TOPIC 4.1—CHESAPEAKE LIFE (66-76)
I. The Chesapeake
A. The Chesapeake area composed of the colonies of Maryland & Virginia
B. Diseases like malaria, small pox, yellow fever, dysentery, & typhoid common in the Chesapeake
1. People who left England & came to the Chesapeake colonies on average took 10 years off of their lifetimes
a. Half of all born in Virginia & Maryland did not live past the age of 20
b. Less than 25% of men lived to be age 50; women only 40
2. Frontier life was harder on females than it was males; childbirth
3. Family life was fragile; few relatives survive
C. The Chesapeake region eventually survived because of the introduction of tobacco; John Rolfe at Jamestown
1. The Chesapeake region eventually stabilized due to increase immunities and the rise of more women settlers
a. By 1700, Virginia was the most populous colony and Maryland third most populated
II. Indentured Servants
A. The introduction of tobacco caused a need in the Chesapeake colonies for more labor
1. Families would not work because they were growing too slowly; high death rates
2. Native Americans would not work because they died too quickly to European diseases
3. African slaves did not work because they were too expensive
a. First African slaves arrived in 1619 in Jamestown;
3. The solution was indentured servants from Europe until late 17th century
B. Indentured servants usually signed a contract to work for people in the colony in exchange for their transportation to the New
World
1. Indentured servants usually worked about 7 years under contract
C. Most immigrants who came as indentured servants were single men in the late teens or early 20’s; most died soon after arriving
in the colony
1. Males that did survive competed for a small number of women in the colonies; most could not find mates
2. Women tended to marry early in the Chesapeake colonies
D. The growth of indentured servitude was helped by the creation of the Headright System
1. The Headright System gave a person who paid for the passage of a white indentured servant 50 acres of land
2. Some planters used the Headright System to acquire huge tracts of land
3. For some indentured servants, after their contract expired they were given some money, maybe some land, and other
supplies called Freedom Dues
E. By 1700, planters in the Chesapeake had brought in about 100,000 indentured servants; composed about 75% of all European
immigrants to Virginia & Maryland
III. Bacon’s Rebellion
A. The incident known as Bacon’s Rebellion helped to show the major problem with the usage of indentured servants
1. By the late 17th century, large numbers of frustrated former indentured servants existed
2. Many of these former indentured servants too poor to own land, could not find wives, etc.
BYRD AP U.S. HISTORY TOPIC NOTES
B. As these former indentured servants tried to survive, Native Americans resisted continued white expansion in western Virginia
1. Former indentured servants angry that government of Virginia did not protect white settlers from Native American
attacks
2. Most of their anger was focused on Virginia Governor Berkeley who was generally friendly towards the Natives
C. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, an aristocrat and member of the House of Burgesses began mobilizing a militia to protect whites
from Native American attacks
1. Set fire to Jamestown and massacred Native Americans forcing Gov. Berkeley out
2. Bacon’s Rebellion eventually died when Bacon died of disease and Gov. Berkeley crushed the rebellion
D. The impact of Bacon’s Rebellion was that it was the first rebellion in American history and moved the US towards slavery
1. Planters saw white indentured servants as too difficult to control & significantly increase importation of black slaves
2. Led to increased racism and encouraged all whites to discriminate against blacks
IV. African Slavery
A. Most of the slaves who arrived in the Americas came from the West African coast
1. Many were captured by other African coastal tribes and were sold to slave traders
B. The worst ordeal that the slaves were forced to endure on the way to the Americas was the Middle Passage
1. Slaves were imported from Africa on overcrowded ships; every inch of space was used
2. 20 percent of all slaves died on the trip; dead thrown overboard
V. Life in the South
A. For African slaves, life in the Deep South was very hard and intense
1. The Chesapeake area not as hard b/c tobacco cultivation not as difficult
B. In the South, the Chesapeake and the Deep South tended to grow different crops
1. In the Chesapeake region tobacco was the main agricultural product
2. In the Deep South, rice and indigo were the main crops grown
C. Charleston was the main and largest sea port in the Southern colonies
D. Southern society was also divided into various social levels from the beginning
1. At the top of Southern society was the great plantation owners
a. Many of these were the FFV’s or the First Families of Virginia; Washington & Lee’s
b. Small farmers and landless whites made up the middle part of the social structure
c. At the bottom for whites was the indentured servants
d. At the very bottom for all groups was the African slave
BYRD AP U.S. HISTORY TOPIC NOTES