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Toolbox Library, primary resources thematically organized with notes and discussion questionsOnline Seminars, professional development seminars for history and literature teachersBecoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763
Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763
Theme: GrowthTheme: PeoplesTheme: EconomiesTheme: IdeasTheme: American
Theme: Economies






ECONOMIES




Framing Questions
  •  What were the local, regional, and global economies of pre-revolutionary America in the 1700s?
  •  How did they influence the colonies—their self-determination and sense of the future?
  •  How did they shape the lives of individuals—free, bonded, and enslaved?


1.  Commerce I» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- American perspectives on the colonies' commercial ties with Great Britain: the Observations of Benjamin Franklin & William Clarke, 1751, 1755
- European perspectives on Great Britain's commercial ties with the colonies: six views, 1699-1760
- Map: Herman Moll, This Map of North America, ca. 1715-1720

2.  Commerce II» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- "Money matters and affairs of trade": snapshots of colonial economies, 1705-1762
- Rev. Cotton Mather, Theopolis Americana [God's City: America]. An Essay . . . against the Corruptions of the Market-Place, sermon, 1709, excerpts

3.  Merchants» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Merchants satirized in poetry: Ebenezer Cooke, "The Sot-Weed Factor," 1707
- Merchants satirized in dialogue: Lewis Morris, Dialogue Concerning Trade, 1726, excerpts
- Merchants satirized in art

4.  Consumers» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Benjamin Franklin on wealth, luxury, and virtue, selections, 1727-1784
- Luxury consumer goods
- Home interiors of the wealthy

5.  Planters» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Diary of William Byrd II of Virginia, selections, 1709-1712
- Diary of Landon Carter of Virginia, selections, 1758
- Portraits from the Virginia Historical Society

6.  Servitude» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- "Slaves for life, and servants for a time": the economics and legalities of servitude—five perspectives, 1705-1750



Images:
- Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson, A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina, 1751, detail of cartouche. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division, #G3880 1755 .F72 Vault.
- J. Carwitham, A south east view of the great town of Boston in New England in America, engraving, ca. 1730, detail. Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Digital ID #465401.
- John Moulinar, silver teapot, made in New York, NY, ca. 1755-1770. Yale University Art Gallery, Mabel Brady Carvan Collection, 1930-1047. Permission pending.



ECONOMIES
1. Commerce I   2. Commerce II   3. Merchants
4. Consumers   5. Planters   6. Servitude








TOOLBOX: Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763
Growth | Peoples | Economies | Ideas | American


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