What+is+the+importance+of+maritime+commerce+in+the+development+of+colonial+massachusetts'+economy?

=5.11 Explain the importance of maritime commerce in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts, using the services of historical societies and museums as needed. =

//Focus Question: What was the role of maritime commerce in Massachusetts's colonial economy?//
//A.) The Development of Maritime Industry// //B.) The Triangle Trade// //C.) Road to the Revolution//

See also:


 * A.) The Development of Colonial Industry and Maritime Trade**

"Massachusetts went to the sea, not by choice, but by necessity," said historian Samuel Eliot Morrison. The soil was too poor and the climate too extreme to support year-round agriculture. The colonists turned to seafaring and trading, steps that would eventually lead them directly into conflict with British mercantile policies.

In 1620, the Mayflower landed on the shores of Massachusetts carrying 102 passengers fleeing from England in the name of religious freedom. Though originally bound for Virginia, storms and dwindling supplies forced them to a landing in Massachusetts, now Plymouth. The first legal document of the colony, the Mayflower Compact, outlined their adherence to their goals and beliefs.
 * The Mayflower and the Puritans**

In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded at Charlestown, now in the city of Boston. Though also puritans, they were a separate colony than those who arrived on the Mayflower. The Massachusetts Bay Colony would become the primary voice of Massachusetts and start the famous fishing and timber industries.
 * The Massachusetts Bay Colony**


 * New England Winters**

New England winters were cold and long; in the early days of English colonization of North America, many colonists would not survive the harsh conditions. Agriculture was possible, but not year-round, and thus the economy needed to rely on alternative industries such as timber gathering, fishing, mercantilism, and craftsmanship.

As a result, by the early 18th century, Massachusetts used its close proximity to the Grand Banks and its good coastal harbors to become the "primary commercial fishing community in the world." >
 * Fishing**
 * Fishing was centered at the ports of Gloucester, Marblehead, New Bedford, and Nantucket.
 * By 1740, 150 whaling ships sailed from Nantucket alone.
 * "Between 1768 and 1772, fish represented 35% of New England's total export revenue. The second most valuable export commodity, livestock, represented only 20% of this revenue stream. By 1775, an estimated 10,000 New Englanders, or 8% of the adult male working population, labored in the fishing industry."
 * The vast number of ships involved in the industry would become a key component of the navy in the Revolution and the War of 1812 against the British (see below).


 * B.) The Triangle Trade**


 * Triangular Trades Involving Massachusetts**
 * Rum from Massachusetts went to the west coast of Africa to trade for slaves, who were carried to the West Indies and exchanged for sugar and molasses that was returned to make more rum.
 * Fish, food, timber and horses to the west indies for sugar which went to England to be traded for manufactured goods.
 * Fish, food, timber and fur to southern Europe to be exchanged for wine, silk, spices and fruit, which were brought to England and exchanged for manufactured goods.




 * The Slave Trade**
 * Slavery had existed for millenia prior to the introduction of the Trans-Atlantic Slave-Trade
 * Slavery in Africa had existed prior to it as well, but became racially-charged only after white-Europeans encountered what they saw as a primitive, uncivilized race different from their own.
 * European colonization and their rapidly growing economies provided serious demand for labor, which they resolved by purchasing slaves with raw materials and rum from Western Africa.
 * The Trans-Atlantic slave trade is known for its cruelty, egregious ship conditions, and devastating effects on African civilization.


 * C.) Road to the Revolution**

Massachusetts maritime operations soon became competitive enough to challenge markets and threaten trade routes owned by the British Crown, leading to intensified laws and taxes intended to curb the growth of the colonial economy. This culminated in the shutting-down of the fishing industry in 1775, a move that helped provoke colonists to war.

"Clipper ships," were light and fast sailing ships developed in the late eighteenth-century; the name "clipper," comes from the term "clip," which was a term used often in place of something quick or swift. In Massachusetts they were fishing-and-trade vessels, and when the American Revolution began in 1775 they were refitted to be part of the navy, often as hired privateers.
 * Clipper Ships**


 * Privateers in the Triangle Trade and War**

Privateers were instrumental tools of warfare from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. The "Golden Age of Piracy" is widely considered to be from the 1650's to 1730's. Privateers were also called "buccaneers," during this period of time, and would hunt trade-vessels throughout the Americas.
 * Their activities were of course illegal, but European powers (Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands) put them to use against each other, services they would pay them for handsomely.
 * Privateers were sanctioned through Letters of Marque, which gave them authorization to pray on merchant ships of enemy nations.
 * Fishing vessels were refitted for military use and for privateers during the American Revolution and War of 1812.

Homosexuality is a common theme in piracy, as many who willfully became "buccaneers," would spend a long time in the company of men. This was perhaps an escape for otherwise socially-ostracizing behavior.

Bibliography

1. http://umass.worldcat.org.silk.library.umass.edu/title/new-england-cod-fishing-industry-and-maritime-dimensions-of-the-american-revolution/oclc/694095239&referer=brief_results 2.