What Systems Developed in the

Colonies?Unit 4, Lesson 5

AGENDA• Vocabulary• Free Market

Economy• Child’s life• Apprentices• Slaves

mercantilism• an economic system centered around the belief that a government can make a nation more prosperous by regulating trade and using tariffs and other protective measures to achieve a balance of exports over imports.

• Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/mercantilism#fKEdgyq2zEtEPqkh.99

mercantilism

artisan• (noun) a skilled worker

who makes thing by hand

apprentice• (noun) a person who

learns a skill or trade from an experienced worker

journeyman• (noun) a trained worker

who is employed by someone else

town common• (noun) an open space in

the center of a town where cattle and sheep could graze

free-market economy• (noun) a system in which

prices are not controlled by the government

Free-Market Economy

The colonies are a free-market system. This

means that the king had little to no control over

the economy in the colonies (at first).

*Each colony had its own government and they made everyday decisions*Conflicts between the English and colonists didn’t begin until later when the English began trying to control the finances of the colonists (taxes, trade,fees, etc.)

MercantilismMercantilism is an economic philosophy the British followed. It says…1. A country (Great Britain) can get rich by having more

colonies

2. The colony should supply raw materials and the mother country should manufacture goods and sell them back to the colony

3. The mother country should export more than it imports

4. The mother country should control all trade

ApprenticesChildren would go to school until the age of around 7. Then, they worked

on the family farm or became an apprentice, learning a trade and

working for free. *Room, clothing, and food paid for

*At 21 you could work as a journeyman or try to start your own business

Indentured-ServantsA person that

could not pay for their trip to

America would have his or her voyage paid for

and then be indentured to a family or master

for several years.

SlavesSlavery Begins:

The growth of the tobacco industry creates the need for

slave labor*Plantations system begins (crops such as rice, indigo, and cotton required cheap labor also)*Were often taught a trade, but never had the opportunity to run their own business

In 1640 there are less than 200

slaves in Virginia, but by 1700 there

are more than 28,000 slaves in

Virginia.