American Agriculture History Minute: Early Export Trade

I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.

Before 1720, most colonists in the mid-Atlantic region worked in small-scale farming operations and they paid for imported manufacturing goods by supplying the West Indies with corn and flour. In New York, a fur-pelt export trade to Europe flourished and added additional wealth to that region.

After 1720, mid-Atlantic farming was stimulated by the international demand for wheat. A massive population explosion in Europe drove wheat prices up and by 1770, a bushel of wheat cost twice as much as it did in 1720.

That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.