How Had Colonial Economy Developed In Brit Colony 1740 Flashcards
(6 cards)
What are some examples of economic diversification in the colonies ?
Industrial enterprise: textiles, iron and shipbuilding
- encouraged British credit and population growth
More money= more land to exploit to produce crops most notably Tobacco
What did Britian settlers in the east do ?
Settled near the tidewater coast and some move inland to the backcountry
- encouraged to move towards interior by British government who wanted to see prosperity
Lead to a consumer revolution with colonists buying goods from Britain
Why was Mercantalism so important ?
What was a negative of the system ?
- provided Britain with raw materials, market for Britian goods and employment through the shipping industry + could collect customs duties on enumerated goods such as Tabasco and cotton
- mutually beneficial as it gave the colonists a protected market to Britian and the Empire
Negative: government passed navigation Acts 1651-73 by Parliament only English ships could transport colonial goods
However this was loosely enforced
Was the mercantilist system loosely or strongly enforced ?
Loosely so it didn’t anger colonists much
- the high duties levied from the Naviatgion Acts were rarely collected
- often deputies sent to collect the levied would be bribed
Overall the colonists benefited and support the system
How was there industrial growth within the colonists
Economic diversification of industrial enterprise including textiles, ship building and iron production
Encouraged credit and environment from Britian
How were there agricultural developments within the colonies ?
- 90% of population farmed for a living
- middle and southern saw the most activity
Middle: wheat and flour explored to other colonies and across the Atlantic
South: slaves used and Tabasco was most important export, Tabasco export grew from £14m in 1670s to £100m by the 1770s
New England: not much as the soil was poor but it exported fish and in return recidivism sugar and molasses
