May 19, 2012

Unit 13 - Colonial Life

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Unit Thirteen – Colonial Life


WHEN people first came to this country there was nothing here for the people to use for living except the wilderness itself, so the colonists had to build such houses as they could, with whatever materials they had.

In Virginia, New England, Philadelphia and elsewhere, simple holes were dug in the ground these were the first homes of many settlers. In some places bark wigwams were made, tee-pees like those of the Indians, and sometimes a dirt floor cabin was built of logs.


As time went on and the Colonists hold of the land became firmer, better houses were built. They took advantage of the vast amount of forests and built their houses out of wood.

The richer people built good houses soon after they came. Most of these had in the middle a large room, called “the hall”.

The chimneys were generally very large and wide and sometimes there were seats inside the fireplace and children could be found sitting on these seats in the evening, amusing themselves by watching the stars through the top of the chimney.

colonial_lifeIn the early houses most of the windows had paper instead of glass. This paper was oiled to make it transparent and let in some of the sunlight.

Only the rich colonists had furniture, most homes had but a few benches, stools, and tables that were homemade. Beds were often filled with mistletoe, the down from cattail flags, or the feathers of wild pigeons.

People who were not rich brought their food to the table in wooden trays and ate off wooden plates. Some of the poorest people used square blocks of wood instead of plates.

Neither rich nor poor, in England or America, had forks when the first colonies were settled. Meat was cut with a knife and eaten with the fingers.
 
On the tables of the wealthy people, pewter dishes were much used, and a row of shining pewter in an open cupboard, called a dresser, was a sign of good housekeeping.

The richest people had silverware for use on great occasions. They also had stately furniture brought from England. But carpets were hardly ever seen. The floor of the best room was strewed with sand, which was marked off in ornamental figures. There was no wall paper until long after 1700, but tapestries hung on the walls of the finest houses.

Cooking was done in front of fireplaces in skillets and on griddles that stood upon legs, so that coals could be put under them; and in pots and kettles that hung over the fire on a swinging crane, so that they could be drawn out or pushed back.

Sometimes there was an oven, for baking, built in the side of the chimney. Meat was roasted on a spit in front of the fire. The spit was an iron rod thrust through the piece to be roasted, and turned by a crank. A whole pig or fowl was sometimes hung up before the fire and turned about while it roasted. Often pieces of meat were broiled by throwing them on the live coals.

A mug of home-brewed beer, with bread and cheese, or a porridge of peas or beans, boiled with a little meat constituted the breakfast of the early colonists.

Neither tea nor coffee was known in England or this country until long after the first colonies were settled. When tea came in, it became a fashionable drink, and was served to company from pretty little china cups, set on lacquered tables. Mush, made of Indian-corn meal, was eaten for supper.

Rich people preferred to dress in fancy clothing with a lot of lace, silver buckles, and buttons about the garments. Working men of all sorts wore leather, deerskin, or coarse canvas breeches. The stockings worn by men were long, the breeches were short, and buckled, or otherwise fastened, at the knees.

The colonists traveled about in canoes and little sailing boats called shallops. Most of the canoes would hold about six men, but some were large enough to hold forty or more. For a long time there were no roads except Indian trails and bridle paths, which could only be traveled on foot or on horseback. Goods were carried on pack horses. When roads were finally made, wagons became very popular.

This was a hard time for the early settlers and there was very little importance or time given to educating children. There were very few schools and even these were very poor.  Only the boys were taught anything at all, they would learn to read, write, and do a little bit of basic math.  The girls were taught even less. Many of the children born in the early colonies grew up unable to write their names.

Since there were not many books in the early days and no newspapers until after 1700, the only way a person could learn anything was by going to church and listening to the sermon.

In all the colonies people were very fond of dancing parties. Weddings were times of great excitement and often of much drinking. In some of the colonies wedding festivities were continued for several days. Even funerals were occasions of feasting, and sometimes of excessive drinking. In the Middle and Southern colonies the people were fond of horse racing, cockfighting, and many other sports brought from England.

New England people made their militia trainings the occasions for feasting and amusement, fighting mock battles, and playing many rough, old-fashioned games.

Skiing on the snow, skating, and sleighing were first brought into America from Holland by the Dutch settlers in New York. In all the colonies there was a great deal of hunting and fishing. The woods were full of deer and wild turkeys.  Flocks of pigeons often darkened the sky, and the rivers were alive with waterfowl and fish.

 

Unit 13 – Colonial Life

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