Chapter 17 Colonial America

The early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. The first permanent English settlement in America was a trading post founded in 1607 at Jamestown, (Virginia). At first each colony became a separate entity, marked by a strong individuality, but because of some problems (and after independence of England was won), it led to federation. The coming of the colonists in the 17th century entailed careful planning and management, and in contrast to what was usually at the time, the emigration was not sponsored by the government, but by private groups of individuals whose chief motive was profit. Because of the bad economic conditions in England between 1620-1635, many people hoped to find their luck in America.

In the 16th en 17th centuries a religious group reformed the church by diffusing reformist ideas and destroying the unity of the state church. People were forced to separate, so some of them went to Leyden, Holland, where they were allowed to believe what they wanted to. Later, some of these people also decided to emigrate to the New World.

Political considerations also influenced people to move to America. In Germany and England were religious problems, war, and many other reasons for people to emigrate in the late 17th and 18th centuries. A search for religious and political freedom; and they thought they’d find it in America.

Those who couldn’t pay the passage, were financed by colonizing agencies. In return, the settlers agreed to work for the agencies as contract laborers. Many people discovered that this system caused as much poverty as they had in Europe: they weren’t better off in America. This turned out to be a handicap to colonisize, so a new system was made; when a few years working were fulfilled, for the contract-holder, the setller would be given a bonus. Half the settlers living in the colonies south of New England came to America under this system.

Most of the settlers who came to America in the 17th century were English, but 10 per cent of the total is a mix of many other cultures from Europe. After 1680 large numbers of immigrants came from Germany, Ireland, France, Scotland, Switzerland, and again they came for various reasons. Ten years later the population doubeld every 25 years, up to 2,5 million in 1775.

Almost every settler adopted the English language, law and many English customs, but without turning themselves into Englishmen. The result: a unique culture, a blend of English and continental European conditioned by the environment of the New World.

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Chapter 18 - Two days in the life of a black slave

First day – being kidnapped
Told by a man…

This man comes from a big family; he has 5 brothers and a sister. Before he turned 11, he lived in happiness. The children played together in the field, climbing in the trees to look; there might approach a kidnapper! One day, the boy (in the age of 11) is sitting in his tree in his yard. Then some kidnappers aproach, and because of the abscense of his parents, it’s easy for them to kidnap him and his sister. After this attack, the kidnappers bound their hands together and take them into the wood, to a house. At this house the kidnappers unbound their hands, but they don’t give any food, so the children fell asleep being hungry….

Second day – Life on the plantation
Told by a woman…

The slaves must get up very early in the morning. An hour before sunrise they will get awake by the blowing of a horn. The slaves make some breakfast and hurry to the field. They have to work in the cottonfield, all day; and it’s a hard job to do. The slaves have to work till midnight, untill the boss says they may quit the work. After work, they have to move all the cotton to a gin house. But it doesn’t metter if they have too much or too less cotton; in every way they are shaking from fear while approaching the gin house. If it’s too less, the boss will let the slave suffer for this little work. If it’s more than the standard quantity, the boss will make that number as a new standard the next day; so that every slave has to produce more than the day before.
After this job it still ain’t finished. There are still many tasks to do, like preparing food for the next day. In the middle of the night, incredibly tired, they can go to the quarters and take their night rest.
At Sunday morning every slave can get his weekly allowence: 3,5 pound bacon and some corn to make meal. But without anything like sugar, tea, etc…. A bad life..