Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay ColonyDow, George Francis
History
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Dow, George Francis
Massachusetts -- Social life and customs -- To 1775
In October he wrote that there were about thirty merchants in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine estimated worth from £10,000
to £20,000. Local commodities consisted of naval stores, cattle and
provisions, exported to Virginia, Maryland and the West Indies--(to
the latter were also sent "houses ready framed"), to Spain,
Portugal, the Straits and England. Tobacco, sugar, indigo, cotton,
wool, ginger, logwood, fustic, cocoa and rum were imported and again
exported. "They trade with most parts of Europe from which they
import direct all kinds of merchandise, so that little is left for
English merchants to import," wrote Randolph. "Some ships have been
sent to Guinea, Madagascar, etc., and some to Scanderoon; there are
built in the Colony, 730 ships varying from 6 to 250 tons, by thirty
master shipbuilders." Duties were imposed on provisions and wines
imported, and on ships, but there was no custom on exports, except
on horses.[56]
[56] _Cal. State Papers, Am. and W. I._ (1675-1676), 466.
In April, 1675, William Harris wrote from Boston that "The merchants
seem to be rich men, and their houses [are] as handsomely furnished
as most in London. In exchange of fish, pipe-staves, wool and
tobacco, they have from Spain, Portugal, and the islands, the
commodities of those islands; their wool they carry to France and
bring thence linen; to England they bring beaver, moose, and deer
skins, sugar and logwood, and carry hence cloth and ironwares; to
Barbadoes, in exchange for horses, beef, pork, butter, cheese,
flour, peas, biscuit, they have sugar and indigo; when they trade
with Jamaica; as they do sometimes, they bring home pieces of eight,
plate, and pigs of silver.... As to cloth, there are made here
Linsey woolseys, and other of cotton and wool, and some all sheep's
wool, but the better sort of linen is brought from England; they
have many woolcombers, and some make tammeys, but for their private
use. Salt they get from Tortudas, not far from Barbadoes. It is sold
at 10s. the hogshead, and is clear and white as alum, very sharp and
much stronger than ordinary bay salt."[57]
[57] _Ibid._, 221-222.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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