Colonial New England constructed an economy from past commercial and religious experiences. The colonist’s Protestant faith emphasized frugality, industry, and aiding the commonwealth as the keys to eternal salvation. These three features of Puritanism greatly influenced New England’s economic policies, and were found in fiscal rhetoric throughout the colonial period. Puritan leaders were also familiar with a contemporary economic theory called balance of trade. This monetary policy attempted to stabilize a regions exports and imports by promoting production, diversification, and new industries. In the eighteenth century, this synergy of faith and fiscal policy would mature producing a vibrant economy ripe for future industrialization. The means to this end consisted of a variety of economic improvements, throughout the seventeenth century, that began shortly after the initial settlement of New England.
The privatization of land was the first step towards monetary expansion. Upon settlement, Puritans continued their age-old tradition of communal farming. The collectivist system had one track of land that was worked by the entire village, and families congregated their homes in a central location. The benefits of communal property were increased protection from hostile enemies, improved cohesion amongst settlers, and a greater concentration of resources. In New England this system failed to produce enough food for two years and the government reexamined their policies. Colonial leaders determined that instead of promoting strong community ties, the collectivist system produced slothfulness and hindered production. This conclusion inclined all New English colonies, by the early 1640’s, to authorize private ownership of land.
At first this new system proved economically sound, and reinforced Puritan ideals of industry and frugality. It later denoted a contradictory situation in colonial New England. The motivation of personal profit did result in a greater agricultural output, and appeased the colonies religious ideals of hard work. More Puritans were improving their land to maximize its potential, and this produced some economic growth. At the same time, however, the high profitability of agriculture encouraged former artisans and sailors to abandon their careers. This farm migration drained New England of a diversified skilled labor force, and hindered overall expansion. By privatizing land, the Puritans took care of their short-term need in food production, and unintentionally mired their foundation for later economic development.
In addition to land reform, the colonial government tried to monopolize trade and control wages during the 1630’s. The General Court passed laws granting nine merchants the control of all imports, and funneled all trade through a central clearinghouse in Boston. This was an attempt to control the amount of imports into the colony and improve the balance of trade. This legislation, however, was unpractical and unenforceable. Settlers would row out to commercial ships to avoid these regulations, which proved to be an inefficient way of conducting trade. Colonial assemblies also attempted to control the wages of skilled laborers. The high market demand for artisans, however, nullified any attempt to implement this policy. Thus, it was not unheard of for a blacksmith or carpenter to receive a shilling above the set wages. The utter failure of these trade and wage control laws prompted New England to change their economic policies from restrictive to promotional after the end of the Great Migration.
The Great Migration was a massive influx of Puritan immigrants to New England from 1630-1640. The new arrivals would often buy goods from established colonists, which became a vital source of capital. When the migration ended a depression ensued. English merchants stopped extending credit, and the supply of specie and imported goods dwindled. In response to this crisis, local governments created various programs rewarding incentives to private individuals performing projects beneficial to the colony. Ideally these regulations were supposed to promote domestic manufacturing, and advance the colonies balance of trade through import substitution. Although certain industries like lumber, ship construction, and iron refineries came into production, wide scale domestic manufacturing did not occur. The high start up costs, lack of labor, and the logistical challenges posed by the American frontier hindered their development. Instead the majority colonists discovered a niche in the Atlantic Trade as carriers of trade and suppliers of wheat, corn, and livestock to plantations. The development of a cash crop economy in the South and Caribbean neglected growing basic provisions, which New English farmers gladly provided. This trade monopoly relieved the pressure for import-substitution manufactures, and—along with governmental incentives—helped New England escape the depression associated with the Great Migration.
By the eighteenth century, New English farm products—especially wheat—were losing there market share in the Atlantic Trade. The Middle colonies had better agricultural potential, and New England could not compete with this advantage. In addition, costly imperial wars had increased taxes in the colony, and created a new populace of poor veterans. Once again, colonial leaders turned too domestic manufacturing and diversification as the answer to their economic woes, and this time they had more success. Entrepreneurial merchants had by now developed the interior of the colony, and this helped levitate the start up costs of various industries. This process started in the seventeenth century, as frontier traders attempted to facilitate movement between the interior and the cost. By the eighteenth century, New England had a huge network of merchant’s traders connecting the various settlements of the colony. This infrastructure allowed farmers—via the putting-out system—and artisans to profit from domestic production because their goods could reach larger markets. It also encouraged the development of larger industries like iron refineries and rum distillers. These production centers increased employment, and decreased the economic strain of the poor. Colonial producers also diversified, in agriculture and manufacturing, their products to a greater degree. Instead of growing wheat, farmers grew specialized crops like onions, raised livestock, and generated dairy products. In addition to traditional textile and lumber industries, New England manufactured leather, potash, whale oil, metal products and more. This wide range of goods helped facilitate domestic trade during the eighteenth century, and this supplemented revenue that was lost in international markets to competition.
Upon arrival to the New World, the Puritans constructed their society through religion and traditional economic ideology. They created strict fiscal regulations that controlled almost all aspects of trade in hopes of producing a frugal and industrious atmosphere that was beneficial to the entire commonwealth. These policies, however, where unable to stimulate the economy when the wave of immigrants associated with the Great Migration slowed after 1640. In response to this depression New England’s economy evolved, and local governments adopted fiscal policies to facilitate development. They presented new ideas through Puritan rhetoric that emphasized industry, productivity, and the common good. These liberal policies created a strong infrastructure and diversified the economy, which propelled New England to a key position of the Atlantic Trade. As the seventeenth century came to a close the Middle colonies increased competition for New English products. In the eighteenth century this economic rivalry, combined with increased imperial taxes, forced New England to adapt again. This time they increased their domestic industries and focused on specialty crops to improve their fiscal situation. New England’s constant evaluation and evolution of the economy would inevitably prove beneficial. On the eve of the American Revolution, New England experienced a diversified prosperous economy primed to explode during nineteenth century industrialization.
No comments:
Post a Comment