Be sure to check out the full Time Travel to the 18th Century CD-ROM
(available from Folkus Atlantic)

By the 18th century, North America had been settled for almost a hundred years. Although much of the continent was still raw frontier, the older towns were bustling centres of trade and growth.

Settlement usually followed a general pattern. Most settlers in a new area established small farms or fishing properties. Early industries were one-man operations serving the farmers and fishermen. The blacksmith was a familiar figure in most villages. Coopers made barrels in which to export the surplus goods. Wheelwrights made farm wagons.

Eventually, the farms or fishing properties began to produce a larger surplus. Towns grew up around the point of shipment. They were usually located on the coast, or along a river. Merchants collected the goods that people produced and sent them off to Europe or to neighbouring colonies. They also imported luxury goods from Europe and sold them in small shops or boutiques. Soon, the streets of these towns were filled with sea captains, pedlars, and even drifters looking for work. Dockside taverns and inns served this migrant population.

As the people of an area grew more prosperous, its citizens demanded a higher standard of living. They bought harpsichords and books from local artisans. They hired dancing masters and schoolmasters for their children. Domestic servants and gardeners cared for their homes. The sons of the upper classes went off to Europe to study, returning as doctors, lawyers, and ministers. As time went on, North American settlements began to resemble European towns.

Not all towns grew slowly. Louisbourg was founded as a capital for the fishing population forced to relocate from Newfoundland to Cape Breton Island in 1713. Military officers, soldiers, merchants and priests arrived with the first settlers. Local contractors earned large sums from building government buildings. The farming in the area began almost as an afterthought, in an attempt to provide a local food source for the growing population.

Instant towns also grew up in areas where the Loyalists settled. The city of Saint John, New Brunswick received city status by royal charter shortly after the arrival of the first Loyalists in 1783.

In general however, towns grew slowly. As they grew, their working population became more diversified. In 18th-century, North America, there was room for everyone.
   
 
   
   

MILKMAIDS

Stories are told about the beauty of milkmaids. In fact, this is supported by medical evidence. Milkmaids were frequently exposed to the sores of the cowpox virus, which appeared on the animal's udder. As a result, they developed an immunity to smallpox, a more virulent form of the disease. Thousands of people died in the smallpox epidemics, while survivors were left with disfiguring facial scars. In contrast, the milkmaids' skin was pure and smooth. In 1796, the English physician Edward Jenner discovered the connection between cowpox and smallpox . To prove his theory, he injected his own son with cowpox.

SETTLING A NEW AREA

The first colonists to settle a given area usually looked for land along the river banks. Annual floods deposited valuable sediments along the banks, making it the most fertile land in the area. Colonists who arrived later had to settle for less fertile land.

Many of the people who came to North America in search of a new life were urban labourers with no farming experience. Some were bound as indentured servants to farmers and so acquired some knowledge of farming techniques. After their period of indenture was over, many worked as hired hands to earn enough money to start their own farm. The supplies they bought with this money helped them survive until their own farms started producing.

Clearing the farm became their life work. Even then, some of the land remained uncleared. The latitude determined which crops were planted. In Virginia, the staple crop was tobacco. In New England and in Canada, it was wheat. The St. Lawrence River Valley was the northernmost limit at which cereals could be grown. This crop was harvested in September.

Most farms had an orchard. Peaches grew so plentifully in the Southern American colonies that they were fed in bulk to the plantation workers. Peaches would not grow in Canada. Instead, the settlers produced apple cider made from their own apples. The farm animals were kept in barns over the winter. In summer, pigs were turned loose to forage in the forest while other animals were pastured in meadows.

Every farm had meadows. Once the land could no longer support crops, most farmers turned it into meadow. At that time, they either cleared more land or moved on. Visitors from Europe often complained that North American farmers knew very little about farming. In fact, North American settlers had little need for crop rotation and other land conservation techniques. These techniques had been developed in an overcrowded Europe. In contrast, North America had much land and few people to farm it. Many began farming with no more than an axe and a strong back. Once the good land was used up, they simply cleared more.

In areas where the land was rocky, some of the inhabitants turned to fishing. Their houses were clustered tightly together around small harbours. Many farmers depended on fishing or farming, or a combination of both. Some supplemented their income with timber cut from their woodlots.

TOBACCO CULTIVATION

The land along the great river estuaries of Tidewater Virginia was perfect for growing tobacco. Unfortunately, however, tobacco ruined the land by draining away nutrients such as nitrogen and potash. This became known as "sour land." Its owners either let it return to the wild or donated it to the state or the church for buildings.

As a result of this rapid soil depletion, planters continually needed to add to their holdings. As a general rule, villages were not established because of this constant need to break new ground. Instead, each plantation became a mini-village made up of slaves, overseers, artisans and traders. Each plantation produced its own wheat, cider, beef, mutton, wool, milk and butter. The planters set up wharves along the rivers for the collection of tobacco, which was shipped directly from these wharves to England. There was little need for marketing towns.

A by-product of the plantations was corn, which was planted once tobacco would no longer grow on the land, generally in the fourth year. This corn was shipped to the West Indies in return for coffee and sugar products.

THE SEIGNEURIAL SYSTEM OF NEW FRANCE

In New France, land settlement was shaped and dominated by the mighty St. Lawrence River. During the French regime, at least nine out of every ten Canadians lived along its banks. The three major towns of Quebec City, Montreal, and Trois Rivières were all located on the river. Farms stretched out in long bands between them. This was the region known as "Canada" in the 18th century.

New France adopted a system of landholding that retained feudal features. Large parcels of land were granted to Frenchmen who became known as "seigneurs." "Seigneur" is a French word meaning "lord".

The land itself, known as the "seigneurie", was divided up into small farms, each cultivated by a tenant known as a "habitant." In return for the land, the tenants had to pay several bushels of wheat a year to the seigneur. They also had to grind their wheat in the seigneur's mill; in return, the seigneur received a certain percentage of the grain. If the tenant decided to sell the land lease, 1/12 of the sale price went to the seigneur as a tax.

Each habitants paid a further 1/26th of the wheat harvest to the church. (Various religious orders also held vast tracts of land, in the form of seigneuries.)

The government required several days work on the roads. In addition, the habitants served in the militia during wartime.

The concessions of New France differed in one important way from those of France. Instead of the large blocks ceded in France, the land along the St. Lawrence was granted in long strips. Even individual tenants were given river frontage. On average, the length of a farm was ten times its width. Furthermore, as the habitants died and passed the land on to their heirs, the land was further subdivided; again, each new section fronted on the river.

In addition to giving each farmer a certain amount of river frontage, these long lots also ensured that good land was equally distributed. In general, soils close to the river belonged to a single soil type; soils farther back belonged to another. In this way, each concession contained a wide range of soils. Elsewhere in North America, where land was surveyed in blocks and distributed by lottery, some farmers received very rich soil while others received soil that was poor and rocky. This was not the case in New France. Everyone received a more or less similar sampling of land.

In general, the habitants were better off than the peasants in France. They lived longer and had more children. If there was no new land on a given concession, there was always land to be had elsewhere in the St. Lawrence Valley. Children could always farm upriver; alternately, they could settle in a second row of concessions, just behind the first row. Instead of fronting on the river, these fronted on a road. Sometimes an entire family group moved to a new concession together: this group might include two brothers and their families; or a parent and married child.

Before long, the St. Lawrence Valley consisted of long ribbons of land, with each retaining its bit of river or road frontage that marked them as distinctly French-Canadian. They endure to this day.

The other significant French settlement was known as Louisiana. It extended from the North Gulf Coast and the Mississippi Valley up to St. Louis. Here too, the land was ceded in long lots, or ribbon farms as they have since become known.


   
   
 
   
   

DANGERS OF A LIFE AT SEA

Storms at sea was just one of the many dangers a fisherman faced. During war between Britain and France, each country authorized the captains of commercial vessels to attack enemy ships. The "prizes" taken were often unarmed fishing boats.
Fisherman - Louisbourge

"Why do you come all the way from France to fish each year?"

In wartime, fishermen were recruited, often by force, to serve in their country's navy. In fact, Newfoundland was called the "nursery for seamen," thanks to its role in providing Britain with trained sailors in wartime. When the two countries were at peace, these men were once again left to fend for themselves.

WHALING

In 1765, there were up to 120 New England whalers working off the Strait of Belle Isle, the Grand Banks, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Whalers from the British Hudson's Bay Company sailed to the Arctic. Most whalers pursued the spermaceti and humpback whales. The whalebone was used to make women's corsets and hoops, while whale oil was used to lubricate furniture, machinery, and leather. It was also used in lamps.

THE EAST COAST FISHERY

Britain was a Protestant country and did not observe Lent. As a result, it had no large domestic market for fish. The Catholic countries of Spain and Portugal, however, required vast amounts of dried cod. Furthermore, the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets could not compete with those of France and Britain.

In their race to capture the rich Spanish and Portuguese markets, France and Britain each lay claim to large stretches of the North American coast. By the 18th century, Britain controlled the most productive parts of Newfoundland. New Englanders fished all along their coast. They even ventured as far as Canso, only 100 km. up the coast from the French base at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. Although there were small fishing communities on the Gaspé peninsula and in Labrador, Louisbourg remained the focus of France's North American fisheries until 1758. In that year, the town fell to the British.

The Newfoundland and Louisbourg fisheries relied on the labour of migrant fishermen. In Newfoundland, British authorities did not encourage settlement. In fact, ships' captains did not pay the second half of migrant fishermen's wages until they returned to Europe in the fall. Nevertheless, resident fishermen called planters settled in isolated communities. These resident fishermen also carried on a winter fishery, which lasted from September to February.

Within territory controlled by France, settlement was encouraged. At Louisbourg, any fisherman who could clear a piece of land and build several small boats could become a fishing proprietor. Some of these fishing proprietors went on to hire several hundred migrant fishermen. Many became merchants.

These entrepreneurs soon adapted the traditional fishing vessels for their own use. Fishing properties along the coast often had several small boats under construction. The Newfoundland shallop had long been the preferred vessel of the dry, inshore fishery. Because Newfoundland lay quite close to the fishing grounds, the early shallops held only three men each and were rowed out to the grounds. As other colonies adopted the design, however, shallops lengthened until some reached 30 feet or more. These had two masts and triangular sails.

The schooner was developed in New England. Triangular sails ranged along the length of the vessel gave it speed and flexibility. Unlike the square-rigged, transatlantic vessels, the schooner could easily slip in and out of the many small harbours along the North American coast. Furthermore, it had no heavy cannon to weigh it down.

In New England, the best trees were reserved for the mast, yard, and bowsprit of these boats. Although the schooner was more expensive to build than the shallop, it landed more fish. A typical voyage lasted for three to four weeks. The catch was salted and stored in the hold. At the end of the voyage, the fish was deposited with the shoreworkers, who took over the drying process.

Skilled shoreworkers were highly valued by their employers. The preparation of fish is an exacting art, as the Loyalists who settled parts of Nova Scotia learned to their cost. Unable to make their rocky, barren lands pay, many of these refugees from the American Revolution had turned to fishing. Their first attempts to prepare cod for export were largely unsuccessful.

WEST INDIES COD

The inferior cod sold to feed the slaves and indentured servants on the sugar and coffee plantations of the Caribbean became known as "West Indies." The Newfoundland folk song "Hard Times" mentions this kind of fish:

"Then here comes the schooners -- go get your supplies, A good price this summer -- just make it good, b'ys. Seven for the large fish and five for the small, Pick out your West Indies and wait till the fall. And it's hard, hard times . . ."
   
   


   
   
 
   
    Throughout the 18th century, Britain and France were locked in a struggle for control of the North American continent. Yet neither country kept large standing armies in the colonies.

In the first half of the century, there were relatively few British soldiers in North America. Small garrisons were stationed in New York and in Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia. The first true British garrison town was Halifax, founded in 1749. It was built to serve as a base of operations for attacks against the French Fortress of Louisbourg, situated just down the coast on Cape Breton Island.

The French military presence in North America was somewhat stronger. Quebec and Louisbourg were both military capitals, governed by a military officer and guarded by soldiers. The people who lived in these garrison towns were used to the constant sound of cannon and drum calls.

Elsewhere in the French and British colonies, people were not so familiar with the military routine. In times of war, young men and boys were formed into militia companies, trained in military tactics, and employed in campaigns. Most of their time, however, was spent at home, running their farm or business. American provincials captured the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1745. For many, it was the first time they had seen a true European fortress, manned by real French soldiers.

The struggle between France and Britain ended with the Seven Years War (or the French and Indian War as it is known in the United States). Just before the outbreak of war in 1756, a large influx of French and British soldiers poured into North America. The first siege of Louisbourg had been conducted by New England volunteers. In the second siege, in 1758, the Fortress was taken by 12,000 regular British soldiers. The final battle on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec was fought by large French and British armies. Victory went to the British.

It was, however, the American Revolution that brought most people face to face with the reality of war. American patriots enlisted in the Colonial army. British soldiers, known as the "red coats," became a common sight in most colonies. Halifax and New York were major British naval bases.

Many of these British soldiers were American-born. After the war, whole regiments emigrated to Canadian territory, where they became known as Loyalists. The American patriots returned to their farms and businesses. For the remainder of the century, most former soldiers dedicated themselves to trade and agriculture.


   
   
 
   
    LEGAL RIGHTS OF FREE SERVANTS

 Most servants were free people with legally defined rights. In many cases, these rights were strictly laid out in a contract with the employer. A parent or guardian signed the contract on behalf of very young servants. At the end of the contract, the servant was free to seek other employment.

Although servants had certain rights, they were not considered full citizens. In New France, servants could not act as witnesses in a court case concerning their employers. The only exception to this rule was in the event of a fire or some other criminal offense committed by the employer. Because they had no property, they were not permitted to vote. Servants were not even listed by name in a census. Instead, their employers gave only the number of servants in their household. Employers were held responsible for the actions of their servants and could be forced to pay damages caused by their behaviour.

INDENTURED SERVANTS

Some people came to North America as indentured servants. This meant the employers assumed the cost of the servants' passage to North America. In return, these servants could not leave their employers until the term of indenture was completed. For most, this meant seven years of service. Lucky ones obtained land grants after completing their term of indenture. Others spent their whole lives as servants.

THE SERVANT'S POSITION IN THE HOUSEHOLD

Within the household, the chief housekeeper, whether male or female, held the highest position. The most aristocratic homes employed a butler in this capacity. Each day, he received the day's supply of silver and linen from the lady of the house. He was responsible for cleaning these objects and returning them safely to the mistress. The butler also kept household accounts and was responsible for the other servants. He distributed the food to be prepared for the day to the cook. In addition to his wages, the butler received gratuities such as a portion of the bread delivered by the
baker.

The cook was another highly respected servant in the upper class household. In addition to wages, cooks received the tallow and grease, bacon rind and trimmings, old frying fat, and ashes from the fire. The ashes from the fire were sold to the soapmaker to make lye. In very large households, the cook took orders from the butler and was assisted by an undercook or kitchen boy. In the absence of a butler or housekeeper, the cook had authority over the other servants.

Some employers hired educated servants who could read aloud to them. Normally a valet or other manservant would undertake this duty. Most servants were illiterate, however. Why educate a servant who had no hope of being anything else?

Servants' wages and meals varied according to their status. A cook in a large household, for example, might have prepared three different menus for each meal: one for the employer, one for the upper servants, and one for the lower servants. The lower servants would rarely have eaten meat, and then only salt or fat pork. Servants drank humble beverages such as spruce beer or watered-down wine, unlike their employers who started the day with tea, chocolate, or coffee.

In an artisan's home, the lady of the house may have performed many household tasks herself. Children left in the care of the servant sometimes helped with the work. But although family members may have performed some household tasks, the distinction between family and servant was clear. Servants never participated in the social activities of the employer. They usually ate alone in the kitchen and dressed in rough clothing. Most slept on a mattress on the floor, rising at dawn to light the fires, wake the family and begin the morning meal. They were still working in the kitchen, by the light of the fire, after everyone else had gone to bed.

Although servant and employer lived separate lives, they were by no means strangers. The crowded households of the 18th century provided little privacy. Servants knew many intimate details of their employers' lives.

Servants socialized with other servants, but were discouraged from marrying. Illegitimate children were especially common in areas where soldiers were billeted in private homes. Unmarried servants with illegitimate children were often forced to leave the household. Some servants managed to stay in the home by keeping the pregnancy a secret and abandoning the newborn child. In New France, the penalty for abandoning a child in the street was death.

A RUNAWAY SERVANT

The following description of a runaway servant appeared in the Maryland Gazette. Although it hardly describes a typical servant, it does give a glimpse at the way servants were viewed by some employers.

    

"Between 25 and 26 Years of Age, about 5 feet 5 Inches high, very thick, stoops much, and has a down Look; he is a little Pock-pitted, has a Scar on one of his Temples, is much addicted to Licquor, very talkative when drunk, and remarkably stupid."

Soap-Making

The soap-making process began with wood ash carefully collected from the fireplace. The ash was placed in a barrel and covered with water. It was left to soak for several days. Once this mixture turned red, the lye was filtered out by passing the liquid through a bundle of straw.

The lye was then boiled together with animal fat. (In fishing communities, the fat was sometimes replaced with rotting codfish liver. The odour ensured that this soap was made outside!)

Like our fudge, the mixture had to be taken off the heat at just the right moment, before it became too thick to spread. The soap was then put into moulds, which were sometimes stamped with a special mark. The cakes were usually a greyish-white colour.

 

Also covered on the CD ROM (available from Folkus Atlantic):

  • Artisans
  • Merchants
  • Soldiers