6) expansion of chesapeake colonies
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Transcript of 6) expansion of chesapeake colonies
Expansion of Chesapeake
Colonies
Despite the Peace with Powhatan and his tribes the
Virginia Company struggled to keep afloat but made two advancements to change this First allowed the holding and development of land by
private colonist In 1616 the crop of Tobacco began to be cultivated in
mass by the colonists Tobacco was the perfect crop for the Chesapeake
colonies and caused the areas rapid expansion Production rose from 200,000 pounds in 1624 to 3
million in 1638 As a result the population of Virginia went from 350
in 1616 to 13,000 in 1650 and then to 41,000 in 1670
Tobacco
Farmland expansion became main focus of English The Native Americans under the new leadership of Opechancanough
worked to protect their lands from encroaching Europeans He first attacked the new western plantations in 1622 killing 347
colonists The English saw this attack as the perfect time to expand their holdings
The English began a brutal campaign on both the native civilians and leadership
First War ended in 1632 but Opechancanough retained control Second War was between 1644-1646 ending when Opechancanough
was caught and killed The War completely devastated the native population and allowed
for colonial expansion
Renewed Violence
Maryland
In 1632 the crown allowed the development of the a new colony to the north of Virginia named Maryland
The new colony came under the control of Cecilius Calvert the Second Lord of Baltimore as a Proprietary colony
The colony was set up not only to provide wealth for Lord Baltimore but also as a refuge for Catholics Despite the initial focus few
Catholics emigrated and soon to gain colonists Baltimore offered land to them
Maryland benefited from experienced immigrants from Virginia and did not go through as many growing pains
Life in the Chesapeake brought a combination of
challenges and opportunities Land was plentiful and cheap
Land ownership was typical of most immigrants Resulted in a dynamic change in society when compared
to Europe The Life style was difficult
The Chesapeake was disease ridden for much of the 17th century
Work was hard and labor intensive Majority of farms produced only limited foodstuffs Gender ratio was heavily in favor on men
Life in the Chesapeake
The Chesapeake was a labor hungry place from almost
the beginning There were a number of reasons for this
Lack of proper colonist recruitment Short lifespan of laborers Cost of travel to the new world
Initial attempts at enslavement of both the Natives and later Africans failed African slaves only numbered 300 or 2% of the
population in 1650 AD Most Africans were treated as Indentured Servants for
much of the period before 1700
Indentured Servants
Servants Cont.
Due to this the rich landowners and colonial governments turned to Indentured Servants Their transport to the new world
was paid for in return for 4-7 years of service
They worked for free during those years only receiving room and board
At the end of the term of service the servant would receive ‘Freedom Dues” by their master and land by the state (Headright system)
In order to increase immigration landowners were rewarded with land for each indentured servant bought
Population only increase marginally before 1650 due to environmental challenges and disease
True Prosperity for both the colonial government and
tobacco growers began after 1650 Indentured servants were more likely to survive their
term and gain both land and “Freedom Dues” Tobacco also began to reach a new level of profitability
With this new level of prosperity came a dramatic expansion of farmed land Farming in this period resembled slash and burn
techniques Farms were quickly spread and built and by 1665
occupied all of the best tobacco lands
Changing Chesapeake