Joel Hendon

Entering The Eighteenth Century In America: Not For The Faint Hearted


Posted: Monday, February 08, 2010

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It is not difficult to imagine how terribly hard life could be when entering a new land with only a couple of hundred people, trying to prepare some means of shelter from the elements and wild animals. Trying to provide food for the families and figuring out how to preserve and protect it for the harsh winters. The earliest of the settlers often lost half of their people during the long cold winters either from starvation, exposure to the cold, pneumonia and a number of other diseases. And these factors combined were deadly.

But all the 13 original colonies were settled and prospering by the beginning of the eighteenth century with the exception of Georgia. Virtually none of the original settlers of the first nine colonies lived until the year 1700. But even though almost all had built protective shelter, mostly cabins built from logs, and many life sustaining provisions had been made, it was far from being a modern New York City Upper East Side.

But the colonies were growing rapidly, many more people were arriving regularly as well as the natural growth in families. Estimated statistics show a growth from approximately 500 in 1620 to 250,900 in1700, the beginning of the eighteenth century. From here to the forming of the union in 1776, the population would explode to roughly 2,700,000.

Businesses selling such as household goods brought in from England, weapons, gun powder, etc had been set up. Small village schools were started for the young. There were no advanced education establishments yet, no medical school. Any knowledgeable person could hang out a medical Doctor's shingle. There were no requirements established and one's success depended more on his demeanor than his ability to heal.

It would be over half a century before the King's College Medical School was founded in the New York Colony in 1767. It issued it's first doctorates in medicine to Robert Tucker in May 1770 and Samuel Kissarn in May 1771.

An accurate figure of life expectancy during the colonial days is not available. There are widely varying estimates and understandably so. No accurate records were kept, of childbirths, deaths and especially the fact that so many Europeans were arriving well up in age. Some have ventured to remark that those colonials lived longer than they did in Europe. But this is absolutely impossible. Many of the original pilgrims died within one or two years after their arrival. It is estimated that, for a number of years 30-40% of infants died at birth or within weeks afterward, many women died giving birth, plus many died from exposure, malaria, pneumonia and other diseases which would lower the average lifespan tremendously. Some who have studied this problem have made an estimate (more of a guess) that the true average of life for those born then would be around 45 years.

Nevertheless, the colonies were established and progressing. These strong, determined and rugged people were here to stay in a country where they were free to worship as they wished, free to enter what ever vocation they desired and select the type government they preferred.

Things continued to improve but their problems were far from over. Another century must pass, with fighting wars, dealing with the elements, the natives and disease.

Author Biography: Joel Hendon was born near Gadsden Alabama. He attended public schools in Cherokee County, Alabama and after serving a tour of duty in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, attended Jacksonville State University, majoring in Business Administration. He became a Christian in 1948, and although he followed secular work as a career and retired from Allied Signal Aerospace, he is an avid student of the Holy Bible and related works as well as biblical history. He has an extensive website of conservative religious and political articles.http://hebronics.org/index.html

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