AMERICAN LIFE IN THE 17TH CENTURY

CHAPTER FOUR

INTRODUCTION 17th Century New

World Crude settlements of

colonists gave way to permanent settlements Distinctive ways of

life developed Cultures adapted

European African Native-American

The Unhealthy Chesapeake

American wilderness Brutal Disease

Malaria Dysentery Typhoid

The Unhealthy Chesapeake

Few people lived to 40 or 50 years. In the early days of colonies, women

were so scarce that men fought over all of them.

The Chesapeake region had fewer women and a 6:1 male to female ratio is a good guide.

Few people knew any grandparents. A third of all brides in one Maryland

county were already pregnant before the wedding (scandalous).

Virginia, with 59,000 people, became the most populous colony.

The Tobacco Economy 1630s

John Rolfe Tobacco yield almost 40

million pounds a year More tobacco meant

more labor African slave trade Indentured servitude

100,000 by 1700 “freedom dues” ever-

changing for the worst

“head-right” system Virginia and Maryland Paid passage;

benefactor gained 50 acres of rich land

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion

Virginia (1676) 6/7 people were

either poor, indebted, discontented and armed

Governor William Berkeley

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion

Nathaniel Bacon 29 years old Planter Resented Berkeley’s

polices friendly policies toward Indians, especially with the fur trade and attacks on frontier settlements

Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion

Bacon’s Rebellion Civil War Frustrated freemen and

resentful indentured servants (African-Americans included)

Bacon dies of disease causing rebellion to go away

Berkeley hangs 20 rebels Virginia begins to favor

slavery in lieu of indentured servitude

Colonial Slavery African slaves

10M left Africa after 1492 West Indies Brazil Spanish territories

400,00 came to North America Royal African Company

(1672-1700) Majority after 1700 Rhode Islanders entered

lucrative slave trade

Colonial Slavery

Slave trade Senegal to Angola Captured by African

tribes Economy not based

on Mercantilism, but number of slaves

Middle Passage 20% death Auctioned

Colonial Slavery Black Codes

Began in 1662, Virginia

“Chattel” Slavery begun for

economic reasons but it was clear that racial discrimination also molded the American slave system

Africans in America Deep South

South Carolina and Georgia

Gullah Goober (peanut) Gumbo (okra) Voodoo (witchcraft) Dance Development of jazz Banjo and bongo

drum

African to African-American

Africans’ arrival into the New World brought new languages, music, and cuisines to America. Africans worked in the rice

fields of South Carolina due to (a) their knowledge of the crop and (b) their resistance to disease (as compared to Indians).

African to African-American

Most slaves became Christians, though many adopted elements from their native religions. Many African dances led to modern dances (i.e. the

Charleston). Christian songs could also be code for the

announcement of the arrival of a guide to freedom. Jazz is the most famous example of slave music

entering mainstream culture.

Southern Society First families of Virginia or “FFVs”

Washingtons Lees Fitzhughs

Dominated the House of Burgesses 70% of the Virginia legislature came from

the FFVs Antebellum South

Evolved around plantations Few cities

Ex, Charleston Waterways primary transportation

system Longevity short William and Mary

• Most inhabitants of the South were merchant planters

• Urban development was slow

New England Family Intergenerational

continuity Nurturing environment Invented concept of

“grandparent” Puritan

Integrity of marriage Gender roles Raising children Work ethic Obedience

New England Family New Englanders typically

lived 10 years longer Families were a very stable

institution Grandparents emerged Unlike Southern women

whose men died younger and therefore women gained more property rights; New England women were thought to undercut the family if given property rights

Life in the New England Towns Closely knit

communities Anchored by

geography; hemmed in by Indians, the French and the Dutch

Unity of purpose Puritanism Education

Harvard

The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials

New process (1662), New England, for church membership Half-Way Covenant

Allowed baptism, but not full communion weakening the distinction between the “elect” and others, further diluting the spiritual purity of the original settlers’ godly community

BOTTOM LINE: The Half-Way Covenant

was created by New England Puritans who felt that the people of their colonies were drifting away from their original religious purpose The children and

grandchildren of original settlers often expressed less religious piety, and more desire for material wealth.

Jeremiads

As Puritans began to worry about their children and whether or not they would be as loyal and faithful, and new type of sermon came about called “jeremiads.” In jeremiads, earnest

preachers scolded parishioners for their waning piety in hope to improve faith.

The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials of Colonial America resulted in a number of convictions and executions for witchcraft in 1692 in Massachusetts, the result of a period of factional infighting and Puritan paranoia which led to the deaths of at least 25 people and the imprisonment of scores more Resulted from the unsettled social

and religious conditions in rapidly evolving Massachusetts

Ended 1693 Court of Oyer and Terminer Led to Superior Courts

The New England Way of Life

New England Harsh climate Rocky soil Indian relations

Ownership of land

Introduction of livestock to the geography

Calvinism

Early Settlers’ Days and Ways

New Englanders Farmers Fishermen Humble family life Crude frontier living