Founding the Colonies
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1) How and why was the English attempt at colonization
in North America different from other countries and
other colonies?
2) Which were the early colonies in North America?
3) What were the early reforms?
4) Why would someone immigrate to the New World?
What were the economic arrangements that allowed
for immigration?
5) Why were farms usually larger in the Southern
colonies?
6) What were the major economic incentives that caused
North America to develop differently than other
colonies?
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Factors of commercial growth in Europe:
1) Greater security of persons and property
2) Rapid increase in population
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1763- Victor Mirabeau coined phrase “mercantilism”
Political economy of the era
Philipp Wilhelm von Hornick published “mercantilist
manifesto” in 1684:
1) Every inch of a country’s soil should be utilized for
agriculture, mining, or manufacturing
2) All raw materials found in a country should be used
in domestic manufacture, since finished goods
have a higher value than raw materials
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3) Encourage a large, working population
4) All export of gold and silver should be
prohibited and all domestic money should be
kept in circulation
5) All imports should be discouraged
6) Where certain imports are indispensible they
should be obtained at first hand; that is,
exchanged for other goods instead of gold and
silver
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7) As much as possible, imports should be
confined to raw materials that can be finished
at home
8) Opportunities should be constantly sought for
selling a country’s surplus manufacturers to
foreigners for gold and silver
9) No imports should be allowed for goods that
can be sufficiently and suitably made at home
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Why were the English so successful, given that they
were “latecomers” to long-distance exploration?
Primary reason- permanent colonization and
settlement
If permanent colonization was the goal, the major
obstacle was to move people to the colonies
Labor shortage would prove to be a persistent
problem
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First Englishmen to take serious ventures:
Humphrey Gilbert & Walter Raleigh
Gilbert died after two attempts
Raleigh’s first attempt on Roanoke failed
His second attempt with John White failed as the
“lost colony” in 1590
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1607: two new colonies
Sagadahoc (Maine)
Jamestown (Virginia)
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Jamestown:
1607- 105 people, 67 died in the first year
1609- 800 new people
1610- 60 people remained
1607 to 1623- 6,000 immigrants, 4,000 died, life
expectancy = 2 years
Colonies were financial and human disasters
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What was different about North America that
made the English change their approach?
1) No gold or silver
2) No natives to trade with
The result?
Reliance on cash crops
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Major reform was property rights
Landholdings changed from common rights to
private rights
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Jamestown property rights changes:
1) Early settlers were given “planter shares”
2) Later settlers were given garden plots of their
own
3) Management became more local
See Boaz (2007) “Private Property Saved
Jamestown”
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For Mayflower details, please see
1) MayflowerHistory.com-Mayflower compact
2) Bradford-Of Plymouth Plantation
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Indenture contract:
Allowed a person to pay for their passage by selling
their labor to someone for a specified future
period of time
See Galenson (1984) “The Rise and Fall of
Indentured Servitude in the Americas: An
Economic Analysis”
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(continued)
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Permanent settlements- early emphasis on farming
Labor shortage- strong incentive to increase labor
productivity, and freedom of labor market
(indentured servants usually left first jobs)
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