothchurch services and town meetings. The meet-inghouse faced a piece of land called the green,or common, where cows grazed and the citizenarmy trained. Farmers lived in the town andworked in fields on its outskirts.

Farming was the main economic activity in allthe colonies, but New England farms weresmaller than those farther south. Long winters

and thin, rocky soil made large-scale farmingdifficult. Farmers in New England practicedsubsistence farming, which means that theygenerally produced just enough to meet theneeds of their families, with little left over to sellor exchange. Most Northern farmers relied ontheir children for labor. Everyone in the familyworkedspinning yarn, preserving fruit, milk-ing cows, fencing in fields, and sowing and har-vesting grain.

EconomicsCommerce in New England

New England also had many small busi-nesses. Some people used the waterpower fromthe streams on their land to run mills for grind-ing grain or sawing lumber. Women who madecloth, garments, candles, or soap for their fami-lies sometimes made enough of these productsto sell or trade. Large towns attracted skilledcraftspeople who set themselves up as black-smiths, shoemakers, furniture makers, gun-smiths, metalsmiths, and printers.

Shipbuilding was an important industry. Thelumber for building ships came from the forestsof New England and was transported downrivers to the shipyards in coastal towns.

$

Americas Architecture

A house design called a salt box became popularin many areas. The design featured a square or rectangu-lar house, often with an addition in the back that providedmore living space. These houses were called salt boxesbecause they were similar in shape to the wooden box inwhich salt was kept in colonial kitchens. Where was themeetinghouse located in many towns?

Pineapples symbol-ized hospitality in colonial America.

CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

The region also relied on fishing. New Eng-landers fished for cod, halibut, crabs, oysters,and lobsters. Some ventured far out to sea tohunt whales for oil and whalebone.

Colonial TradeAs the center of the shipping trade in Amer-

ica, northern coastal cities linked the northerncolonies with the Southern Colonies, and linkedAmerica to other parts of the world. New Eng-land ships sailed south along the Atlantic coast,trading with the colonies and with islands in theWest Indies. They crossed the Atlantic carryingfish, furs, and fruit to trade for manufacturedgoods in England and Europe.

These colonial merchant ships followed manydifferent trading routes. Some went directly toEngland and back. Others followed routes thatcame to be called the triangular trade becausethe routes formed a triangle. On one leg of sucha route, ships brought sugar and molasses fromthe West Indies to the New England colonies. InNew England, the molasses would be made intorum. Next, the rum and other goods wereshipped to West Africa and traded for enslaved

Africans. Slavery was widely practiced in WestAfrica. Many West African kingdoms enslavedthose they defeated in war. Some of the enslavedwere sold to Arab slave traders. Others wereforced to mine gold or work in farm fields. Withthe arrival of the Europeans, enslaved Africansalso began to be shipped to America in exchangefor trade goods.

The Middle PassageThe inhumane part of the triangular trade,

shipping enslaved Africans to the West Indies,was known as the Middle Passage. OlaudahEquiano, a young African forced onto a ship toAmerica, later described the voyage:

I was soon put down under the decks. . . .The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, whichwas so crowded that each had scarcely room toturn himself, almost suffocated us. . . . Theshrieks of the women, and the groans of thedying, rendered [made] the whole a scene ofhorror.

102

A deck plan (above) revealstightly packed ranks of slaveson a ship bound from Africa tothe Americas. Once docked, the ships human cargo wasreplaced with rum or molasses.What does the term MiddlePassage refer to?

History

Slaves packed in a ship

103CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

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60N

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60W 30W

THE MIDDLE PASSAGE

Enslaved persons, gold, pepper

Rum, iron, tools

Mol

asse

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ds Sugar,

molas

ses, fr

uit

Iron,cloth, weaponsClo

th,ma

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tured

good

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go, furs

Enslaved persons

AtlanticOcean

PacificOcean

Gulf ofMexico

Caribbean Sea

AFRICA

WESTINDIES

BRITAIN

BRITISHCOLONIES

Triangular Trade Routes

Triangular trade routes developed among the British colonies,Africa, and the West Indies.1. Comparing What did the colonies export to Africa? What

did they import from the West Indies?2. Evaluating Which part of the triangleimport or

exportdo you think was most important to colonists? Why?

Trade routes

With its trade, shipbuilding, and fishing, NewEnglands economy flourished. Although goodfarmland was lacking in much of the region,New Englands population grew and towns andcities developed.

Explaining Where was the shippinghub in America?

The Middle ColoniesThe Middle Colonies enjoyed fertile soil and a

slightly milder climate than New Englands.Farmers in this region cultivated larger areas of

land and produced bigger harvests than didNew Englanders. In New York and Pennsylva-nia, farmers grew large quantities of wheat andother cash crops, crops that could be sold easilyin markets in the colonies and overseas.

Farmers sent cargoes of wheat and livestockto New York City and Philadelphia for ship-ment, and these cities became busy ports. By the1760s New York, with 18,000 people, andPhiladelphia, with 24,000 people, were thelargest cities in the American colonies.

Industries of the Middle ColoniesLike the New England Colonies, the Middle

Colonies also had industries. Some werehome-based crafts such as carpentry and flour

Destination Total

British America/United States 427,000

Mexico and Central America 224,000

West Indies 4,040,000

Spanish South America 522,000

Guianas 531,000

Brazil 3,647,000

Europe 175,000

African Slave Trade14501870

Source: Historical Atlas of the United States; Philip D. Curtin, Atlantic Slave Trade.

making. Others included larger businessessuch as lumbering, mining, and small-scalemanufacturing.

One iron mill in northern New Jerseyemployed several hundred workers, many ofthem from Germany. Other smaller ironworksoperated in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

German ImmigrantsMost of the nearly 100,000 German immi-

grants who came to America in the colonial erasettled in Pennsylvania. Using agriculturalmethods developed in Europe, these immi-grants became successful farmers.

The Germans belonged to a number of Protes-tant groups. Together with the Dutch, Swedish,and other non-English immigrants, they gavethe Middle Colonies a cultural diversity, or vari-ety, that was not found in New England. Withthe diversity came tolerance for religious andcultural differences.

Explaining What are cash crops?

The Southern ColoniesWith their rich soil and warm climate, the

Southern Colonies were well suited to certainkinds of farming. Southern farmers could culti-vate large areas of land and produce harvests ofcash crops. Because most settlers in the SouthernColonies made their living from farming theland, they did not have the need to developcommerce or industry. For the most part, Lon-don merchants rather than local merchants man-aged Southern trade.

EconomicsTobacco and Rice

Tobacco was the principal cash crop of Mary-land and Virginia. Most tobacco was sold inEurope, where the demand for it was strong.Growing tobacco and preparing it for salerequired a good deal of labor. At first plantersused indentured servants to work in the fields.When indentured servants became scarce andexpensive, Southern planters used enslavedAfricans instead.

Slaveholders with large properties becamerich on tobacco. Sometimes, however, a surplus,or extra amounts, of tobacco on the marketcaused prices to fall and then the growers prof-its also fell. In time, some tobacco plantersswitched to growing other crops such as cornand wheat.

The main cash crop in South Carolina andGeorgia was rice. In low-lying areas along thecoast, planters built dams to create rice fields,called paddies. These fields were flooded whenthe rice was young and drained when the ricewas ready to harvest. Work in the rice paddiesinvolved standing knee-deep in the mud all daywith no protection from the blazing sun or thebiting insects.

$

104 CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

Colonists brought traditions from their home-lands. One was the display of tapestry, a heavyfabric with a woven pattern or picture. What ishappening in this tapestry?

History Through Art

105CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

Because rice harvesting required so muchstrenuous work, rice growers relied on slavelabor. Rice proved to be even more profitablethan tobacco. As it became popular in southernEurope, the price of rice rose steadily. By the1750s South Carolina and Georgia had thefastest-growing economies in the colonies.

Tidewater and BackcountryMost of the large Southern plantations were

located in the Tidewater, a region of flat, low-lying plains along the seacoast. Plantations, orlarge farms, were often located on rivers socrops could be shipped to market by boat.

Each plantation was a self-contained commu-nity with fields stretching out around a cluster ofbuildings. The planters wife supervised themain house and the household servants. A plan-tation also included slave cabins, barns and sta-bles, and outbuildings such as carpenter andblacksmith shops and storerooms. Even kitchenswere in separate buildings. A large plantationmight also have its own chapel and school.

West of the Tidewater lay a region of hills andforests climbing up toward the AppalachianMountains. This region was known as the back-country and was settled in part by hardy new-comers to the colonies. The backcountry settlersgrew corn and tobacco on small farms. Theyusually worked alone or with their families,although some had one or two enslavedAfricans to help.

In the Southern Colonies, the independentsmall farmers of the backcountry outnumberedthe large plantation owners. The plantationowners, however, had greater wealth and moreinfluence. They controlled the economic andpolitical life of the region.

Comparing How were the settlersof the Tidewater different from those of the backcountry?

The Old Plantation by an unknown artistThis watercolor from the 1700s shows a tradi-tional African celebration on a Southern plan-tation. Where would you be more likelyto find enslaved African laborersinthe Tidewater or backcountry? Why?

History Through Art

Checking for Understanding1. Key Terms Use each of these terms

in a sentence that will help explain itsmeaning: subsistence farming, triangular trade, cash crop.

2. Reviewing Facts Identify the variouseconomic activities carried on in theMiddle Colonies.

Reviewing Themes3. Economic Factors How did New

Englands natural resources help itscommerce?

Critical Thinking4. Comparing How did farming in

New England compare with farmingin the Southern Colonies? Use a chart like the one below to answerthe question.

5. Making Inferences How do youthink plantation owners in the South-ern Colonies justified their use ofenslaved Africans?

Analyzing Visuals6. Geography Skills Study the map on

page 103. What goods were tradedfrom the British Colonies to GreatBritain? From the West Indies to theBritish Colonies?

SlaveryMost enslaved Africans lived on plantations.

Some did housework, but most worked in thefields and often suffered great cruelty. The largeplantation owners hired overseers, or bosses, tokeep the slaves working hard.

By the early 1700s, many of the colonies hadissued slave codes, strict rules governing thebehavior and punishment of enslaved Africans.Some codes did not allow slaves to leave theplantation without written permission from themaster. Some made it illegal to teach enslavedpeople to read or write. They usually allowedslaves to be whipped for minor offenses andhanged or burned to death for serious crimes.Those who ran away were often caught andpunished severely.

African TraditionsAlthough the enslaved Africans had strong

family ties, their families were often torn apart.Slaveholders could sell a family member toanother slaveholder. Slaves found a source ofstrength in their African roots. They developed aculture that drew on the languages and customsof their West African homelands.

Some enslaved Africans learned trades suchas carpentry, blacksmithing, or weaving. Skilled

workers could sometimes set up shops, sharingtheir profits with the slaveholders. Those luckyenough to be able to buy their freedom joinedthe small population of free African Americans.

Criticism of SlaveryAlthough the majority of white Southerners

were not slaveholders, slavery played an impor-tant role in the economic success of the SouthernColonies. That success, however, was built onthe idea that one human being could ownanother. Some colonists did not believe in slav-ery. Many Puritans refused to hold enslavedpeople. In Pennsylvania, Quakers and Mennon-ites condemned slavery. Eventually the debateover slavery would erupt in a bloody war, pit-ting North against South.

Describing What did slave codes do?

106 CHAPTER 4 The Colonies Grow

Informative Writing Imagine youlive in New England in the 1750sand are visiting cousins on a farmin the Carolinas. Write a letter to a friend at home describing yourvisit to the farm.

Slavery was first outlawed in the northern colonies.This is not true. Slavery was first outlawed in the colony of Georgia in 1735. Georgia eventually made slavery legal again.

Banning Slavery

Similarities Differences

New England

Southern Colonies

The Kidnapped Prince

Right away we were taken toa merchants yard, where wewere all penned up togetherlike so many sheep. When I lookedout at the town, everything wasnew to me. The houses were builtwith bricks, in stories, and werecompletely different from any I hadseen in Africa. I was still moreastonished at seeing people onhorseback. . . .

We were not many days in themerchants custody before we weresoldlike this:

Someone beat a drum. Then allthe buyers rushed at once into theyard where we were penned tochoose the parcel of us that theyliked best. They rushed from onegroup of us to another, withtremendous noise and eager faces,terrifying us all.

Three men who were sold werebrothers. They were sold in differentlots. I still remember how theycried when they were parted. Prob-ably they never saw each otheragain.

I didnt know it, but this hap-pened all the time in slave sales.Parents lost their children; brotherslost their sisters. Husbands losttheir wives.

We had already lost our homes,our countries, and almost everyonewe loved. The people who did theselling and buying could have done

it without separating us from ourvery last relatives and friends. Theyalready could live in riches from ourmisery and toil. Whatpossible advantagedid they gain fromthis refinement ofcruelty?

From The Kid-napped Prince byOlaudah Equiano.Adapted by AnnCameron. Copy-right 1995 byAnn Cameron.Reprinted by per-mission of AlfredA. Knopf, Inc.

107

Olaudah Equiano (c. 17501797)

Olaudah Equianowas 11 years oldwhen he and his sister werekidnapped byslavetraders.Olaudah was

taken to the West Indies andsold into slavery. His life storyincludes memories of his child-hood in Africa. He wrote hisstory after buying his freedomfrom one of his masters. Pub-lished during the time of themovement to end slavery,Equianos work became a best-seller.

READ TO DISCOVERThis selection begins after Olaudah has been kidnappedand forced to endure the terri-fying trip across the AtlanticOcean aboard a slave ship. As you read, think about what life must have been likefor Olaudah. Be attentive to thecharacters actions and pointsof view, and to the tone of thestory.

READERS DICTIONARYparcel: grouplots: groupstoil: work

ANALYZING LITERATURE1. Recall and Interpret How did

the Africans feel as they werebeing sold?

2. Evaluate and Connect Do youthink Olaudah Equiano supportsslavery? Explain.

Interdisciplinary ActivityDescriptive Writing Re-read theexcerpt and think about what itmust have been like to be sepa-rated from family members. Write a dialogue you think might occurbetween two family members asthey are about to be separatedfrom each other.

The Kidnapped Prince

Right away we were taken toa merchants yard, where wewere all penned up togetherlike so many sheep. When I lookedout at the town, everything wasnew to me. The houses were builtwith bricks, in stories, and werecompletely different from any I hadseen in Africa. I was still moreastonished at seeing people onhorseback. . . .

We were not many days in themerchants custody before we weresoldlike this:

Someone beat a drum. Then allthe buyers rushed at once into theyard where we were penned tochoose the parcel of us that theyliked best. They rushed from onegroup of us to another, withtremendous noise and eager faces,terrifying us all.

Three men who were sold werebrothers. They were sold in differentlots. I still remember how theycried when they were parted. Prob-ably they never saw each otheragain.

I didnt know it, but this hap-pened all the time in slave sales.Parents lost their children; brotherslost their sisters. Husbands losttheir wives.

We had already lost our homes,our countries, and almost everyonewe loved. The people who did theselling and buying could have done

it without separating us from ourvery last relatives and friends. Theyalready could live in riches from ourmisery and toil. Whatpossible advantagedid they gain fromthis refinement ofcruelty?

From The Kid-napped Prince byOlaudah Equiano.Adapted by AnnCameron. Copy-right 1995 byAnn Cameron.Reprinted by per-mission of AlfredA. Knopf, Inc.

107

Olaudah Equiano (c. 17501797)

Olaudah Equianowas 11 years oldwhen he and his sister werekidnapped byslavetraders.Olaudah was

taken to the West Indies andsold into slavery. His life storyincludes memories of his child-hood in Africa. He wrote hisstory after buying his freedomfrom one of his masters. Pub-lished during the time of themovement to end slavery,Equianos work became a best-seller.

READ TO DISCOVERThis selection begins after Olaudah has been kidnappedand forced to endure the terri-fying trip across the AtlanticOcean aboard a slave ship. As you read, think about what life must have been likefor Olaudah. Be attentive to thecharacters actions and pointsof view, and to the tone of thestory.

READERS DICTIONARYparcel: grouplots: groupstoil: work

ANALYZING LITERATURE1. Recall and Interpret How did

the Africans feel as they werebeing sold?

2. Evaluate and Connect Do youthink Olaudah Equiano supportsslavery? Explain.

Interdisciplinary ActivityDescriptive Writing Re-read theexcerpt and think about what itmust have been like to be sepa-rated from family members. Write a dialogue you think might occurbetween two family members asthey are about to be separatedfrom each other.