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For Kids

There were many occupations in colonial times - butchers and bakers and candlestick makers and hatters and coopers and printers and cobblers and wheelwrights and all kinds of smiths and more!

Like Father Like Son: Many businesses in the New World were family businesses. Fathers taught their sons the trade they knew. As the population grew, more craftsmen and workers were needed.

Indentured Servants: To help solve this, people in Europe were offered an opportunity to purchase their passage to the New World by signing a contract that said they would work for a certain number of years as a servant. As part of their contract, they were provided with a place to sleep, food to eat, and taught a trade. Most contacts obligated them for 7-14 years, which was considered a fair amount of time to pay back the cost of the passage, their room and board, and their training. When their time was up, they would be free of this obligation. Some people signed up for a specific type of work, like learning to be a baker or a blacksmith. But contracts could be bought and sold.

By 1775, it is estimated that about 400,000 indentured people had arrived in the colonies. People became indentured in different ways. Some were eager for a new life and willing to work hard to get it. Some people were offered the option of becoming an indentured servant instead of going to jail for a crime they had committed. Some people were kidnapped and shipped off to the New World where they were purchased by the highest bidder in the same manner as slaves were purchased.

Not all owners were cruel. In fact, very few of them treated their indentured servants poorly. Still, about 20% of indentured servants were unhappy with their situation and became runaways. If captured, they were returned to their masters and had to serve extra years on their contract as well as other punishments.

Occupations: Explore the many occupations in colonial times by clicking on the interactive links below. (Watch out for the bellows!)

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Colonial Occupations - The 13 Colonies for Kids

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There were many occupations in colonial times - butchers and bakers and candlestick makers and hatters and coopers and printers and cobblers and wheelwrights and all kinds of smiths and more! Like Father Like Son: Many businesses in the New World were family businesses. Fathers taught their sons the trade they knew.

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | American Revolution: The Indians' War of Independence

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Native American tribes battled for their freedom and way of life for many years after the end of the American Revolution

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What the Colonial Virginians Ate: Apple Tansey - Learn what the Colonial settlers of Virginia ate and a traditional colonial recipe for Apple Tansey. I'm revisiting a historical recipe for Apple Tansey. This refreshed version features beautiful new photographs by my talented friend Kelly Jaggers.
The first colonial settlers came to America for a variety of reasons... money, religious freedom, a new beginning. All undoubtedly had dreams of finding a better life in the New World. It was the birth of our nation, and also the birth of American cuisine.

MY OTHER RECIPES

In 1607 the first British colony-Virginia-was established, and 1776 was the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. This span of years is known as the Colonial Period. It was during this time that large numbers of European settlers began to arrive in the U.S., colonizing along the east coast of North America. There were many different cultural influences in America at the time, including settlers from Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Germany, slaves from Africa, and Native American tribes. This melding pot of humanity resulted in many diverse approaches to food. To find some perspective in what would otherwise be a massive subject, today I am focusing specifically on the Colony of Virginia, one of the thirteen original British colonies.

Why Virginia? I'm glad you asked!

A few years back I put a lot of work into researching my ancestry. Well, it turns out there are some fascinating characters in my family tree. In my What the Tudors Ate blog, I wrote about my ancestor Sir Thomas Wyatt, a poet in King Henry VIII's court. Wyatt's offspring did some pretty interesting things, too. He had a son, known as Thomas Wyatt the younger, who led a rebellion against Queen Mary I (the daughter of Henry VIII and heir to his throne).

Thomas the younger, it is written, had a "wild disposition" and a deep hatred for Spain. When Queen Mary was betrothed to Philip of Spain, Thomas conspired against the marriage, believing that Mary's younger sister Elizabeth should be on the throne instead. He led a rebellion of 4,000 men who marched on London, but his rebel army deserted him at the last minute, and he was forced to surrender. He was later tried, found guilty of treason, beheaded and quartered as ordered by Queen Mary, aka "Bloody Mary."

Shivers.

This might well have been the end of the Wyatt family (which means I would have never been born!), but as luck would have it Thomas the younger gave birth to a son before he was executed. That son, George Wyatt, and his wife gave birth to two sons- Reverend Haute Wyatt (1594-1638) and Sir Francis Wyatt (1588-1644). Those two brothers, Francis and Haute, arrived in America on August 1, 1621 aboard a ship called the George. Shortly thereafter, Sir Francis became the first English crown governor of the Colony of Virginia in 1621. He also introduced the first written constitution for an English colony. This constitution became a model for all later forms of government in the American colonies.

Wow, right? Just, wow! My ancestor was the first royal governor of Virginia. I'm a direct descendent of Francis' brother, Reverend Haute. It's so cool to know that I have a colonial governor in my family tree! The state of Virginia has a special place in my heart... I've dreamed of having a farm in Virginia for as long as I can remember. I took my first trip there in 2008, and went back again in 2009 because I loved it so much. This was all before I knew about Sir Francis and Reverend Haute. Virginia must be in my genes. So cool!

Okay, back to food history. The Colony of Virginia was actually the first permanent English colony in North America, founded at the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. The first decade of colonial life was fraught with hardship as settlers learned to live in this strange New World. European crops would not grow, provisions were poor, and settlers did not know how to fend for themselves in this harsh, uncharted land. Over time, the new Americans learned from the Native Americans, adopting native crops like maize (corn), beans, squash, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and chestnuts. Wild-growing foods were also gathered and consumed, including berries, grapes, onions and plums. As decades passed, European crops were imported and successfully cultivated in America, including rye, wheat, oats, cabbage, peas, carrots and beets. Orchard fruits flourished in the New World, particularly apples. Apples were eaten fresh, baked into pies and tarts, dried, or fermented into alcohol ("apple jack"-aka apple brandy).

In the early colonial period, settlers relied on fish and wild game (deer, buffalo, wild fowl) to sustain them. Fish from rivers and shellfish from the coast provided an abundant source of protein. As farms were established, cattle were imported and poultry was domesticated. But the most widely consumed meat animal was the pig. Pigs thrived in the South, and were particularly useful to the settlers because their meat was easy to salt and preserve. Lard was often used as a cooking fat. As colonists grew their domesticated animal herds, dairy farming became more popular. Cheese, butter, and eggs became staples of the colonial diet.

Virginia, a plantation colony, has an unfortunate history of slave trade. African slaves made a major contribution to the Southern colonial diet. Slaves were often permitted to grow their own gardens to supplement their food rations. In these gardens they cultivated a variety of then unfamiliar foods, including yams, okra, peanuts, melons and sesame seeds. These foods were adopted by the mainstream, and quickly became popular throughout the American South.

In the colonies, three meals were served per day-breakfast in the morning, dinner mid-day (the most substantial meal), and a light supper in the evening. Of course, different income brackets enjoyed different types of food depending on what they could afford. The diet of Governor Francis Wyatt would have been quite different from the poorer colonial settlers and slaves. But even the wealthy and well-established had to plan their meals around what was readily available to the colonies. Very few food items were imported, particularly in the early colonial period.

The best descriptions I've found about colonial eating appear in a book published in 1975 called A Cooking Legacy by Virginia T. Elverson and Mary Ann McLanahan.
BREAKFAST In frontier outposts and on farms, families drank cider or beer and gulped down a bowl of porridge that had been cooking slowly all night over the embers... The southern poor ate cold turkey washed down with ever-present cider. The size of breakfasts grew in direct proportion to growth of wealth... It was among the Southern planters that breakfast became a leisurely and delightful meal, though it was not served until early chores were attended to and orders for the day given... Breads were eaten at all times of the day, but particularly at breakfast. DINNER Early afternoon was the appointed hour for dinner in Colonial America. Throughout the seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century it was served in the "hall" or "common room." While dinner among the affluent merchants in the North took place shortly after noon, the Southern planters enjoyed their dinner late as bubbling stews were carried into the fields to feed the slaves and laborers... In the early settlements, poor families ate from trenchers filled from a common stew pot, with a bowl of coarse salt the only table adornment... The stews often included pork, sweet corn and cabbage, or other vegetables and roots which were available... SUPPER
...supper was a brief meal and, especially in the South, light and late. It generally consisted of leftovers from dinner... In the richer merchant society and in Southern plantation life, eggs and egg dishes were special delicacies and were prepared as side dishes at either dinner or supper.

Speaking of eggs and egg dishes, how about we take a taste of colonial life by preparing an Apple Tansey! This historical recipe appears in The Compleat Housewife: Or, Accomplished Gentelwoman's Companion, a cookbook written by Eliza Smith, originally published in 1742. Though the book was published in London, it was later reprinted and published in Williamsburgh, Virginia by the printer William Parks. It is the first cookbook ever to be published in the United States.

Here is the recipe exactly as it appears in the manuscript:

To make an Apple Tansey,
Take three pippins, slice them round in thin slices, and fry them with butter; then beat four eggs, with six spoonfuls of cream, a little rosewater, nutmeg, and sugar; stir them together, and pour it over the apples; let it fry a little, and turn it with a pye-plate. Garnish with lemon and sugar strew'd over it.
I got super excited when I read this recipe. It was a totally new one to me. Eggs, cream, sugar, and apples. Yum! How can you go wrong??

For our purposes, I have taken the recipe and "translated" it, so you can try a bit of colonial cooking in your kitchen. Pippin apples aren't available to me locally, so I subbed Granny Smiths, which are tart and firm like Pippins. If you can find Pippins, by all means use them! Rosewater can be purchased at a Middle Eastern market; if you can't locate a bottle, you can leave it out, as the flavor is quite subtle.

I have to admit, I had a little trouble with this tansey the first couple of times I cooked it. Because of the sugar in the apples and the egg mixture, the bottom of the tansey browns much faster than the top. Adding a lid to the skillet didn't help much. I finally decided to finish it by broiling the top of the tansey towards the end of cooking. This resulted in a perfectly cooked, perfectly beautiful apple tansey. The colonial settlers didn't have broilers, obviously, so if you prefer you can flip the egg mixture over like an omelette to cook the opposite side. This will ensure even cooking throughout. Nobody wants a runny apple tansey!

This dish is delicate - light and fluffy. The apples add a subtle sweetness, complimented by the tartness of the fresh lemon juice. It likely would have been served as a side dish at a Colonial dinner or supper. It's not quite sweet enough to be considered dessert. I think it would make a wonderful addition to a weekend brunch or tea party menu. Sub lowfat milk for cream and your favorite low-cal sweetener for sugar to make a healthier low-carb version. Enjoy!

Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Apple Corer Mixing Bowls Cast Iron Skillet
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Research Sources
Elverson, Virginia T. & McLanahan, Mary Ann (1975). A Cooking Legacy.
Walker & Company, New York., NY.

Harbury, Katharine E. (2004). Colonial Virginia's Cooking Dynasty.
University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina.

Smith, Andrew F. (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.
Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
Colonial Recipe Sources
Glasse, Hannah. (1747). The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Reprinted by Applewood Books in 1997. Bedford, MA.

Randolph, Jane (1743). Jane Randolph Her Cookery Book
(referenced in Colonial Virginia's Cooking Dynasty)

Smither, Eliza (1742). The Compleat Housewife: Or, Accomplished Gentelwoman's Companion.
London, England.

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What the Colonial Virginians Ate: Apple Tansey

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What the Colonial Virginians Ate: Apple Tansey - Learn what the Colonial settlers of Virginia ate and a traditional colonial recipe for Apple Tansey. I'm revisiting a historical recipe for Apple Tansey. This refreshed version features beautiful new photographs by my talented friend Kelly Jaggers.

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A list of games and sports that were played during the 17th century.

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Throughout the 16th and 17th century, America fell deep into the art of portraits, still lives, and nature. As you go through this gallery, you will see the focal point of American life was the beauty of life and nature throughout the country. Art became wildly popular after the Classicism period in the 18th century, and became the period of art and appreciation of life and nature.

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The Beauty of Art in Colonial America - Google Arts & Culture

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Throughout the 16th and 17th century, America fell deep into the art of portraits, still lives, and nature. As you go through this gallery, you will see the focal point of American life was the beauty of life and nature throughout the country.

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The Puritans were never known for their lighthearted play, but there were games in colonial New England - often to the disgust of its puritan leadership.

In the early 1600s in New England, games that developed skills, such as shooting competitions, were viewed more favorably than those that were merely diversions. Worst of all were games that involved luck. Here are seven of the more popular games in colonial New England:

Stoolball. Stool ball resembles cricket in the way it is played. A pitcher throws a ball at a target, usually a stool though a tree or other object could be substituted. A second man tried to swat the ball away, either with his hand or a paddle, so that it doesn't strike the stool. Points are scored for each ball successfully swatted away.

The game eventually evolved to include fielding and running. To score runs, a batter who hit a ball would run between two stools while the fielders would recover the hit ball, very similar to cricket.

Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth colony reported being dismayed to find men playing stool ball on Christmas day in 1621. Some men did not want to work on Christmas, and Bradford relented, but hoped that they would eventually learn that Christmas was not a day for celebration and join him in his labors. When he returned from his work he found the men playing stoolball. He stopped them by confiscating their gear.

Ninepins. Another sport that flourished in America was ninepins, which was a form of outdoor bowling. It was frowned upon in New England, but did exist as there is evidence that the government banned it. The participants used stones rolled across the ground to knock down pins.

While played on the sly in New England, New York created a public bowling green.

Pitching the Bar. Another of the games that shocked William Bradford in 1621 was called pitching the bar. It involved throwing a bar or log as far as possible. He put a stop to this, too.

Foot Races. Of course, Native Americans had pastimes of their own. Many of the games were designed to develop the skills needed for survival as adults. Throwing balls, a ring-toss game and foot races that could cover many miles were among the common pursuits.

Slide Groat. Slide groat was another game that had to be played on the sly, but was engaged in by early colonists. This was a miniature shuffleboard type of game, also called shovelboard. It was played on a board, often the top of a bar. Pennies were slid the length of the board and had to stop inside a defined target area to score points.

Football. Football of the 1600s wasn't like football of today. It more resembled soccer or European football mixed with rugby, with boys kicking the ball to each other in a form of keep-away that could turn quite violent.

The Puritans loathed football. Englishman Philippe Stubbs, who was something of a Puritan scold, pointed out the dangers of football in his pamphlet, The Anatomie of Abuses, which attacked a wide range of games, pastimes and other supposed vices. He wrote:
Now who is so grosly blinde that seeth not that these aforesaid exercises not only withdraw us from godliness and virtue, but also haile and allure us to wickednesse and sin? For as concerning football playing I protest unto you that it may rather be called a friendlie kinde of fyghte than a play or recreation-a bloody and murthering practice than a felowly sport or pastime.
Nevertheless, football invaded the pious streets of New England towns and there are records of complaints about young men playing the game in the streets of Boston.

Coasting. Coasting was we would call sledding today. Children fashioned sleds with two runners and hopped on them to slide down any hill with a slope great enough to provide adequate gravitational inducement. Not surprisingly, the government in Massachusetts did not like coasting and outlawed it. In New York state, the officials went so far as to punish anyone caught coasting by impounding not just their sled, but their hat as well.

Thanks to A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, John Newbery; Child Life in Colonial Days, Alice Morse Earle

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Seven Games in Colonial New England - New England Historical Society

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The Puritans were never known for their lighthearted play, but there were games in colonial New England - often to the disgust of its puritan leadership. In the early 1600s in New England, games that developed skills, such as shooting competitions, were viewed more favorably than those that were merely diversions.

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Colonial Williamsburg | The World's Largest Living History Museum

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Experience the largest outdoor educational living museum in the country, through immersive and authentic 18th-century programming for our guests.

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Music of Colonial and Revolutionary America - YouTube

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The music in this playlist was either actually played in the 13 Colonies before and during the American Revolution, or (as is the case with "Early Americans"...