how tabocco was made and became important the the colonies

The development of tobacco as an export began in Virginia in 1614 when one of the colonists, John Rolfe, experimented with a plant he had brought from the West Indies, Nicotania tabacum. In the same year the first tobacco shipment was sent to England. After the first shipment was completed the British prized this new tobacco product. The reason why they prized the tobacco so much was because it became a way to show one's wealthiness to the public. Only those of highs status could afford this new product. As the popularity of tobacco grew it became the savior of the colonies. During the first growth and shipment period of the first batch of tobacco the colonies were in a crisis. Due to the rough climate the colonies weren't able to produce the crops they needed to survive. With no crops, they couldn't bring themselves income or food supply to sustain life in this new land. While the crisis continued the tobacco popularity also grew. Seeing this is happening the colonists took this opportunity and mass produced tobacco. Fortunately the Virginia climate and land structure was perfect for tobacco plantations. With this mass production and sales to English the colonies were saved from their crisis as they used tobacco for income and currency. Virginia tobacco rapidly gained popularity abroad and it became more difficult to encourage the production of diverse crops or other commodities in the colony. Land was readily available and quick profits could be made on tobacco. Tobacco cultivation is labor intensive and a large labor force was required which was supplied by indentured servants who were required to work for a number of years in return for their passage to the New World. The first slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619, but it would be several decades before slavery became the dominant labor force in the colony. Tobacco was Virginia's primary agricultural export throughout the colonial period in spite of repeated efforts by royal governors to encourage diversification.

The First Great Awakening

Here's a bit from Wikipedia about the First Great Awakening:

The First Great Awakening (referred to by some historians as the Great Awakening) was a period of heightened religious activity, primarily in Great Britain and its North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. In New England, the Great Awakening was influential among many Congregationalists; while in the Middle and Southern colonies (especially in the "Backcountry" regions of those colonies) the Awakening was influential among Presbyterians. Although the idea of a "great awakening" is contested, it is clear that the period was, particularly in New England, a time of increased religious activity. The revival began with Jonathan Edwards, a well-educated theologian and Congregationalist minister from Northampton, Massachusetts, who came from Puritan and Calvinist roots, but emphasized the importance and power of immediate, personal religious experience. Edwards was said to be "solemn, with a distinct and careful enunciation, and a slow cadence." ^[1] Nevertheless, his sermons were powerful and attracted a large following. The Methodist preacher George Whitefield, visiting from England, continued the movement, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a more dramatic and emotional style, accepting everyone into his audiences.

Here's the link for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Great_Awakening

Slave Cabin Reconstruction

In Charleston, South Carolina, there's a project going on to rebuild several slave homes on a plantation. Here's a bit about the project from the website:

"Magnolia Plantations slave cabins have a unique history, in which they have been utilized from the time of antebellum slavery through emancipation and into the late 20th century by African-Americans, both enslaved and free.

While other historic sites have restored similar slave cabins and houses in the past for interpretation, no site has ever restored a series of structures that interpret African-American history from slavery to freedom and beyond. Magnolia is taking the unique and exciting opportunity to have this transitional interpretive area for African-American history that is unique and certain to garner national attention."

go here: http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/slaverytofreedom.html
to see a picture of the slave cabin and to read more.

joint-stock companies

Joint stock companies were very similar to modern day corparations. They are much like our stock companies. People back then could find investors that would pool all of their money together to start a colony. If the colony did well then the investors would make money according to what they invested. Investors and founders of colonies were very smart when they thought of things like joint stock companies. They would provide money to start a coloney and allow them to survive for awhile before they had to pay them back. Joint stock companies helped set the foundation for modern day corperations.

Indigo crops in the carolinas and how it was made

here is the website where i got this: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7023/indigo.html

the processing of indigo involved carefully timed fermenting and agitating stages. Indigo production, like rice culture, involved concentrated manual labor. Thus indigo easily fit into the Southern slave holding methods of agriculture. However, indigo processing was exacting and required a high degree of technical skill. This plus the inevitable risks of agriculture meant that not all farmers could produce indigo on a commercial scale. Yet, the fact that indigo became widespread indicates that many plantation owners were willing to take the necessary risks. An advantage indigo had over rice was that indigo did not require the standing water of rice cultivation. Thus it quickly spread to the middle country of South Carolina and on the sea islands which were not adapted to rice culture.
Indigo processing was very precise and remained a precarious aspect of indigo culture for it determined the quality of the dye. The indigo plants were placed in three successive fermentation vats for the dye did not exist in the plant per se. A liquid called indican was formed chemically in an oxidation process which the colonial planters did not fully understand. Contemporary accounts simply said that the plants rotted. The fermented indigo/indican was then agitated by slaves with paddles which aerated the liquid. After the addition of limewater, the clear alkaline solution changed to blue. After the liquid was drained, the residue was strained, bagged, and left to dry. The resulting fine stiff paste was cut into cubes and placed into barrels for shipment to England. An average harvest for a planter usually resulted in thirty to eighty processed pounds of indigo per acre.

William Bradford

William Bradford was born in 1590 and when he was very young both of his parents died so he lived with several relatives while he was growing up. When he was 12 he went to a church of separatists and got really into their ideas and beliefs. By the time he was 17 he was what we would call a radical christian and told the congregation about his idea to separate from the church of England. This was an extremely dangerous thing to do because at the time church and state were one thing and you had one religion to follow. later William found out that the King of England, James I, was tracking down the separatist leaders and imprisoning them. He found this out and they decided to go to the New Netherlands. I think they should have gone but at the same time Jesus tells us that we will be persecuted and that in order to follow him we have to drink of the same cup that he did and pick up our cross and follow him. I think it is kind of cool that the king was persecuting them because it shows that they were not afraid to speak out on their beliefs. He had alot of influence and used it well and very carefully. He had to trust God and walk by faith in everything he did because he was not sure what would lie ahead but knew that was what God had planned for him and his congregation.

This would really be cool if we could be a part of it, well, it would really stink actually literally and metaphorically.....It would really be hard to start a colony by your self with only a little bit of help, plus you got indians attacking you......i mean for real......After World War II, an effort began to reenact the voyage of the Mayflower. With cooperation between Project Mayflower and Plimoth Plantation, an accurate replica of the original (designed by naval architect William A. Baker) was launched September 22, 1956 from Devon, England, and set sail in the spring of 1957. Captained by Alan Villiers, the voyage ended in Plymouth Harbor after 55 days on June 13, 1957 to great acclaim.

Mayflower II masts in the fog
The ship is moored to this day at State Pier in Plymouth, and is open to visitors