Daily Life in the Colonial South

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

This work examines patterns of everyday life in the colonial South from European contact to 1770, documenting how they evolved over time and differences across lines of geography, nationality, ethnicity, religion, race, gender, and class. This work provides the first synthesis of daily life in the colonial South from the time of European arrival to 1770a period that is often overlooked or treated briefly in most surveys on the history of the South. Daily Life in the Colonial South describes how a diverse mix of people created new patterns of living, behaving, and believing across diverse and changing physical, demographic, economic, and social environments by adapting inherited cultures in new settings. The book emphasizes the everyday experiences of ordinary people from the Chesapeake Bay to the Lower Mississippi River, examining aspects of daily life such as work, families, possessions, food, leisure, bodies, and beliefs. It presents balanced coverage of English, French, Spanish, and Native American settlements, describing the lives of both men and women, and making use of quotes from historical documents. An introductory chapter profiles the colonial South at six periods set 50 years apart between 1500 and 1750, while the conclusion discusses colonial southern identities on the eve of the American Revolution.

Reviews

Daily Life in the Colonial South is a solid synthesis of historical literature and a worthy addition to the Daily Life Through History Series. * ARBA *
The book focuses on five regions: the Chesapeake, the low country, the back country, Spanish Florida and French Louisiana, and the Native interior. * Book News *
Daily Life is the Colonial South is a valuable contribution to the Greenwood Press Daily Life through History Series. It offers a well-organized and readable synthesis of contemporary scholarship as well as insightful interpretations of selected primary sources. It will be a useful resource for instructors of undergraduate classes in colonial America. * Journal of Southern History *

Author Bio

John T. Schlotterbeck is A.W. Crandall Professor of History, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN.