Settlement Patters And Family Life Essay Research

Settlement Patters And Family Life Essay, Research Paper

Settlement patterns, family life, population growth, economic and social structure, government/polity, education, and homes differed greatly in the New England and Southern colonies in the 17th-century. Although a family could move from Massachusetts to Virginia or from South Carolina to Pennsylvania, without major readjustment, distinctions between social institutions within the individual colonies were marked.

Settlement of New England was financed in 1607 and established in November, 1620 (Plymouth) by “The Second Colony of Plymouth” (Marshall, 49; Tindall and Shi 65). “Once the ship came to rest, the passengers crowded on deck, and the religious among them knelt down and prayed to God for their deliverance” (Marshall 49, 52). They arrived safely. However, they were far from settled; the legal process in place for Virginia was not binding here, and these colonists had no law of their own for self-governance. Subsequently, those in charge, drew up the “Mayflower Compact” (Marshall 52). This compact created officers and affected their own legal process for self-governance (Marshall 52). Unlike the colonists in the South, the Pilgrims arrived during the winter, making it very difficult to cultivate the land around them, and survive (Marshall 52).

In New England, the first settlement of homes were constructed of timber, probably split logs, and the cracks were filled with clay (Marshall 69). The earliest form of roofing material used by the Pilgrims was thatch (Marshall 69, 70; Tindall and Shi 130). Reeds and rushes were gathered from nearby swamps, bound into bundles, and fastened to the roof (Marshall 68). The thatch was piled layer upon layer until it was about one foot thick (Marshall 81). It can be said that these houses were of the simplest design; windows were filled with oiled linen in place of glass, which was too expensive and very difficult to obtain (Marshall 65; Tindall and Shi 130).

Keeping in mind that settlers in New England were city-bred, or from towns and villages in a humanized and cultured country, few were suited for the life of a frontiersman. Only a very few were familiar with the tasks of farming (Marshall 53). Just as the church was an important institution among the New England settlers, so was family life. The feeling of family life was powerful in most English people, and had been since feudal times, when working the land demanded close collaboration between all members of the family unit (Marshall 60).

New England families consisted of a husband and wife, children, not necessarily their own, and male and female servants who were usually unmarried (Marshall 61). Servants did not serve the rest of the household, but worked alongside with members of the family in performing tasks, both indoors and out. The man was the head of the household, and worked at his craft or in the fields; his wife took care of the children, managed the housework,

and prepared family meals (Marshall 61). Males in the household worked for the master, the females helping the wife (Marshall 61). Children other than babies did their share of the work, performing age appropriate tasks (Marshall 61).

Mortality and population rates in early 17th-century New England were problematic. The sickness that the colonists experienced upon their arrival to New England, during which time friends and relatives died due to disease, was followed by a period of near starvation because people were ill equipped and lacked the basic knowledge required to farm the land (Marshall 131). Determination and courage pulled them through, and soon thereafter, others from England joined them (Marshall 131). Additionally, migration was more prevalent to New England than to the southern colonies; this also included more women (Tindall 112). This phenomena alone would eventually create a higher population in the New England colonies.

Terrain in New England has generally thin, stony soil, relatively little level land, and long winters, making it difficult for economic success in the farming business (Marshall 54). Turning to other potentially prosperous business and economic opportunities, New Englander’s harnessed waterpower, and established grain and sawmills (Van Dusen 26). Good stands of timber encouraged shipbuilding. Superb harbors promoted trade, and the sea became a source of great economic wealth (Van Dusen 26). In Massachusetts, the cod industry alone quickly furnished a basis for prosperity (Van Dusen 26).

With the bulk of the early settlers living in villages and towns around the harbors, many New Englander’s engaged in a form of trade or business (Marshall 170). Common pastureland and wood lots served the economic needs of townspeople who worked small farms nearby. Moreover, compactness made possible the village school, the village church and the village or town halls, where citizens met to discuss matters of common interest (Marshall 58). In addition, New England shippers soon discovered that rum and slaves were profitable commodities in the realm of economics. One of the most enterprising, if unsavory trading practices of the time, was the “triangular trade.” Merchants and shippers would purchase slaves off the coast of Africa for New England rum, then sell the slaves in the West Indies where they would purchase molasses to bring home for resale to the local rum producers