Zoe Karp

• The first children in Virginia arrived in 1618.
• European families had 5-10 children.
• They had so many children because of the high infant mortality rate.
• European boys went to school or had a tutor.
• European girls were taught at home.
• Girls learned sewing and cooking and cleaning and all of the things that they would need to know when they were married.
• Girls might learn to read and write.
• Boys definitely learned to read and write, and they also learned math and science.
• In European families, the mother would be the one taking care of all of the children.
• In African families, children, especially girls were highly valued.
• When children reached puberty in African cultures, they went through and initiation ceremony.
•  African families had around 6 children.
• In native American cultures, the children would start helping the parents at a very young age.
• In the Powhatan village, the children would learn what they needed to know from their elders, though stories.

The first European children arrived in Virginia in 1618, 10 years after the first women. European families had 5-10 children because of the high infant mortality rate. This means that so many children died when they were babies, the family needed to be able to have other children to help out if another child died. European boys either went to school or their parents hired a tutor for them. The boy’s education was very important because they needed to learn the trade that they would pursue when they were older. Girls would have had a tutor to learn sewing and cooking and cleaning. The girls were also learning this because of what they would pursue when they got older, being wives and mothers. In European families, the mother would be the one taking care of all of the children, not the father or a nanny. In African families, the mother would also take care of the children. Children, especially girls, were highly valued. I think that this was because so many of them died at a young age it was rarer to have children. I don’t really know why girls were valued more. African families had around 6 children. They had this many because that way the work on plantations could be split up evenly. In Native American cultures, the parents wouldn’t see each other very often, so the children wouldn’t see their fathers and the mothers would take care of the children. The kids would start helping out at a young age, around 3 or 4, starting with small tasks like bringing the water from the streams. The children would learn things crucial to their survival through stories that their elders told them.

Native American Marriage

Emma Hirsch

Source:

Williamsburg, VA, Historical Impersonator Blacksmith. Interview. By Olivia Cueto. 6 Jan. 2016.

Quote:

“Colonial marriage perspectives were pretty much all the same. The women would get married at the age of 12 or 13 and the men would be a few years older. Women changed a lot when they got married. Before native women got married they were bald, naked and usually covered in grease. But when a native women got married they finally grew out their hair, got clothing, and could start caring more about their bodies. Weddings were held in cold months Blacksmiths could marry a couple. If a divorce happened, the mother would usually take the children unless she was the one that cheated.”

Paraphrase:

– Native American women would get married at 12 or 13

– The men would would be older than the women

– Women became new people once they got married

– Natives before they got married were bald, naked, and covered in grease

– When they got married they got a makeover

– Weddings happened in cold months

-Blacksmiths could marry a couple

-If the couple got divorced, the mother would get the children, unless she was the one who did something bad

My Ideas:

This shows that marriage was important for the women more so than men. Marriage for Native Americans really impacted your life. The women would start to care more about their looks and appearance. This is surprising to me because this seems like the women are losing power. It seems like the men have the power to change their appearance. Native American women seem to be more powerful than men. In my first notecard I mentioned certain policies that have to do with divorce. I learned Native American women have the power to divorce their husbands. To show that they want to get divorced is by putting her husband’s clothing outside the home. This signifies that she wants him to leave. There was nothing the men could do about it because the women held most the power.  I find it surprising how the women have the power and ability to divorce their husbands but then the men have the power to make the women want to change her appearance. I can infer that the women change their look once they get married because they are happy. What I mean is before they get married she isn’t as happy and maybe doesn’t care so much about what she looks like. Now that she is married she probably feels pressured to look nice and pretty for her husband. I can infer she cares a lot about what he thinks of her and she wants him to think she looks good. The way a woman looked played a big role in the colonial era. It determined your spot on the social hierarchy. If you had the newest shoes, hats, or bags, then the community knows you are wealthy. I can infer women want to look nice so that they fit in well, and people think they are wealthy. This is one reason why a woman changes so much after marriage. I find it interesting how when a couple splits up, the children go to the mother. I know that happens a lot now a days, but I didn’t know it happened back then. I wonder about the three cultures and what their traditions are for divorce. Custody, would there be fighting, court? These are some topics I want to learn about. Because my parents are divorced, I want to see the differences and similarities from now and the colonial era. I wonder what happens once you get divorced land wise. Is it possible for women to keep their ex husbands land? Would men and women go to court for a formal divorce if they were formally married? This shows that there are many marriage and divorce differences among the three cultures. 

History:

Created: 11/02/2016 12:46 PM