Colonial Worlds 1607-1750 by Kayla Corvino

Monaco Pillai

2024-01-29 19:09:44 UTC

Women took part in many legal proceedings
- Feme Sole Rights - they can conduct business by themselves without their husbands.
- Tried for sexual offenses, slander, infanticide, other crimes.
- "They sued and were sued."
Slander
- Lots of slander (gossip) in the colonies - cases were plentiful.
  - Women wanted to defend their reputations
  - Women - 19% of civil cases BUT 50% of slander cases
Gossip about paternity
- Example: Michael Baisey's Wife (1654)
TL;DR - It was basically the Maury show up in the colonies.

2024-01-29 19:10:10 UTC

There are no written documents that slave women left behind and they only "personal" information we have about them is through newspapers and their owners' letters and diaries. There was an impersonal way to understanding slaves' experiences and that was through laws. Those laws eventually created "the system of perpetual slavery."

julia_marrero — 2024-01-29 19:12:10 UTC

Women as jurors were to examine the body of the one accused. They searched the body for any revealing signs of witchcraft. During the case of Judith Catchpole, she was accused of murdering a child. She made her claim, as she did not murder the child. Judith has been on a voyage at sea, her accuser had been deceased upon the search, so they had women of the jury do so. They said Judith had not had any child within the time charged. Returning the verdict she was not guilty. She was let free until any further evidence was brought forward.

2024-01-29 19:17:22 UTC

Anne Hutchinson was a controversial woman who lived in Massachusetts with her husband and began holding religious meetings and acting as a minister, a role considered to be for men. She went on trial for her actions as a religious leader and many men believed her to be a witch.

80 percent of accused witches were women and half of the men accused of witchcraft were related to those women.

Over 200 were accused in Salem, Massachusetts, often accused were poor older women with no power as they were believed to be argumentative and prideful. The witch trials in Salem became out of hand and were ended in 1692.

Most historians believe the reason the witch trials were as extreme as they were was because of social tensions. Immigration, secularism and materialism were increasing in the colony.

Taina Degado

2024-01-29 19:20:00 UTC

Anne Hutchinson was a spiritual leader who went against male authority in the courtroom. She preached to both men and women by questioning puritan teachings about salvation and was deemed as a woman not fit for their society. Hutchinson was banned from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Men were in charge of their duties outside of their home. Their duties were to farm fish, trade, and bring money to the table. Women were in charge of cooking, tending the animals, and vegetable gardens.

Depending on a woman's social status, ordinary England women had ordinary jobs while the wealthy women worked less.

Ivy Arocho

2024-01-29 19:29:05 UTC

Prenuptial agreements allowed women to inherit some of their husbands' belongings if they were to become widowed. However, women received very minimal items, and the rest went back to their families. In the account of Agatha Stubbing's prenuptial agreement, she inherited six slaves and kitchenware, however, her husband's family inherited twelve slaves, twenty cows, twelve oxen, a plantation, and multiple houses. Overall, women in colonial times were widely disregarded as worthy people to inherit their husband's belongings after death.

2024-01-29 19:33:07 UTC

Virginia taxed planters according to the number of the laborers who worked in their tobacco fields.

Law of Virginia 1643:

Taxes (tithing) were paid to the minister
Taxes were ten pounds of tobacco and a bushel of corn
All youth ages 16 and up
All negro women 16 and up

Law of Virginia 1662:

All children born in the country will be bonded or free