Life in the VA Colony
Everyday Life
Everyday life in colonial Virginia and surviving was not easy.
Food:
Food choices were limited
Meals were made of local produce and meats
Housing:
Most people lived in one-room houses with dirt floors
Some wealthy people (like merchants, lawyers, and planters) lived in large houses
Clothing:
Women made clothes for family members in their households
Most clothing was made of cotton, wool, or leather
The Colonists
White Virginians:
Most were small farmers
A few owned large plantations
Enslaved African Americans:
Worked tobacco, other crops, and livestock
They were denied basic rights
Free African Americans:
Some owned land
They were denied basic rights
Virginia developed a unique culture due to the mix of Europeans, Africans, and American Indians living there.
Settlement Areas:
Europeans mostly settled in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions
Germans and Scots-Irish mostly settled in the Shenandoah Valley
Africans were brought to the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions to work in tobacco fields
Before the settlers arrived, American Indians lived throughout Virginia, but after the settlers arrived, most were forced away from the coast
Relocation of the Capital
Jamestown was not the best place to have the capital, so in 1699, the capital was changed to Williamsburg.
Reasons Why the Capital was Moved:
Drinking water in Jamestown was contaminated by salt water
Unhealthy living conditions in Jamestown caused diseases
Fire destroyed wooden and brick buildings at Jamestown
Williamsburg was a well-established town
The Economy
Terms to Know:
Money: a means of payment (like coins and paper bills)
Barter: trading or exchanging goods and services without the use of money
Credit: buying a good or service now and paying for it later
Debt: a good or service owed to someone
Cash crop: a crop that is grown to sell for money rather than for use by the growers (such as tobacco in the Virginia colony)
Coins and paper bills were not often used in the early Virginia colony. Instead, tobacco was often used as money.
Barter was also commonly used.
Farmers often bought goods and services on credit and paid their debts later when their crops were harvested and sold.
The economy of the Virginia colony depended on agriculture, especially tobacco, as the primary source of wealth. African Americans were brought to the Virginia colony as cheap labor to work on the plantations. The Virginia colony became dependent on slaves.
