Life in Colonial America

American Colonial Life Overview

The Virginia Company in London was the first English voyage to America. The company got royal approval, or a charter, from King James I in 1606. Their first settlement was Jamestown in what they named Virginia.

Life in Colonial America: Family

Most of the first settlers in Jamestown were men. Women followed a few years later. However, the lifespan in early colonial Jamestown was short and multiple marriages became the custom. Families encountered a host of problems, as outlined in this 1622 letter from colonist Sebastian Brandt:

Brandt writes of the death of his wife and brother and the frequent illnesses that ran through the colony. Despite these issues, the family was the unit of colonial life. Families were necessary to increase the population and reproduce the labor force.

Life in Colonial America: Education

In the seventeenth century, few children went to school. This was true in England as well as America. If children did attend school, it was only for a short time before they went and took up their family trades. For example, Benjamin Franklin learned how to read and write at home and began school at age 8. When he was ten years old, Franklin left school and learned his father’s candle and soap-making trade.

Importance of American Colonial Life

Living in early colonial America was not easy and colonists had little of the required knowledge to thrive. Harsh winters, summer droughts, death, and disease hindered progress for earlier settlers. Jamestown in Virginia sat in a swamp that hosted unfamiliar diseases. The Tsenacomoco tribe used the nearby fertile lands for farming and hunting. They resisted English attempts to take their land in the Anglo-Powhatan War (1609–14).

Life in Colonial America: Clothing and Food

Clothing and feeding the family was a challenge for early colonists. Settlers were responsible for either buying or making their clothing. While settlements close to seaports could import clothing from England, others made their own. In New England, for example, people often made their own cloth. Most colonists did not wear delicate fabrics like wool and silk; these were reserved for the wealthy.

Illustration of Captain John Smith, Wikimedia Commons.

Early settlers struggled to feed themselves as they adapted to the new landscape. Keeping an abundant food supply was difficult. Captain John Smith enacted a "no work, no eat" policy to force all new settlers to work in Jamestown. However, later on, colonists would find little trouble in staying fed. While no refrigeration was available, the abundant natural resources and wildlife became integral to the colonists' food supply.

Life in Colonial America: Life Expectancy

Life expectancy for settlers was not high. Soaring mortality rates dominated early settlements like Jamestown. Jamestown saw fifty percent of its inhabitants die in their first few months. While adult mortality was volatile, infant mortality was even more fragile. In Massachusetts, colonist Cotton Mather saw nine of his children perish before they turned two. In colonial America, disease was one of the leading causes of death in infants.

Life in Colonial America: Success or Disaster?

You might be asked to consider whether the English colonies were successful or not. When answering, you need to consider the different definitions of success and how success to some people might mean disaster to others.

For example, early successes in trade with Native Americans turned hostile as colonists sought to expand their wealth by taking over fertile lands. Their colonization was undoubtedly an economic and territorial success but came at the heavy price of Native American lives and land.

Here are some successes and disasters to think about.

Women’s Life in Colonial America

Women's experiences varied based on location and ethnicity. Wives from Puritan New England rarely worked with their husbands in farming or other hard labor. But in Pennsylvania, German women often worked in fields and farms. Women were generally responsible for caring for the household, raising children, sewing, and creating household goods. Women often knew how to read the Bible but were not taught to write.

A woman spinning in a colonial home, Wikimedia Commons.

Once women were married, they would be considered subservient to their husbands. Large families were encouraged as children became additional workers for the family. However, many women did not survive childbirth, and if they did, infant mortality was high. Colonial life expectancy also took a toll on husbands, leaving many women widows.

Widows in colonial America had the right to make contracts and own property, giving them a degree of power. Overall, women’s rights in colonial America remained minimal, with their identity tied to their fathers or husbands. This was in line with attitudes towards women in Europe.