Apush Notes
Chapter 4 A. The Unhealthy Chesapeake
Life was nasty because of : Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid. Half the people didn't survive till they were 20. as a result, population grew very slowly. Only through immigrants, mostly male adults, who died soon after arriving. Outnumbered women 6:1, women weren't singly for long families were few and small, men couldn't find wives, people died, etc. Many pregnancies happened for unmarried girls
Yet, colonists eventually developed immunity to diseases, and more women came along. By end of 1600s, Chesapeake could grow on its own, without immigrants. B. The Tobacco Economy
Chesapeake was good for tobacco plantation, and people often planted tobacco first because it sold so well. But, tobacco quickly ruins soil, so they kept on looking for more land, leading to more Native American contact
1.5 million pounds out of Chesapeake Bay by 1630s, 40 million by end of century. Though this resulted in lower prices, they simply planted more to make up for it.
Indians couldn't labor because died too quickly, slaves cost too much, so they used indentured servants. (Englishmen who fled because of economy, or tenants forced to leave, etc.) They got some corn, clothes, an axe/hoe, and some land.
Maryland and Virginia used headright system (see list of terms), some masters combined the investments and formed gigantic plantations. Chesapeake planters had 100,000 indentured servants, representative of ¾ of all European immigrants to Mary and Virg.
Indentured had a hard life, but dreamed of their release. As time went on, less land was available, and masters didn't want to give land grants anymore. Also, punishment became harsher, masters adding extra time to their service. Even after freedom, they had little choice but to hire themselves to former masters for extremely low wages. C. Frustrated Freemen and Bacon's Rebellion freemen wandered around the late 1600s, frustrated with hard lives and no wives. Big numbers of these men
Life was nasty because of : Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid. Half the people didn't survive till they were 20. as a result, population grew very slowly. Only through immigrants, mostly male adults, who died soon after arriving. Outnumbered women 6:1, women weren't singly for long families were few and small, men couldn't find wives, people died, etc. Many pregnancies happened for unmarried girls
Yet, colonists eventually developed immunity to diseases, and more women came along. By end of 1600s, Chesapeake could grow on its own, without immigrants. B. The Tobacco Economy
Chesapeake was good for tobacco plantation, and people often planted tobacco first because it sold so well. But, tobacco quickly ruins soil, so they kept on looking for more land, leading to more Native American contact
1.5 million pounds out of Chesapeake Bay by 1630s, 40 million by end of century. Though this resulted in lower prices, they simply planted more to make up for it.
Indians couldn't labor because died too quickly, slaves cost too much, so they used indentured servants. (Englishmen who fled because of economy, or tenants forced to leave, etc.) They got some corn, clothes, an axe/hoe, and some land.
Maryland and Virginia used headright system (see list of terms), some masters combined the investments and formed gigantic plantations. Chesapeake planters had 100,000 indentured servants, representative of ¾ of all European immigrants to Mary and Virg.
Indentured had a hard life, but dreamed of their release. As time went on, less land was available, and masters didn't want to give land grants anymore. Also, punishment became harsher, masters adding extra time to their service. Even after freedom, they had little choice but to hire themselves to former masters for extremely low wages. C. Frustrated Freemen and Bacon's Rebellion freemen wandered around the late 1600s, frustrated with hard lives and no wives. Big numbers of these men