The patterns of American colonial life, specifically in the Massachusetts Bay colony, encapsulated the massive social, political, and economic shifts of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Factors including freedom of religious expression and increased opportunity for wealth or opportunity led many Europeans to immigrate to New England. Prominent figures and experiences of the entire Colonial Massachusetts Bay population as a whole are often times generalized onto those of the average colonist. Apart from diaries, letters, and other personal artifacts, historians have been able to construct newer theories about the lives of the average individual upon analyzing public and governmental records. This includes but is not limited
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A general overview of the growth of the White populations from 1660-1770 as seen in Source 1 indicates a steady growth in total population. Upon a closer examination, one will notice the decreasing average annual growth rate for every following year. Though the total population increases every decade, the average annual growth compared to the previous year is substantially less. This can partially be explained through a deeper investigation of the rate in which children survived every decade. Children born in in the 1650s were more likely to survive to at least age ten , compared to their 1700 and 1750s counterparts whom experienced a reduced rate of survival. This phenomenon could be explained in part due to the fact that the average age in which females were getting married ranged from eighteen to twenty one. Because children were being born by their mothers at a very young age, the average female’s ability to conceive, reproduce and recover rather quickly prompted them to average five to seven births per each marriage. Despite the abundance of children being born in the 1650s, who lived to surpass age ten, they were unable to reach age twenty. As one of the first groups to arrive and settle in the Massachusetts Bay area, acclimating to the new environment could have been difficult for first-time arrivers of the …show more content…
The Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III, which restricted further colonial encroachment past the Appalachian Mountains could have served as a potential blockade to the growing need for expansion. As the statistical evidence suggests, once the initial years of settlement in the Massachusetts Bay colony had passed, the population of the area experienced consistent growth and an increased rate of survival. A plentiful amount of essential resources needed to support and ensure a survival of the ever-growing population would pose a major challenge to colonists seeking to avoid the overproduction and exhaustion of their wealth and resources. Westward expansion could have also prevented the thriving colony from being confined within tightly secured boundaries, unable to spread their influence to the rest of North America. In essence, disagreements between the English Crown and the New England Colonies regarding expansion and settlement of the eastern territories, most likely as a way to address potential issues with rising population and limited resources, led to the further erosion of the relationship between the two. Great Britain’s inability to reconcile and negotiate with the New England colonies with the troublesome issue of population control, ultimately sets the stage for the American
A general overview of the growth of the White populations from 1660-1770 as seen in Source 1 indicates a steady growth in total population. Upon a closer examination, one will notice the decreasing average annual growth rate for every following year. Though the total population increases every decade, the average annual growth compared to the previous year is substantially less. This can partially be explained through a deeper investigation of the rate in which children survived every decade. Children born in in the 1650s were more likely to survive to at least age ten , compared to their 1700 and 1750s counterparts whom experienced a reduced rate of survival. This phenomenon could be explained in part due to the fact that the average age in which females were getting married ranged from eighteen to twenty one. Because children were being born by their mothers at a very young age, the average female’s ability to conceive, reproduce and recover rather quickly prompted them to average five to seven births per each marriage. Despite the abundance of children being born in the 1650s, who lived to surpass age ten, they were unable to reach age twenty. As one of the first groups to arrive and settle in the Massachusetts Bay area, acclimating to the new environment could have been difficult for first-time arrivers of the …show more content…
The Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III, which restricted further colonial encroachment past the Appalachian Mountains could have served as a potential blockade to the growing need for expansion. As the statistical evidence suggests, once the initial years of settlement in the Massachusetts Bay colony had passed, the population of the area experienced consistent growth and an increased rate of survival. A plentiful amount of essential resources needed to support and ensure a survival of the ever-growing population would pose a major challenge to colonists seeking to avoid the overproduction and exhaustion of their wealth and resources. Westward expansion could have also prevented the thriving colony from being confined within tightly secured boundaries, unable to spread their influence to the rest of North America. In essence, disagreements between the English Crown and the New England Colonies regarding expansion and settlement of the eastern territories, most likely as a way to address potential issues with rising population and limited resources, led to the further erosion of the relationship between the two. Great Britain’s inability to reconcile and negotiate with the New England colonies with the troublesome issue of population control, ultimately sets the stage for the American