Chesapeake Bay Homes in Colonial Times by Hans D.

Home building was a community effort and quite a social event due to scarce labor. Folks helped each other and shared tools. The tools they used generally came from England and many of them resemble tools carpenters still use today

As colonists became more affluent, they built houses more like the middle-class houses they had known in England. Eventually, more elaborate houses were built as colonists climbed the social ladder and had the money for these elegant homes - many of which still exist.

Furniture was mostly home made unless one was wealthy enough to be able to import furniture from England. Early homes did not have clothes closets but used large, homemade chests or hung clothes on pegs. Early beds did not have mattresses - only leaves or reeds covered with a comforter. Later on feathers and rags came to be used as mattresses.

Rugs, curtains, sheets or mirrors were rare in 17th century homes. The fireplace was the center of family life and essential for heat and light. "In the evening the entire family gathered round the fire - the women and older girls spinning or sewing and, as life became less difficult, there was time to do more elaborate sewing, quilting and needlework. The men and boys spent their evenings mending tools or carving new ones. Not only did they make ax handles, shovels and plows (if they were farmers) but also broom sticks, butter paddles, plates, spoons, and cups for household use.

2)  http://www.takus.com/architecture/1colonial.html

English Colonial

The first settlers on the eastern seaboard were from England. Although others followed particularly from France, Germany, and Scandinavia, the English prevailed in language, custom, and architecture.

The first residential buildings were Medieval in style because that is all the settlers knew. Houses in England, since at least the 13th century had been timber framed, because there was an abundance of oak. The timber frame was made from halved, or cleft, timbers rather than complete logs. The gaps between timbers were infilled with panels, saplings woven into flat mats and covered in clay, called "wattle and dob."  Roofs were made of thatch. Colonist brought this method to America: a timber frame with a skin made of local materials, in New England, wood, and in Virginia, brick.

The first basic house, in the 1600s, was a one story two room (hall and parlor) house with a central chimney. This evolved into a two story, four room building. By 1700, the salt-box evolved with a shed-like addition on the back. By 1740, the shed had become a full story, or a four-on-four room house. This, with a central hall with stair case, is the basic plan outline. The standard Colonial design, with a symmetrical front -- with a central door and two windows on either side, and five windows across the  second floor -- remains the most popular architectural plan in the United States today. It traveled west with the pioneers.

In New England, there was usually one chimney in the middle. In Virginia and the Southern colonies, there were often two chimneys -- one at either end of the house -- to direct the heat outwards. Today, a standard Colonial design has one chimney located conveniently to provide for the hearth in the living room and the furnace beneath it in the basement.

As settlers had began to think about aesthetics over basic shelter, and their houses were evolving from one and two room shelters, they looked to England for new ideas. England was ablaze with exciting architectural development. London had burned in 1666, and Christopher Wren was instrumental in its rebuilding. The style he and his predecessor, Indigo Jones, introduced is now called Baroque.

Religion in the Chesapeake Colonies by Andrea R

     The colonists had many forms of religions to choose from. Most religions that were available had some form of Christianity. Chesapeake colonists’ passion was their tobacco crops. The excitement that other settlers had for religion was not such excitement in the Chesapeake colonies.

     Protestant was the religion that was prominent in the region. This religion followed the doctrines of the Church of England.  It was expected of all the followers to go to church on Sunday, it was required by law. There were also church courts that would condemn wrong doing. One of the problems faced by the church was the lack of organization. The church was governed from London. The needs in England were different in these colonies. The problems in the colonies did not relate to its necessities. Any person that wanted to become a priest had to go to England for the education. Many colonists did not want to take that career path and many priests trained in England did not want to have to go live in the Chesapeake colonies.

     The weakness in the church of the colonies had a positive effect on other religions that moved to the colonies. The church required religions to register at the local parish. One of the requirements was that weddings were held by the local priest. Other than that, religions were free to worship as they wanted to.

     Virginia’s colonists had to worship the Church of England, it was the law and they had to maintain it with taxes. It lines between the government and religion was unclear. The gentleman of Virginia did not like the authorities of religion’s power centralized. So they took the power of the parish and courts and this way gaining control over it.

     Maryland had many Catholics. The Roman Catholic Church was officially the Church of England up until 1534. After an argument with the Pope the king decided to pass a law that made him the head of the church. It became the Church of England. After this happened Lord Baltimore went to America and established a colony were the catholic people could go and could be free from the Church of England. The Catholics that had arrived to Maryland were escaping religious discrimination. But as the population grew the colony was still nominally Protestants.

     Anglicans did not like the religious view of Native Americans and most Africans. They tried to get them to be supportive of their religion and beliefs. The Indians maintained firmness against Christianity. But they did get some Africans to start going to their established churches.

     The Chesapeake slaves began following Christianity. They attended meetings and listened to preachers. The Baptist and Methodists took them in. Christianity helped them believe that there would be an end to their slavery and liberation in the end.

     Most colonists went to church every Sunday like they were supposed to. Sometimes it was more of a socializing scene than anything else. Faith was a private issue and discussed between family members.

     Maryland and Virginia were both tobacco colonies, this shared devotion made them very similar in very aspects, religion was one of them.

Murrin, J., Johnson, P., et al. Liberty, Equality, Power. A History of the American People. Fifth Edition. Thomson Wadsworth 2008.

Education in the Chesapeake Colonies by Ashleigh H.

The Chesapeake colonies were a tobacco-producing and money driven society. A crop that required many laborers and much time and effort left education of their young at the wayside. There were no urban centers most appropriate for schools, so families had to do their best to teach their children basic reading, writing, and mathematics. Wealthy planters might employ tutors and have plantation schools for their children and neighbors (Land, 1983). Some financially prosperous planters chose to send their children to preparatory schools and colleges in Europe.

The people in London province raised funds to erect the second higher learning institution in British North America, the College of William and Mary, which was founded in 1693. It was built just 5 miles from what would become Williamsburg, Virginia. (“Hornbook Virginia,” 1965). It still stands today as a prestigious university which educated many well-known people in American history. Public elementary education was addressed by Thomas Jefferson in the Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge in the 1770s. This would give 3 years of basic elementary education in reading, writing, and mathematics for all children. Virginia lagged behind other colonies in terms of public education (Rubin, 1977).

(Image:College of William and Mary, 1723)

References

A Brief History of Virginia. (1965). In J. Macgruder et al. (Eds.), A Hornbook of Virginia History (p. 68). Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library Publications

Land, A. C., (1983). Provential Maryland. In R. Walsh & W. Fox. (Eds.), Maryland, a History (p. 35). Baltimore, Maryland: Press of Schneidereith & Sons.

Rubin, L.D., (1977). The Revolutionary Era. In J. Smith et al. (Eds.), Virginia (p. 86). New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Trade in the Chesapeake Colonies by Karen C.

Trade in the Chesapeake Colonies
Despite John Smith’s statement, “As for tobacco, we never then dreamt of it”, Pocahontas’s husband to be, John Rolfe began planting West Indian tobacco seeds in 1612 (Roark et al., 2009, p. 77). The plant grew wild and Native Americans had cultivated small quantities for years. In fact, Columbus observed the natives “drinking smoke” during his first voyage (Roark et al., 2009, p. 77). Little did he know the impact this crop would have on the coming colonies, Europe, and the entire world for centuries.
A market for tobacco was readily available across the ocean. In 1616 the colonies exported 2500 lbs of leaf. This number grew to 50,000 lbs in just two years and became the “economic salvation of colony”(Breuer, 2011). The demand continued and “by the end of the seventeenth century, England was importing more than 20,000,000 pounds of colonial tobacco per year” (“Economic aspects of tobacco, n.d, para. 8). Consequently, both Maryland and Virginia “shared a devotion to tobacco” (Roark et al., 2009, p.87).
Tobacco production was indeed successful and profitable, but problems would soon be identified. The crop “exhausts” the land and necessitated new fields (Breuer, 2011). Land was readily available, but labor soon became a problem. Tobacco cultivation contributed to increased immigration thanks to the headright policy, indentured servitude and slavery, and westward land expansion and tensions with natives. Problems continued later in the seventeenth century as supply outweighed demand and mortality rates decreased among planters and servants. Centuries later, tobacco continues to be subject of controversy and debate.
Breuer, K. (2011). The Chesapeake colonies: Virginia and Maryland [PowerPoint presentation]. Retrieved from https://elearn.uta.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_100966_1%26url%3D
Roark, J., Johnson, M., Cohen, P., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.(2009). The American Promise (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Tobacco.org. (n.d.). Economic aspects of tobacco during the colonial period 1612-1776. Retrieved from http://www.tobacco.org/History/colonialtobacco.html

Slavery by Greta C.

Many of the slaves in the Chesapeake (or mid Atlantic region) interacted with whites frequently, much as was the case in the North. However, these slaves had less autonomy and suffered harsh treatment more often. They were better supervised than their low country counterparts being that they worked in tiny groups on smaller plantations. Just as was the case in the lower south, there was antagonism between different groups of slaves. The economy was built and maintained on the lash-scarred backs of unwilling slaves.  They were viciously whipped for the slightest infraction, but not to the extent they perished, because they were property and represented an investment.  Also treated as pieces of property, slave women frequently were raped by their white owners, sometimes as their husbands watched, helplessly.  It was a social system built on the total humiliation of one group of people by another, the dehumanization of other human beings.

Some of America’s most revered leaders and founders, George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were themselves slave owners.  Jefferson inherited some 250 slaves from his father and father-in-law.  Despite his professed objection to slavery in principle, he kept slaves until his death.

http://www.nytimes.com

CliffsNotes.com. Chesapeake Colonies: Virginia, Maryland. 14 Mar 2011
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-25073,articleId-25011.html>.

Hygiene in the Chesapeake Colonies by Shyra W.

Along with a lot of the colonies hygiene wasn’t on the top of their priority list. The water used for washing had to be used for more than one person. Most people that brushed their teeth, took a bath, washed their hair was done on special occasions or once every couple of weeks. Unlike today’s society taking care of their personal hygiene wasn’t something done a regular basis.

As parents we are concerned with how our childrens appear to the public but back in the early colonies parents’ concerns were more on making the food, trading goods and bossing the servants than taking care of their childrens personal appearance. Mothers were more focused on the fathers work and making sure the father was taken care of than the children and the children having clean hair, clean teeth or bodies.

From my research people back then didn’t take good care of their personal hygiene and smelling bad was something that was normal as everyone smelt the same way. 

Reference

OPPapers.com, Joining. "Personal Hygiene - Term Papers - Evonev." Free Term Papers, Research Papers, Essays, Book Reports | OPPapers.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. <http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Personal-Hygiene/605573>.

Mintz, Steven. Digital History. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/mothersfathers.cfm>.

Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTlN-4fdgcgulMiz2LS4lgCoxvdRwNwLnYFRP1u-yRnWWm7MpgaokYxly7q>.