What Was The Nature Of Native American Economies

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Prior to European colonization the Native American’s economies were base on self-contained community through adapting to their natural surrounding, and molding their culture in ways that’s best for their survival. Depending on the tribes’ location their economies are all slightly different, but almost all of them have their own form of agriculture culture. In the southwest and southeast regions of North America, Native Americans focuses more on agriculture, ceramic industry, cotton material clothing, basket weaving, and sedentary village life. In the Northwest Pacific coast, native people focus their economies around cedar and salmon. To the east from the great plain of the mid continent to the Atlantic tidewater region, Native Americans focuses on agriculture, food gathering, and gaming hunting. They have also adopted semi-fixed settlements and developed a trading network that goes through vast regions across North America. They trade goods found in their local environments like ceremonial blades, breastplates, and ornaments made from chipped rocks and animal bones, and weapons fashioned from copper nuggets, and conch shells. In the northeast woodlands, the natives focus on fishing and agriculture, and trading with the other tribes (RWB, pg. 11-15)

In the Native American culture, women in agriculture are in charge of gathering, cultivating, planting, and harvesting the crops, while the men clears the lands. In fur trade/hunting, men are in charge of trapping and hunting, while women are in charge of tanning the hides. (Class notes, April 3, 2013)

The Native Americans affected the colonial economies in five major ways. By trading partners (ex: furs and other goods), teaching them how to grow food on what’s foreign soil to the Europeans (agriculture), having war with them (mostly as an economic drain), a source of labor (slavery, life long servant, and "praying villages"), and finally introducing the use of wampum as a form of currency.

What was the Nature of the colonial labor force in the U.S., and what were the most important kinds of work arrangements?

The colonial labor force in the U.S. back then consists of the free population, indentured servants, redemptioners, prisoners, and slaves. The free populations are those who came to America on their own free will and funds. Back then; just by coming across they will be eligible for land grants (H&C, pg. 10). "These immigrants are usually some sort of artisans like merchants, sailors, carters and draymen, and scholars" (H&C, pg. 10).

Indenture servants are individuals who are "contracted to do certain work for a term of years (usually four to seven) in return for transportation across the Atlantic and specified payments, mainly food, clothing, hosing, or perhaps some education or training in a craft or skill" (H&C, pg. 11). They usually work in the agricultural (like an apprentice), and plantation. "The most common listed occupations were farmers, artisan, unskilled laborer, and domestic servants" (H&C, pg. 11).

Redemptioners are immigrants from the main continent who were "brought by ship captains who allowed them time to arrange to pay for their passage after arrival" (H&C, pg. 11). Placing one or more of the redemptioners’ children into indentured servitude are usually the way to pay back the ship captains. Another method of getting labor to America was to sending convicted felons, the prisoners. They are the less common and popular group of immigrants. Prisoners are usually sold at the dockside as indentured servants. Lastly, the African slaves; "they were human beings without the right to contract their own labor…[Their service] were for life, and children, if born to a slave mother, were slaves for life…" as well. (H&C, pg 12). Slaves usually work in the south on tobacco, rice, cotton, and indigo plantation.

90% of colonists were in agriculture while 10% work in trade, shipping, and as artisans. In the Northeast, people have difficult farming so they focus producing lumbers, maple syrups, spinning and weaving (putting out system), and fishing. The middle colonies focus on wheat, flower, livestock, and leather, wood, and glass trades. Finally, the south focuses more on plantation crops such as rice, indigo, tobacco, and cotton. (Class notes, April 8, 2013)

Were American colonists economically exploited by the British prior to the American Revolution?

The British definitely exploited American colonists before the American Revolution. For the British, the colonies were fulfilling their mercantilist role. They provided imperial self-sufficiency for the British by proving products that are not available domestically. The colonists generate export earnings outside of the empire; especially true for the tobacco industry. And they provide a market for England’s exports by forbidden colonists from producing something or purchasing from "non-British" empire. (Class notes, April 10, 2013)

The to ensure profitability, the British established many trade laws for America, such as the 1651, 1660, 1662, and 1663 Acts of Trade and Navigation. These trade acts have three key provisions. First, "it limits all trade to be carried in vessels build, owned, and commended by English or colonist and crewed with at least ¾ English or colonists". Second, "all foreign trade have to go thru England (this ensures jobs and profits in England)". Lastly, "enumerated commodities could be exported ONLY to England such as tobacco, sugar, cotton, dyewood, indigo etc". (Class notes, April 10, 2013) These provisions protect the British market from non-British competitions, and provide subsidies for industries such as the indigo, tar, pitch, turpentine, and lumber industry. However, the lower the price and lessen the profits on colonial exporters.