Regional Distinctions in 17th and 18 Century Colonial Society 584

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1. Regional distinctions in 17th and 18 century colonial society 584

There are major differences between the 17th and the 18th centuries, in various fronts. A similarity in the economic front between the centuries is that the economy was agriculture dependent. However, the difference is in the crops that were considered staple, with the 17th century considering tobacco as the staple crop while the 18th century had cotton as its staple crop (Eric, 9). The labor force in the 7th century was mainly indentured servitude comprising of white servants while this changed in the 18th century to slave labor, with African who were imported (Eric, 21). In the social stratification front, the Southern planters were on the top of social class with large crop farms and the small farmers with less land coming in second. The Europeans were at the top of the social cadre, with the Native Americans and the Africans following in that order. The wealthy whites could hire the poor Europeans for indentured servitude, while the Africans belonged predominantly to the slave class. Colonies were formed based on religious beliefs, with the growth in religious freedom being higher in the 18th century than it was in the 17th century. The regions of New England and the Middle colonies were less economically prosperous compared to the Chesapeake Bay Colonies and the Lower South. Organization of the labor force was such that there was more freedom for laborers in the New England and the Middle colonies, as opposed to the other two regions (Eric, 58). This labor force freedom was more in the 18th century more than in the 17th century.

2. How Tobacco cultivation shaped the maturation of colonial society in the Chesapeake 1620-1775.

The introduction of tobacco as a stable crop occurred in 1613. The decision to cultivate Tobacco as a staple food shaped the maturation of the colonies by introducing slave labor to replace the indentured servitude that...