Abdelmalek Souad

Group 124

UFC Tebessa

First Year Technical English

American civilization

The economic activities in the New England colonies

United states {1620-1686}

One of the main reasons the British migrated from New England to colonial America
was because they were looking for economic opportunities. their resources were
untouched, and people had the opportunity to get rich off of them.

The New England colonies are the colonies of North America. These include
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

Factors That Affected The Economic Activities of New England Colonies

Mercantilism is an economic system where wealth accumulation and positive trade

balance are considered crucial for a nation’s economic health. Here, wealth meant
possession of precious metals such as gold and silver. And positive trade balance means a
colony is exporting more than importing. But the mercantilism was bad for the colonists
and allowed Europe to exploit them for its welfare. Europe’s government took valuable
raw materials from the colonists and manufactured goods in London. Then, they sold it
back to the colonists at a much higher price. Britain made a ton of profit off the colonists’
backs and strengthened its economy. Meanwhile, the poorer colonists remained poor and
had no way of succeeding.

Natural Resources

A country’s economy prospers when it has abundant production and export resources.
The New England colonies had acres and acres of forested land. This provided the New
England colonists with timber for building houses, ships, etc.
They also had an abundant supply of iron used in shipbuilding, and their mining industry
flourished. The ships they built were used for exporting goods. And the colonists also made
a lot of rum, which was important in the triangular trade.

Since the colonies stretched along the coast of the Atlantic and the geography allowed
great harbors to be built, the colonists took up fishing and whaling. This also developed
into a major industry.

Climate
The climate impacted farming in the north. The New England colonies had bitterly cold
winters and rocky soil, making farming impossible.
The cold winters were long, while the summers were shorter, making the growing season
shorter. This is why the colonists couldn’t rely on growing cash crops for economic
development and only practiced subsistence farming.

Navigation Acts
The navigation acts were a series of rules and regulations imposed by the government of
England on the American colonists. These rules were an attempt to control trade and
establish a monopoly on American goods.
The 1620s were years of severe depression in England. So, they forced the colonies to
produce essential commodities needed by their mother country. The navigation acts were :
1. The trade of all goods had to be carried out on British ships, and most of the crew
had to be British.
2. Gold and silver were fixed, which meant if someone wanted to gain wealth, it had
to be at the expense of others.
3. The enumerated goods by Great Britain were specific products that the colonies
had to buy from the mother country. The colonies were not allowed to produce
their goods.
4. The government of England imposed taxes on all goods shipping from Europe to
America. The colonists had to pay duty on all imports.
This improved the economy of England but down graded the economy of the New England
colonies.
Major Economic Activities in The New England Colonies
Due to the factors mentioned above, these became the major economic activities in the
New England colonies.

Trade was important for the New England economy, though whaling, trapping, and
farming also played a vital part. .

Subsistence Farming
Subsistence farming is only growing enough food to feed the farmer’s family. The
southern colonies got rich by growing cash crops because they had a suitable climate.

Due to the unsuitable climate and geography, colonists could not afford large-scale
farming. So they relied on subsistence farming and raising livestock. They only grew
enough to feed their families and had little to no surplus.

They made money by trading the fur and meat of the livestock on their farm.

Shipbuilding
There was a huge supply of timber due to the large forests. This made it easy for the
lumber industry to grow, and iron mining was also rising in the north. Iron ore and wood
are the two most vital things for building ships and boats.

So, the shipbuilding industry flourished, and there was a boom in trading and fishing.

Triangular Trade
The triangular trade was extremely lucrative, which attracted many colonies to it. It was
also known as the Atlantic slave trade. The raw materials (sugar, cotton, etc.) were
exported to New England towns, which exported the manufactured goods (guns and
textiles) to Africa in exchange for enslaved people.

The New England colonies bought slaves from Africa in return for rum and sold the slaves
to the West Indies in exchange for molasses. This is how many New England shippers and
traders got rich.
Fishing and Whaling
With the Atlantic ocean at their disposal, fishing and whaling became the main economic
activities in the north. This particular industry was largely dependent on the ocean.