Colonial Economies
You have al ready read that different parts
of the 13 Colon ies were rich in different natural resou rces. So it ma kes sense that the
New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies
each developed a di fferent type of economy.
The New England economy was based on
products from the forests and the sea.
Timber was a valuable export- especially
to England. where most of the forests had
already been cut down. Trees from the New
England forests were also used to bui ld
houses, sh ips. and ba rrels. Barrels were
needed to store everything from wine to
wheat to dried fish. Once colonists had their
own sh ips. they could fish in the rich waters
off the New England coast. Fishi ng and whaling Quickly became important industries.
The economy of the Middle Colonies was
based on farm products and valuable minerals
such as iron. As you have read, Middle Colony
farmers grew so much wheat. the region
became known as ~the breadbasket of the
colonies.~ Mil ls were built to grind grain into
flou r. The mills were powered by running water
or wind. From the mills, flour was shipped to
other colonies and exported to other countries.
The Southern Colonies had rich soi l, warm
weather, and plenty of rain, and they developed
an economy based on farming. Farms ranged
in size from small family farms to large plantations powered by the work of slaves. Cash
crops included tobacco, rice, and indigo, a plant
used to make a blue dye.
Look at the map to see where ind igo and
other key colonial products were produced .
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
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Fish
Ships
Ti mber
Wheat
Fu rs
Iron
Cattle
Tobacco
I'>
Rice
~
Ind igo
") ),
~
Uii1iM1
Compare the important products
of the New England, Middle, and Southern
Colon ies. ~ Compare and Contrast
.. The th ree coloni al regions developed d ifferent
economies.
'6 ttX1:
i1, . Use a Map Key In which region did
fishing play an important role?
205
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ATLANTIC
OCEAN
,"
•
.
0
~
:''''
c
£
(
'.
,
.<
..... Route-; f rom the 13 Colo n ies
AFRICA
<
...... Route-; f rom En g land
..... Route-; f rom Africa
..... Route!; from the W e5t Indie5
II-
-.
..
,
The shipping routes between the colonies, England, and Africa were known as triangular trade routes.
'M"¥1:J'i' Use Routes From where were tobacco and rice shipped? To where were these products shipped?
Colonial Trade Routes
As the co lonial economy grew, cities
like Boston, New York, Ph iladel phia, and
Charleston became th riving trading centers.
An important part of colonial trade was the
slave trade. In this type of trade, ships brought
ca ptive Africans to the colonies, where they
were so ld and then forced to work as slaves.
Some trade routes became known as
triangular trade routes. These rou tes we re
ca ll ed ~ tr iangu la r w becau se they were shaped
like giant triangles. Look at the map on this
page and you wi ll see exam ples of the sl ave
t rade and t ria ngular t rade routes.
On one common t riangular trade route,
ships began in New England . They ca rried
guns and other goods to ports on the coast
of West Africa. Here, they t raded these
goods for gold and ca pt ive Afri cans.
The ship then sa il ed for the West Indies.
Because it was t he second leg of the voyage ,
thi s was known as the Middle Passage.
Ca ptive Africans suffered terribly during the
Middle Passage. Many died as a result of
hunger, thirst, disease, or cru el t reatment.
A West African boy nam ed Olaudah Equiano
(OL lIh dah ch kwcc A I-! noh) was proba bly
brought to North Ameri ca on a trad ing ship in
about 1 756. He later wrote a book about the
Middle Passage, writi ng that people we re
"so crowded that each had
scarcely room to turn
himself. •. many died."
206
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In the West Indies, the ships exchanged
ca ptive Africans and gold for sugar and
molasses, a syrup made from sugarcane. The
sh ips completed the triangle by carrying the
sugar and molasses back to colonial ports.
The molasses was used to make rum. And
with this rum, trading ships set sail for Afri ca,
beginning the triangular route over again.
Many Africans were enslaved in the West
Indies, where they were forced to work on
sugar plantations. Others were brought north
to the 13 Colonies.
liJii'.i;N
How were the first and second
legs of a t riangular trade route different?
<@ Compare and Contrast
Summarize the Lesson
• In the 1700s, many you ng people in
the colonies gained skills by working
as apprentices.
• While many colonists were farmers,
some men and women worked at a
wide variety of other jobs.
• Triangular trade routes developed with
Europe, Africa, and the West Indies .
.. Millions of enslaved Africans were held in this
building on Goree Island, off the coast of Senegal in
West Africa. The stairs led down to the ships that
carried them to the Americ as.
LESSON 1
REVIEW
Check Facts and Main Ideas
1. ~ Compare and Contrast On a separate
sheet of paper, complete this diagram
by comparing and contrasting the economies of two different colonial regions.
3. Wh ich region was known as '·the
breadbasket of the colonies"? Why?
4. Describe a common triangular trade
route. Where did the sh ips sail? What
did they carry from each port?
5. Critical Thinking: Make Decisions Think
about all the types of work described in
thi s lesson. If you were a colonist. which
wou ld you most like to do? Explain.
2. Explain the hardShips and benefits of
working as an apprentice.
Use a Map Scale Look at the map on
page 206. Suppose a trading ship sailed
from the 13 Colon ies to England to West
Africa to the West Indies and bac k to the
colonies. Using the map sca le, determine
about how many miles this ship would
have traveled.
207
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