Colonial Economy: Farming, Trade, and Crafts

• 1Colonists grew a variety of crops, including wheat and corn.
• 2Trade involved bartering goods like fish, lumber, and livestock.
• 3Craftspeople played a vital role in the colonial economy by providing services and goods.

1. 1612

   John Rolfe begins growing tobacco, soon Virginia's cash crop

2. 1651

   The Navigation Acts require colonial trade to use English ships

3. 1744

   Indigo becomes a South Carolina export

4. 1764

   The Sugar Act taxes colonial trade