Their cultures had changed drastically and many had ceased to exist. They fought many battles in the Europeans’ imperial wars. They had grown accustomed to utilizing European innovations. The remnants of such societies became increasingly threatened by new waves of immigrants in search of land. Farmers and planters had no regard for the preexisting conditions of the Indians and sought only to displace them. Immigration in Pennsylvania disturbed the tranquility that William Penn had established between Indians and Europeans. European and Indian leaders congregated in 1721 and decided to reaffirm Penn’s relations, but skirmishes for land inevitably followed, poisoning the most placid relations with Indians in English North America. As the English replaced the Dutch as the chief trader and producer of cheap consumer goods, American colonies became more involved in the system of Atlantic commerce. Luxury goods became increasingly commonplace. The colonies within New England’s interior were overwhelmingly agricultural, as ninety percent of the population resided in rural areas. English cities in America existed primarily to serve the function of disseminating imported and agricultural goods to the rural areas. The growth of Philadelphia, the cultural, commercial, and economic epicenter of the British empire with thirty-thousand residents, relied on its incorporation with the surrounding agricultural regions. Its merchants organized the collection of farm goods, supplied rural storekeepers, and exported flour, bread, and meat to Europe and the West Indies. As trade expanded, so did port cities, which in which resided an increasing population of merchants and artisans. Typical artisans were independent men who worked with their own tools and in a small factory or their own homes with the assistance of a few apprentices who were less accustomed with the craft. The artisans’ rare
Their cultures had changed drastically and many had ceased to exist. They fought many battles in the Europeans’ imperial wars. They had grown accustomed to utilizing European innovations. The remnants of such societies became increasingly threatened by new waves of immigrants in search of land. Farmers and planters had no regard for the preexisting conditions of the Indians and sought only to displace them. Immigration in Pennsylvania disturbed the tranquility that William Penn had established between Indians and Europeans. European and Indian leaders congregated in 1721 and decided to reaffirm Penn’s relations, but skirmishes for land inevitably followed, poisoning the most placid relations with Indians in English North America. As the English replaced the Dutch as the chief trader and producer of cheap consumer goods, American colonies became more involved in the system of Atlantic commerce. Luxury goods became increasingly commonplace. The colonies within New England’s interior were overwhelmingly agricultural, as ninety percent of the population resided in rural areas. English cities in America existed primarily to serve the function of disseminating imported and agricultural goods to the rural areas. The growth of Philadelphia, the cultural, commercial, and economic epicenter of the British empire with thirty-thousand residents, relied on its incorporation with the surrounding agricultural regions. Its merchants organized the collection of farm goods, supplied rural storekeepers, and exported flour, bread, and meat to Europe and the West Indies. As trade expanded, so did port cities, which in which resided an increasing population of merchants and artisans. Typical artisans were independent men who worked with their own tools and in a small factory or their own homes with the assistance of a few apprentices who were less accustomed with the craft. The artisans’ rare