The Growth of the Chesapeake and Barbadian Colonies

Angela Young Professor Kelly Hopkins History 1377 June 18, 2012 The Growth the Chesapeake and Barbadian Colonies Many spectacular examples of how pi matchlessers blazed trails and discovered unchartered territories outline the fabric of American history. We put a man on the moon in the sixties and discovered cures for some of our modern diseases. These are valuable accomplishments, but in that respect is another that is just as significant in the course of American history the colonization of our nation. Detailed accounts decorate our history with the hardship and despicable of our forefathers.And although some historical accounts paint a bleak picture of wee settlements and furnish that diseases, starvation and other factors were ambitious to overcome, we need to recognize that in that respect were successes. It would be unfair to only(prenominal) focus on the challenges without acknowledging their tycoon to smash and prosper. To overlook the strategies that the Chesapeak e and Barbadian societies delectationd to bugger off and prosper would be a mistake, because we can contribute many of their decisions and actions to the structure of todays governmental system and economy.Some historians may analyze these two societies and argue that their ontogeny was a result of learning from the mistakes of previous settlements. However, there is considerable picture to show that the Chesapeake and Barbadian colonies successfully grew and progressed as a lodge due to the use of slaves as workers in the colonies, the acquisition of reduce, and agricultural exports to England to obtain richesiness. The purpose of this newsprint is to examine the events responsible for the advancement of the Chesapeake and Barbadian societies in the mid 1700s.The concept of the slave trade in America is arguably one of the study factors that led to the evolution of the Chesapeake and Barbadian colonies. The import of slaves caused a puffy creation explosion in both co lonies. The act of saturnines in both settlements change magnitude significantly and outpaced that of the white common riches each decade mingled with 1730 and 1760. In 1730 the black population in the Virginia colony was 30,000 and doubled to 60,000 in 1740 and go on to increase steadily through and through 1770. 1 The doctor colony showed identical population increases with the number of blacks almost doubling in ize from 24,031 to 43,450 from 1740 to 1750. 2 The visibleness of the population in the Barbadian colony was also significant. Unlike the Virginia and physician colonies, blacks outnumbered white almost 4 to 1 and were the majority in the population between 1655 and 1770. For example, slaves were 83 percent of the population in 1760 at 86,600 succession the white population was 17,800. 3 What is the significance of this population growth and their evolution? The colonies created a edict that would secured their future for generations. When Chesapeake experienc ed sparing growth large plantations became more(prenominal) common.This created a need for workers. In turn, slavery led to undischarged riches for the colonies and became one of their greatest re point of references for economic growth. everyplace the course of some(prenominal) decades more slaves were brought to America to fulfill the look at for workers to plant and harvest tobacco and other crops. The colonist understood the value of slave labor and the economic growth using slaves would provide. Most importantly, they also understood that the performance of the slaves influenced their profitability. We cannot dispute population growth in the colonies without acknowledging the ugly truth about slavery.Cl ahead of time one group of people suffered while another benefited. Many can criticise the colonies for implementing such a cruel system for economic growth, but we essential ask ourselves did slavery help them reach their goal of prosperity. After all, slaves and bou nd(p) servants were a productive labor pool that helped them prosper economically during the early and middle years of colonization. Without needing to take a position on slavery, we seemingly understand that the back-breaking physical work of slaves is one of the contributing factors that led to great wealth in the Virginia and Maryland colonies.Another factor contributing to the evolution of the Chesapeake and Barbadian colonies is land causeership. Since the beginning, colonists placed great value on land self-will. undercoat was a resource of prosperity and the most important indicator of wealth. To rend new settlers to America, colonists permitted them to own land. Although the colonists encouraged ownership, land was not equally distributed and was super concentrated in the hands of a few people. Based on leaven we can make a direct connection between plantation size in the Chesapeake and Maryland regions based on the number of slaves living on them.For example, between 1750 and 1770, twenty or more slaves lived on some one-third of all plantations. Specially, 31% of all plantations had 21 or more slaves living on them from 1750 1759. 4 This average continued through 1779. We can assume that white plantation owners possessing the largest plantations possess the largest number of slaves. thither was a direct correlation between land ownership and wealth distribution. Those that own the land possess the wealth. There was strong evidence of this in Barbados in 1680 where wealthy pioneers owning 60 or more slaves own approximately 60% of all land and 60% of all slaves. Likewise, 14. 9% of Jamaican land owners possessed land valued at ? 1,000 or more. 6 This trend also started as early as 1669 and continued up through 1750 in the Virginia colony. For instance, between 1700 1719, the wealthiest 5. 6 % of the male population owned 61. 5% of the total wealth and between 1720 1750 the wealthiest 2. 7 percent of males owned 33. 2% of wealth. 7 One of the greatest values colonists recognized from land ownership was the acquisition of economic and political power. They could influence the future of their society because of the economic power they possessed.Most importantly, they had the ability to advance their own interests. For example, they could make the rules for who owned the land and where they owned it. They could give land to their heirs to ensure that it remained in their familys possession for generations. Land ownership and wealth also meant political power. Those with the wealth could hold political office and shape the future of their colonies by devising laws that would benefit them directly. The colonists experienced many long-term benefits from land ownership.However, they benefited at the cost of others by setting up a system that would intentionally retard them from achieving any level of prosperity and success. Some people may take issue with the method used by the colonies to prosper. However, the fact th at they used others to advance their own goals does not cancel out the fact that land ownership and wealth moved them one step closer to securing their position as a viable society. Agricultural exports also played a region in progression of the of the Chesapeake and Barbadian colonies.Both colonies practiced exporting agricultural products to England and would eventually systema skeletale the wealth and improve their standard of living. Prior to the 1620s growing crops was difficult for the colonist because early settlements did not have the knowledge and tools needed to grow them successfully. Barbadian settlers tried to grow crops such as tobacco, cotton, ginger, and indigo, but were unsuccessful. Over time, they learned which crops would grow successfully in their region. After much run and error, tobacco became the right plant to grow for Chesapeake and sugar for Barbados.Tobacco exports to England became the main source of income from Virginia and Maryland. Between 1660 and 1760 tobacco exports change magnitude each decade. Along with the number of pounds increasing, the toll per pound of tobacco also increased. In 1740 England imported 35,372 pounds of tobacco at a price of 0. 80 pence sterling/pound. By 1770 the amount increased to 38,986 at 2. 06 pence sterling/per pound. Furthermore, the value of exports to England reached $435,094. 8 Additionally, sugar exports to England from Barbados yielded positive pecuniary results for the colonies.Sugar exports steadily increased from 1651 to 1698 with the highest being 15,587 tons in 1698. 9 This banter about the impact of exports on the evolution of the colonies is not complete without acknowledging the role slavery played. As exports to England increased, the import of slaves also increased to support the demand for tobacco. The more slaves owned by the colonists, the more crops could be harvested and exported to generate more revenue for the colonies. A closer look at the evidence doesnt always show a successful progression toward prosperity.Increases in the black population did not always significantly outnumber that of whites. Also, there is evidence that illustrates a drop in the value of exports to England from 1755 to 1770. While the value of exports was at their highest in 1750 at ? 508,939, they decreased to as low as ? 435,094 in 1770. 10 Tobacco exports to England also dropped in 1770. Additionally, once land ownership opened up to indentured servants and other settlers in the Chesapeake colony, the largest distribution of wealth shifted from the wealthiest to the middle class.For example, between 1700 1719 5. 8% of the wealthiest males owned 61. 5% of the wealth. From 1720 1750, 2. 7% of the wealthiest males owned 33. 2% of the wealth while 26% of the male population owned 31. 3% of the wealth. 11 This shows an important shift in wealth deep down the colony. Some may read this evidence and disagree with the factors that contributed to their advancement and make u p not to give full credit because of these inconsistencies. The Chesapeake colonies established a formula long before the mid-1700s to promote and sustain their future growth.Although the statistical evidence changes for some of the factors, it is clear that the Chesapeake and Barbadian colonies progressed as a society as a result of slavery, land ownership, and agricultural exports. The focus should not only be on the evidence, but the overall impact these factors had on the colonies ability to evolve and the impact their prosperity has on our economic situation today. Notes cosmos Growth, Virginia, 1640-1770, p 67 2 Population Growth, Maryland, 1640 1770, p 68 3 Population Estimates, Barbados, 1655 1770, p 73 Plantation Size in Virginia by Number of Slaves, 1700 1779, p 71 5 wealth Distribution, Wealthy Planters, 1673 and 1680, p 74 6 Wealth Distribution, Jamaica, 1674 1701 (percentages), p 74 7 Wealth Distribution in Middlesex County, Virginia Personal Property of Deceased full-grown Males, 1699 1750, p 68 8 Tobacco Imported by England from Virginia and Maryland (in thousands of pounds) and Maryland Tobacco Prices (in pence sterling/pound), 1620 1770, p 69 9 Estimated Sugar Exports from Barbados to London, 1651 1706 (tons), p 75 10 Value of Exports to and Imports from England by Virginia and Maryland, 1700 1770 (in pounds sterling), p 72 11 Wealth Distribution in Middlesex County, Virginia Personal Property of Deceased Adult Males, 1699 1750, p 68 Works Cited Wheeler, William Bruce, Susan D. Becker, Lorri Glover, and John Hart. Discovering the American Past. Kentucky Cengage Learning, 2012. Print