Commerce and Culture: The Maritime Communities of Colonial Massachusetts, 1690-1750

by Christine Leigh Heyrman

Examines the history of the maritime communities of Gloucester and Marblehead and notes the paradoxical retention of their conservative lifestyle in the face of economic prosperity

431 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1984

About the author

Christine Leigh Heyrman is the Robert W. and Shirley P. Grimble Professor of American History at the University of Delaware.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

In her book, Commerce and Culture: The Maritime Communities of Colonial Massachusetts: 1690 – 1750, Christine Leigh Heyrman writes about the relationship between social and economic development in colonial Massachusetts. The author rejects the “communal breakdown” model which argues that economic development in Massachusetts resulted in “the emergence of a materialistic, contentious, and secular society in [the] seaports.” (16-17) Instead, she postulates that Puritan social norms shaped the nature of economic development in the towns around Massachusetts Bay. Through her close study of Gloucester and Marblehead, Heyrman writes a compelling work that provides specific examples of the social dynamics in the towns of colonial New England.
Heyrman’s book is divided into two parts. In the first part of her book, Heyrman gives a close analysis of the town of Gloucester. By 1690 the political and spiritual order of Gloucester was dominated by native born inhabitants despite the social and economic instability of the town in the earliest decades after its founding. Economic development resulted in an increase of tension in the town, but Heyrman argues that this tension was characterized by local forces versus outsiders and new wealth versus the traditional ruling elites in the town. This development can be seen in the trials against witches in 1692, which were directed against outsiders. A second example of this is the First Parish controversy, which pitted the traditional elites of the town against merchants in the southern part of the town over the construction of a new Church and resulted in the splitting of the town into two parishes. Heyrman argues that the First Great Awakening had the impact of uniting the town against outsiders, which was further reinforced during hostilities with France and Spain in the 1740s. Instead of seeing a world torn apart in by economic development, Heyrman argues that an increase in trade, and necessary exposure to outsiders, resulted in the reinforcement of localism and traditional values in Gloucester.
In the second part of her book Heyrman analyzes the economic and social development of Marblehead from its founding as a satellite of Salem in 1629 through the end of the First Great Awakening. In contrast to Gloucester, Marblehead did not develop a sense of local identity and a native ruling and social elite until the 1720s. Heyrman argues that economic development did not fracture the social order of the town but served to unite residences around localism and against outsiders. This can be seen in the inoculation riot in December of 1730. These riots pitted local forces against outsiders who attempted to impose mass inoculations against small pox. Finally, Heyrman demonstrates that economic development allowed for the emergence of a local ruling class of wealthy merchants dedicated to local interests.
Heyrman uses a wide range of sources to develop her argument. These sources include journals, sermons, account books, court records, and correspondence. Though many of the records were produced by lay sources, the majority of them come from official sources, especially from court records. A good example of this can be seen in her investigation of the Salem Witch Trials as they transpired in Gloucester. Using the records from these trials Heyrman demonstrates that the people who were accused of witch craft had associated with Quakers, who would have been considered outsiders.

Question: Heyrman’s argument hinges on the example of two maritime port cities to make assumptions about colonial Massachusetts. For this to be effective, these two cities would have to be representative of Puritan towns in general, but the author argues in her introduction that no single New England town can be taken as typical. How is the reader supposed to reconcile this statement with the general structural argument of the book?

[Andee Nero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really well-organized and easy to read. I was told that it says the same thing as Martin's Profits in the Wilderness, but I completely disagree with that statement. Martin is saying that towns were organized as a business. Heyrmann is arguing that "the coming of capitalism" did not cause towns to become impersonal, individualistic and secular, in part because there is no normative Puritan, Puritan experience or moment in New England Puritanism.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A review of the economic development of the Massachusetts colonies.