Women in 17th-century New England facts for kids
In early New England, the lives of women were very different depending on their background. The three main groups were the Puritans, Native Americans, and people who arrived from the Caribbean and Africa. Puritan towns were often strict and religious. They grew quickly in places like Massachusetts and Rhode Island during the 1600s.
Before Europeans arrived, Native American women and men often had more equal roles. Their jobs were divided by their social group and gender. After Europeans came, Native women had to adapt to new ideas about laws and religion. It's harder to know about the lives of women who came as enslaved or free people from the Caribbean. Most records about them were written by white, male slave owners. These records often treated people as property.
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Women in Early New England
Life for women in early New England was shaped by their community. The 1600s saw a lot of growth in colonial settlements starting around 1620. While many Puritans shared similar beliefs, their wealth could be very different. As towns grew, people gathered more belongings. These items showed how wealthy and important a family was. For example, in 1652, one man's property was worth 13 pounds. But in 1654, a woman named Ann Attwood owned 18 tablecloths and 66 cloth napkins, plus other valuable items. This shows how much wealth could vary, even if social rules were very strong.
Puritan Women
Puritan society was mostly controlled by men. This was clear in almost every part of public life. Women could not own land by themselves. This meant they couldn't vote, a right only given to "freemen" (men who owned property). Women were not allowed to make laws, serve in courts, or manage land. These were all jobs for men in the government.
Religion also had different roles for men and women. Most colonists in New England were Christian. But women were often seen as less important than men in the eyes of God. The idea was that men were below God, and women were below men. The average Puritan woman who lived to be 21 years old usually lived to about 63. This was about seven years less than men. Some historians think this was because of childbirth, but everyone agrees it was a tough life.
Daily Life for Puritan Women
Private life in Puritan communities was not very private. Towns were close-knit, and social rules were strictly followed. This meant there was little privacy, especially for money matters. The main part of a home was the nuclear family (parents and children). It was very important for a family to survive that the husband, wife, and children lived together. Married women often spent about 20 years raising children. They also had many daily chores.
The work of a married Puritan woman was mostly at home. It was often very hard, especially in early New England. A wife and mother was in charge of all the housework, cooking, and cleaning. Women also traded food and helped each other with births, acting as midwives or helpers. In the early settlements, there were not many European women. This meant they usually got married quickly. Later, as more children were born, there were more women in general.
Laws and Puritan Women
If people in Puritan towns had serious disagreements, they might go to court. Women could not be part of the court, but they still had to follow common law. If they broke a law, they had to go to trial. For example, in 1634, in Northampton, a man complained that Joan Butler had insulted his wife, Maria Drew. Joan Butler was found guilty. She had to apologize and pay a small fine to Maria Drew.
This shows that early Puritan society cared a lot about keeping order. They wanted things to run smoothly.
Native American Women
Before Europeans arrived, Native American women lived much as they had for centuries. Like in colonial New England, Native women had specific jobs in their communities. Depending on the tribe, women usually did the cooking, preserved food, and made tools and furniture for the home. Women often lived near other women in groups. They were not limited to living only with a husband, like in colonial society.
Native women were also responsible for growing and harvesting crops, especially maize (corn). It was common for women to use land that their mothers had passed down to them. The food they organized made up to 75 percent of what people ate each year.
Native American Marriage and Family
The idea of marriage in Native American society was different from the European way. It had different ceremonies and meanings. It was not unusual to see more flexible relationships in Native society. Sometimes, "divorce" happened, and less often, polygamy (a man having multiple wives) was normal.
Polygamy was often practiced by men who had higher political power in the tribe. This practice also helped unite different tribes. For example, a tribal leader, called a sachem, might marry his son to another sachem's daughter. This helped make the two tribes stronger together. Sometimes, a sachem would marry several women who were important members of other tribes. This helped build alliances between neighboring tribes.
Major Native American Groups
The Native American people of New England called themselves Ninnuock, which means "the people." There were seven main groups: the Mahican and Mohegan, Nipmuck groups, the Pequots, the Sokoki, the Abenaki, and the Pennacook. These groups often changed and sometimes fought for control. For example, the Pocasset were part of the Nipmuck group in Eastern Massachusetts. Their lands reached into northern Rhode Island.
When Europeans arrived, their leader, Sagamore Conbitant, did not trust the settlers. His feelings turned out to be right. After he died, his daughter Weetamoo became the leader. She later married one of Massasoit's sons. This raised both their social positions and made their tribal connections stronger.
How Europeans Changed Native Life
In the 1600s, Native people in New England saw their land and way of life slowly taken over by European settlements and customs. For women like Sarah Ahhaton, who lived in the mid-1600s, being a Native woman in a world with both European and Native societies was a constant culture clash.
In 1668, Sarah lived in a town of Christian Native Americans. Her husband, William, who was the chief's son, brought charges against her in court. They had been married for ten years. But for the past two years, Sarah had been seen spending time with another married man named Joseph. Even though William had hit Sarah before, her husband's complaint was the main focus. Sarah was told not to be alone with Joseph anymore.
Weeks later, she and Joseph did not obey the court. They went to his mother's house a few miles away. Sarah eventually came home, but she kept seeing Joseph. Finally, after being accused of spending too much time alone with Joseph, she left her tribe. Sarah's story is special. It shows the clear differences between the rules of each society. Her answers in court, though perhaps more fair than her husband's actions, were ignored. This would likely have happened among white settlers too.
Women from the Caribbean
Most experts agree that the first ship carrying enslaved people to New England, the Desire, arrived in 1638. It brought some of the first people of African descent to Boston. Hundreds more followed, captured or bought as part of the African and international slave trades. Their stories are often forgotten, even though they were one of the three main groups in the early colonies. To understand the lives of women from African or Caribbean backgrounds in 17th-century New England, we need to look at the bigger picture of society.
The idea of enslavement in the 1600s was a bit different from today. Puritans also used the word "slavery" for prisoners of war or criminals. But it also meant someone who was completely controlled by another person. This could be by capture, purchase, or birth. An enslaved person had no freedom or personal rights. Many people were enslaved, but some were not. It is hard to know what life was like for women of African or West Indian descent. Very few of them left behind their own stories. Most of what we know comes from the records of Europeans. Legal records are important for understanding how colonies viewed human rights and crime. Court decisions show the general rules of society.
Historians have noted that Puritans cared a lot about justice. They valued order very highly. Making sure their colonies were stable was more important than most other things. This meant that a person's religious beliefs were more likely to cause trouble than their race. For example, out of 245 punishments recorded by the Massachusetts Bay Colony court between 1630 and 1641, many were reduced or forgiven. This often happened if the person confessed and showed they were sorry. This suggests that non-white people might have had an easier time if they were Christian.
