Title: 4. Colonial Society | THE AMERICAN YAWP
Headings: 4. Colonial Society
4. Colonial Society
I. Introduction
II. Consumption and Trade in the British Atlantic
III. Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Atlantic Exchange
IV. Pursuing Political, Religious and Individual Freedom
V. Seven Years’ War
VI. Pontiac’s War
VII. Conclusion
VIII. Primary Sources
IX. Reference Material
Notes
Post navigation

Content: This two-way relationship reinforced the colonial feeling of commonality with British culture. It was not until trade relations, disturbed by political changes and the demands of warfare, became strained in the 1760s that colonists began to question these ties. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, improvements in manufacturing, transportation, and the availability of credit increased the opportunity for colonists to purchase consumer goods. Instead of making their own tools, clothes, and utensils, colonists increasingly purchased luxury items made by specialized artisans and manufacturers. As the incomes of Americans rose and the prices of these commodities fell, these items shifted from luxuries to common goods. The average person’s ability to spend money on consumer goods became a sign of their respectability. Historians have called this process the “consumer revolution.” 1
Joseph Highmore, The Harlowe Family, from Samuel Richardson’s “Clarissa,” 1745–1747. Wikimedia. Britain relied on the colonies as a source of raw materials, such as lumber and tobacco.