Colonial Economies and Governance

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Transatlantic exchange of commerce, political, philosophical, and religious ideas.

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The British colonies participated in exchanges with Great Britain that encouraged stronger bonds.

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Tobacco, initially cultivated by white, mostly male indentured servants and later by enslaved Africans.

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What crop did the Chesapeake and North Carolina colonies prosper from exporting?

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A thriving mixed economy of agriculture and commerce, developed around small towns with family farms.

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What was the economic focus of the New England colonies?

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A flourishing export economy based on cereal crops, attracting a broad range of European migrants, leading to greater cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity and tolerance.

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What characterized the economy of the middle colonies?

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By using long growing seasons to develop plantation economies based on exporting staple crops, relying on the labor of enslaved Africans.

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How did the southern Atlantic coast and British West Indies develop their economies?

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Distance and Britain’s initially lax attention, leading to unusually democratic institutions for the era.

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What led to the creation of self-governing institutions in the colonies?

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In participatory town meetings, which elected members to their colonial legislatures.

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How did the New England colonies base their power?

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Elite planters who exercised local authority.

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Who dominated the electoral assemblies in the southern colonies?

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Settlement of Jamestown

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Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America, established in 1607.

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Cecil Calvert

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Cecil Calvert, also known as Lord Baltimore, was instrumental in the founding of Maryland as a haven for Catholics.