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Life in the British Colonies
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Vocabulary
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broker
dock
southern colonies
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Key Concepts
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Once tobacco
was grown in the Colonies, plantations became very important to the
economy of the southern colonies.
Plantations also grew other cash crops like rice,
and indigo. The first plantations were usually built along
a river.
The river was used as a highway to transport crops to market,
and goods to the plantation. Plantations on a river had their own dock
for loading and unloading boats. Plantations that were not on a river
were connected by roads to another plantation. slaves lived near by in small
buildings.
Kitchens were usually in a separate building because of the danger of
fire. Crops were stored in sheds, and the livestock
were kept in barns. Plantations were self-sufficient.
Each plantation had its own blacksmith's shop,
and laundry. Money was rarely used in the Southern
Colonies. Instead, crops were traded. Crop buyers traveled up
and down southern waterways
with their boats filled with British made goods. Planters would trade
their tobacco, rice and indigo for shoes, lace, thread, farm tools and
dishes.
Very large plantations did not sell their own crops. Planters of very large
plantations sold their crops through a broker
in Britain.
A broker is a person who is paid to buy and sell for someone else. Planters
sent their crops to Britain with a list of things they wanted the broker
to buy for them. The broker sold the crops, bought what the planter
wanted, and then sent the goods back to the colonies. |
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A Southern Plantation
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Additional Information
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planter's house
- The family of the plantation owner lived in a great house
with many rooms and many servants. The house was usually built of brick
and had a long lawn that led to the river. self-sufficient
- Most plantations had a smokehouse for smoking meat. Smoking
meat preserved the meat, since there were no refrigerators. The cooper
made barrels. Tobacco was packed in barrels called "hogsheads."
To keep everyone fed, the plantation grew its own vegetables, corn,
and wheat. It also raised its own livestock
for the planter's family. small buildings
- Slaves lived in cabins built near the fields. |
