United States History Student Edition

F Commerce in Virginia The listings shown here appeared in the Virginia Gazette in 1738. The listings note ships and goods, including people bound to slavery, imported to (“Enter’d in York River”) and exported from (“Clear’d out”) the Virginia Colony through the port at Williamsburg.

Complete Your Inquiry EVALUATE SOURCES AND USE EVIDENCE Refer back to the Compelling Question and the Supporting Questions you developed at the beginning of the lesson. 1. Summarizing To which colonial region is each of the sources related? How does each source help explain the region’s economy? 2. Assessing Which of the sources strongly point out the economic successes of the colonies? Do those sources seem reliable? Explain. 3. Gathering Sources Which sources helped you answer the Supporting Questions and the Compelling Question? Which sources, if any, challenged what you thought you knew when you first created your Supporting Questions? What information do you still need in order to answer your questions? What other viewpoints would you like to investigate? Where would you find that information? 4. Evaluating Sources Identify the sources that helped answer your Supporting Questions. How reliable is the source? How would you verify the reliability of the source? COMMUNICATE CONCLUSIONS 5. Collaborating Work with a partner to discuss what life was like for the early English colonists. How do these sources provide insight into the economies of the colonies and the types of work colonists did? Use the graphic organizer that you created at the beginning of the lesson to help you. Share your conclusions with the class. TAKE INFORMED ACTION Writing an Editorial Colonial economic activity, from farming to fishing, depended on the geography of the land and the natural resources available. Natural resources are still essential for industry, but we have learned that the use of natural resources, particularly nonrenewable resources, can have significant long-term effects. Write a newspaper editorial taking a position on how to best manage natural resources.

PRIMARY SOURCE: NEWSPAPER LISTING

sundry various barrel, tierce, hogshead measures of volume, which varied by commodity staves wooden slats for barrel-making tallow animal fat, used for making candles and soap EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Identifying Based on the listings, what natural resources were exported from Virginia? 2. Identifying What were important imports?

Virginia Museum of History and Culture

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