In the seventeenth century Chesapeake women had different roles than other colonial women. Chesapeake women were expected to work in the house, raise their kids and work with their husbands in the “tedious care of tobacco plants.” (page 13) Unlike in the English society, they lacked a sense of “housewifery” due to the fact that they had the lack of spinning wheels and churns. (page 13) Since mortality rate was so high it was excepted of not just men but especially women to marry multiply time. Since women were expected to marry at such a young age so they could have more kids, they would end up marrying multiple people as their husbands passed away. (page 6) Ironically though, Chesapeake women had the most power when their husbands died, due …show more content…
A women job was to take care of the house, garden and barnyard, but also the man’s work and the women work would overlap and the women would be allowed to sit in on important business debates. This allowed for the women to learn a lot of things that they normally would not get the chance. Unlike the Chesapeake women, New England women when their husbands died they did not receive as much power. (page 30) Women were allowed to go to church but were bonded to silence as they worshipped, except for one church that encourage women to read and teach the words of the Bible. (page …show more content…
Most of the daughters and the wives of farmers were hired to do the harvesting and the households chores, but on the other hand there were women whose husbands “contracted their family labor in exchange for a place to stay.” (page 98) In the middle colonies, unlike the other colonies, most servants were women due to the fact that slavery was almost frowned upon amongst the “wealthy Quaker households.” (page 100) Women were allowed to buy and sell goods and property and can accumulate debt, which at the time was unheard of from women. (page 84) On the other hand though when their husbands would pass away the land would be divided in half, one half going to the wife while the other half was divided up and given to the sons and daughter unlike in the Chesapeake where the wives would get all the property. (page