Colonial Society HierarchyThe Colonial New jersey social structure was mostly the same as any other colony's structure. Slavery existed in all the British American colonies. Some enslaved Africans worked as cooks, servants, etc. Next in the colonial society are the free blacks, who were free but still didn't have as much freedom as whites. Farmers were after free blacks, where majority of most Americans lived and worked on small farms. A new group, the "middling sort" or middle class, gained a larger role in society and government. They worked in trades. Lastly were the Gentry, or the "upper class" of colonial society. They were large landowners, very wealthy merchants, etc.
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History of Colonial SocietyPeople- No other colonies presented such a wide range in nationality, character, purposes, and customs of their people. The total population by 1700 amounted to about sixty thousand.
Occupations and Professions- Owing to the case with which a living could be secured from the soil, farming was the chief occupation in the Middle Colonies. Grains of all sorts were produced and exported, both to other countries and to England. The professions were generally respected in the Middle Colonies. Life and Manners- The social customs of the wealthy landowners were brilliant in variety and elegance. They often possessed homes in both country and city, and life was made a continuous round of careless pleasure. |