June 12, 2008

Winterthur

The gardens at Winterthur were fabulous.  I could just imagine myself a child playing in the Enchanted Woods or sliding down the bannister or playing a huge game of hide and seek in that nine story home. 

The day began with a lecture on commerce and the consumer revolution by Professor Cathy Matson from the University of Delaware.  As luxuries became more appealing and desirable to colonists, demand began to grow for items such as sugar, tobacco, alcohol.  These non-nutritive stimulants were craved for their flavor and their status.  As Paul noted- keeping up with the Jones’ is nothing new.

As the demand for these items grew, entire markets sprouted up and the triangle trade of mercantilism began to grow and change.  During this time 3/4 of people who came to North America came as bound labor or as slaves.  Society afforded for coffee houses and taverns to spring up.  These places were gatherings for the elite, they served as places to get news, hold auctions, to show the latest styles, to conduct business, to see and be seen.   By the 1700s it’s “not just survival anymore”.  This rapid consumption led to a greater demand for buckets and baskets and barrels and churns; millstones and trunks and locks.  More and more craftsmen were required to meet the needs of colonists and this triggered a shift from finished goods entirely coming from England and abroad, to finished goods being created in the colonies-with exceptions, such as textiles. A  middling (middle) class begins to take shape.

This material introduced in this discussion is an excellent resource and a way to introduce several colonial issues: trade, taxes, slavery, mercantilism, triangle trade, atlantic world.