The first business of America’s colonists was survival. Therefore, farming was their major occupation.
However, when survival was no longer an issue, the colonists turned to business with enthusiasm. At first they profited from the natural resources of the land and the sea. They fished and caught whales and cut down trees for lumber and shipbuilding. They also harvested such forest by-products as pitch, tar, resin, and turpentine. Later, when large supplies of iron ore were discovered, they made pots, pans, and cannonballs.
By the eighteenth century, many of America’s colonial merchants were quite successful. They built fine houses in thriving cities. They liked to display their wealth. One popular way was to convert silver coins into useful and decorative silverware. Silversmiths were respected craftspeople in all the large cities, and one of the most notable was Boston’s Paul Revere.
