Domestic Life in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

27482

Title

Domestic Life in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Annie Lash Jester's historical account illuminates the domestic realities of seventeenth-century Virginia, focusing on the resilience of women who managed households, estates, and plantations amidst early colonial hardships, disease, and social constraints.

Summary up to 500 words

Annie Lash Jester's *Domestic Life in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century* chronicles the transformation of the Virginia colony from a precarious outpost into a stable society, with a specific focus on the indispensable role of women. The narrative begins with the arrival of the first gentlewomen in 1608, who established the domestic foundation necessary for permanent colonization. Early life was defined by extreme hardship, including the 'starving time' of 1609–1610, where colonists survived on oysters and tuckahoe. Despite malaria, starvation, and indigenous hostility, women served as the colony's stabilizing force, managing households, overseeing servants, and bearing children while men focused on survival and trade. As the colony evolved, so did the domestic sphere. Jester details the transition from fragile stockade settlements to established plantations, facilitated by Lord De La Warr's well-supplied fleet in 1610. The book highlights the legal and social autonomy women exercised, particularly regarding remarriage. Due to high mortality rates, widows frequently remarried, often bringing significant property and authority as executrices of estates. Specific case studies, such as those of Sarah Bland and Elizabeth Hansford, illustrate how women navigated complex legal contracts, settled large landed estates, and protected their children's inheritances. Bland, for instance, crossed the Atlantic alone to settle her husband's vast holdings after her son's execution during Bacon's Rebellion. The text also explores the management of large plantations, which often included indentured servants, apprentices, and enslaved individuals. Women acted as household executives, supervising spinning, weaving, and the cultivation of tobacco and other crops. The book further touches upon colonial industries like glassmaking and sturgeon curing, as well as social customs ranging from the public punishment of unruly women on the 'ducking stool' to the prevalence of gaming. Ultimately, Jester portrays the mid-seventeenth-century colony as a testament to the endurance and administrative capability of its female population, who successfully transformed a desperate frontier into a thriving community capable of sustaining English society in the New World.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• History
• Social Life and Customs