ESPANSIONI DI TESTO

MODULE D - Life in the American Colonies (p. 180)

TASK
Read the text below and make notes on life in northern, middle, and southern colonies.
Then point out similarities and differences.

The village became an important part of the New England farm system. After a plot of ground had been set aside for a village green (later used for the church and school), a certain home lot was given to each settler. There he built his house and barn, planted his small vegetable garden, and fenced in a yard for his cows. Beyond the village the land was laid out in small, scattered fields.
This scheme of dividing land gave each farmer his fair share of both good and poor land, but he wasted much time in getting from one field to another. This system of dividing farm lands proved unsatisfactory and was gradually given up. Each farmer traded and bought land until he had all his holdings in one place. Besides the plots owned by individual farmers, pastures were set aside for the use of all the villagers.
Each farmer raised vegetables, barley, and rye. He also learnt to grow corn. He usually planted an orchard and raised apples, peaches, and pears. These his wife canned, dried, or made into butter for winter use. His livestock usually included a cow or two, a pair of plodding oxen for plowing and drawing his clumsy homemade cart, a few sheep, and as many pigs as he could afford.
The men and boys worked from sunrise to sunset, plowing, planting, harvesting, hunting, fishing, and making tools and implements. The women and girls cooked the meals, preserved foods, churned butter, cared for the house, tended the small children, made clothes for the entire household, and made soaps and candles as they were needed. Families were usually large, and every boy and girl was put to work at an early age.
The soil of the middle colonies was more fertile, the land was less hilly and rocky, and the climate was somewhat milder than in New England. Farmers here raised the same products as in New England, but wheat was their chief crop. The middle colonies produced larger surpluses than the northern colonies, however. This was because conditions were more favourable and the colonists, especially the Germans in Pennsylvania, knew more about fertilizing their soil and getting better yields. The surplus crops were sold to the colonists farther south or were exported to the West Indies. Livestock was well cared for in the middle colonies.
Hired hands were needed now and then, but such workers were scarce and their wages high. Using black slaves was unsatisfactory because the tasks for the small-scale farm with its many kinds of crops were too difficult for them.
For years tobacco was the chief product of the South. The demand for tobacco, particularly by the English, made the southern plantation possible. Large owners forced the small tenant farmers to give up their land and move westward. As plantation developed, black slaves were employed more and more. By 1860 there were as many black slaves as white indentured servants. After that, they steadily increased in numbers and were doing all the heavy labor. The southern planter did none of the actual labor. He lived leisurely, working only at planning, hiring overseers, buying and trading slaves, selling his crops to the London merchants, and purchasing imported goods. He lived like an English gentleman and spent his spare time in reading or amusement. Nevertheless he was usually clever, eager to get ahead, energetic and capable.
Herds of a thousand cattle or more were common in the southern colonies. So were large numbers of sheep and hogs. The weather was mild all year round, and the cattle needed no shelter.
In many of the colonies, religion was the most important influence in the lives of the settlers, and affected all their actions. In New England, for example, the Sabbath began at three o' clock Saturday afternoon and lasted until sundown Sunday. During this period, everyone was expected to spend as much time as he could alone and devote himself to thoughts of God, and prayer. Traveling, cutting hair, shaving, making beds, and cooking were forbidden.
Nearly all the colonists were superstitious, and put much faith in signs, charms, and omens. They believed that the Devil walked the earth and could bewitch men, women, and children. Scolding women were said to be possessed of evil spirits and were accused of bewitching or bringing misfortune to others. In 1692 a witchcraft scare resulted in a number of death in Salem.

(Abridged from The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 3, by Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, Chicago, Ill.,1963.)