Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4
- Lesson
- Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)
Optional Resources to Explore
Feel free to review the library guide for scholarly sources and videos at the following link:
- Link (website): History Library Guide (Links to an external site.)
Introduction
The purposes of each case study assignment include the following:
- To hone your abilities to research using scholarly sources
- To advance critical thinking and writing skills
- To compile a response to the prompts provided
- To explore a historical topic and make connections to change over time
Instructions
Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic:
Option 1: Exploration and Effects on Native Americans
- Explain what motivated the European world powers to explore the Americas.
- Describe the economic effects of exploration based on the Colombian exchange.
- Analyze the effects of exploration on Native Americans.
- Based on research, analyze if Europeans might be held accountable for transmitting Old World diseases to people in the Western Hemisphere.
Option 2: Slavery vs. Indentured Servitude
- Explain how and why slavery developed in the American colonies.
- Describe in what ways the practice of slavery was different between each colonial region in British North America.
- Analyze the differences between slaves and indentured servants.
Option 3: Women in Colonial America
- Pick two colonies (New England, Middle, or Southern colonies) and explain how women’s roles differ in the two colonies of your choice.
- Describe what legal rights women held during the colonial period.
- Analyze how Native women’s lives were different from colonial women’s lives.
ANSWER
The economic activities of the colonies heavily relied on the institutions of slavery and indentured servitude for labor. Notably, these economies relied heavily on large-scale farming. The colonies produced indigo, rice, and tobacco on a plantation economy. Seeing that there was no machinery equipped for large-scale production, the colonies had to rely on human sweat for labor. Before the 1680s, the economies relied mainly on indentured servitude (Cliveden, 2021). This later changed as the colonies widely adopted the institution of slavery. There were differences in how the colonies implemented… To access full answer, click the purchase button below