Compare communities and learn how land, labor, and ocean trade shaped daily life.
OUR BIG QUESTION
Did everyone share the same opportunities?
Reading:Read on your own or with a partner.
Context image: Aquinnah cliffs and Gay Head Lighthouse Image credit
Two English colonies
Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay began as separate colonies. William Bradford was a leader at Plymouth. John Winthrop led Puritans who settled Massachusetts Bay in 1630. Both groups wanted communities shaped by their religious beliefs. Puritans hoped to reform the Church of England; Separatists had broken away from it. Religious freedom for these settlers did not mean freedom for everyone who disagreed with them.
Land and power
As English settlements expanded, Native peoples faced land loss, disease, pressure to change their beliefs, and war. Wampanoag leader Metacom, whom the English called King Philip, resisted colonial power. King Philip’s War, beginning in 1675, brought terrible losses to Native and English communities. Many Native survivors were displaced or enslaved. Native communities endured and continue today.
Work and ocean trade
People farmed, fished, made tools, and built ships. Some traded goods by bartering. Ports such as Boston and Salem connected to Atlantic trade. Colonial Massachusetts included free Africans and people forced into slavery. Enslaved people were denied freedom and forced to work. Atlantic commerce also profited from trafficking people and from products made through enslaved labor. Trade created wealth for some people while causing suffering for others.
Open the built-in source lab below. Examine its museum pottery photographs and the record about Jack and Acton. Record each object’s date and maker if known.
“I observe ___. I think it may show ___. To check, I would look for ___.”
Describe three details you can actually see. Keep observations separate from guesses.
Explain what the source might show about work, housing, or trade.
Ask whose work the object does not show. What second source would help you learn more?
Talk, draw, or write your response on paper.
Everything you need is here
Open this chapter’s source lab
Colonial life: objects, labor & power. Built-in materials, evidence questions, a student notebook, and teacher notes.
Choose an answer for each question. You can reread and try again.
Knowledge continues today
Mass Cultural Council · Artist film
An Aquinnah Wampanoag artist: Elizabeth James-Perry
Meet an Aquinnah Wampanoag artist whose work connects wampum, plant fibers, family knowledge, and the land. Look for evidence of a living tradition that continues to grow.
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