Land for Free

With so much land to be developed, the King back in England gives away large tracts to people willing to encourage settlement. These people act as managers for the colonies, dispensing land as they see fit.

The first royal grant, called a charter, goes to the company which manages the Jamestown settlement, in Virginia. The next is awarded to the company which sponsors the Massachusetts colony, centered in Boston.

The charters grant title to the land at no cost. The owner of the charter then attempts to lure settlers with offers of free transportation from England, plus a free plot of land, in return for several years of labor without pay.

As settlement continues, additional charters are granted to supporters of the King for colonies in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Carolina and Georgia. The view here shows the extent of colonial settlement by 1750.
Colonial land grants, 1700s

  Encouraging Wider Settlement
By 1750, settlements have spread to fill in most of New England, but Virginia and the Chesapeake are still slow to develop. The King has recently given new grants of land (in the areas labelled above) to wealthy friends and supporters, to promote settlement and (sometimes) repay royal debt. The grant recipients then give plots to the first settlers, and sell plots thereafter. Settlers are often poor, and willing to trade their labor for land. They usually agree to work for five to seven years with no pay, in return for a plot of land ranging up to 100 acres. 

New England exports, 1750

  Fish and Lumber
In 1750, the New England colonies have two main export products. Food is grown everywhere, of course, for daily needs. But there is little else that can be traded for imports except lumber and fish. New Hampshire is thick with virgin forest, just waiting to be cut for timber products (center). Further north, the Maine coast is dotted with a smattering of fishing villages. Fishermen sail to the coast to Newfoundland, bringing back cod which they dry in the sun, on wooden racks (top right). Dried cod is prized in Europe, because it magically returns to an almost-fresh condition when soaked in water. New Hampshire and Maine are still legally part of the Massachusetts colony.


Germans in Philadelphia, 1727-1775

  Non-English Arrivals
This period is shaped by the first great wave of immigrants to America who speak no English. Germans come flooding into Philadelphia (lower right), fleeing war-torn Europe. From there, they flow west to found new farming communities, where their descendants are still commonly called the 'Pennsylvania Dutch,' though most are from southern Germany. A smaller group settles in upstate New York. There are 100,000 German settlers by the late 1700s, which averages out to one or two boatloads of Germans arriving every month, for 50 years. The Germans keep pretty much to themselves, living on German-style farms (top right) on inland sites that had not previously been settled (BLUE highlights on map).


Scots-Irish in the Carolinas, 1700-1800

  Opening up the Carolinas
Tobacco remains king in Virginia, but requires a large plantation and many slaves to make a good profit. It also wears out the thin Virginia soil very quickly. Consequently, entire plantations have to keep moving inland to new land, bringing their slaves along to clear the land. These factors drive many smaller planters out of the tobacco business, and south into largely vacant territory along the coast of South Carolina. They establish rice plantations in low-lying coastal areas, which are swampy far inland (BLUE areas). Rice is shipped out from the new port of Charleston, which also imports fresh slaves from Caribbean sugar plantations.  Meanwhile, Scots-Irish immigrants (top right) come down the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia, to settle along upland rivers (GREEN).


Colonial Williamsburg, 1700

  New Virginia Capital
Jamestown is the capital and business center of Virginia until about 1700, when the capital is moved to higher ground at Williamsburg. The new Royal Governor's residence (top right) is grander than anything seen before in Virginia, and sets the tone for royal control of the colonies. The King feels it's important to remind colonists that Mother England is the source of all economic vitality.  As the capital, Williamsburg becomes the new seat of government, where legislative issues are discussed by representatives from across the colony. But all the really important decisions are made in closed session in the Royal Governor's Council Chamber (center top). Only members of the most prominent plantation families are allowed to attend.


Caribbean sugar plantations, 1700s

  Caribbean Business
Slaves are important for Virginia tobacco plantations, but the slave trade from Africa is originally established to supply labor to sugar plantations on Caribbean islands, southeast of Florida. The semi-tropical heat of these islands is ideal for growing sugar cane, but African slaves are the only ones able to tolerate working in the humid heat. When sugar is refined, it also yields molasses, which can be turned into rum. This is the favored liquor in America, and is commonly drunk at all times of day. The great powers of Europe fight continuously over control of the islands, because sugar is so profitable, with an export value four times greater than that of Virginia tobacco. England is dominant, eventually importing two million slaves from Africa to work its sugar fields.