Colonial Williamsburg show eyes 1700s American economy

Pupils can question
interpreters and historians dressed in period costumes.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Colonial Williamsburg is offering a virtual field trip to school pupils to explore how America’s economy worked in Colonial times.

The award-winning Electronic Field Trip series will present “For Ready Money” on Thursday. The program follows young merchant apprentice Simon Johnson as he learns how to handle money and accounts late in the year 1776.

Established in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the nonprofit educational institution that preserves and operates the restored 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia as a town-sized living-history museum.

“For Ready Money” explores how the Colonial economy worked. In the 18th century, “ready money” was cash and currency valued in English pounds, shillings and pence — similar to today’s dollars and cents, but because the British government discouraged the export of silver or gold currency, there was a shortage of ready money in the American Colonies.

There was, however, a variety of Spanish, French and Dutch coins in use throughout the Colonies, and since merchants accepted coins based on their weight in gold and silver, these were acceptable forms of payment. Virginia’s agricultural economy — primarily tobacco — and the shortage of English hard currency created a financial system based on credit, primarily the value of tobacco “notes,” which were receipts for shipment.

Electronic Field Trips are broadcast one Thursday each month from October through April at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern time on participating PBS stations and cable channels across the country. Pupils in participating schools may phone in questions to costumed interpreters and historians during the broadcasts on live television.

For more information or to register for the Electronic Field Trip series, visit http://www.history.org/history/teaching/eft.cfm or contact the EFT registrar at (800) 761-8331 or by e-mail at EFTSupport@cwf.org.

Registered users also may view “For Ready Money” via the Internet and participate in online activities developed to complement the program. Activities for “For Ready Money” extend pupils’ understanding of the relationships formed through the use of credit in the 1770s Williamsburg economy. The program’s Web site includes comprehensive classroom lessons, a glossary and time line, suggested Web links and a bibliography. Online activities allow students to “shop,” using British pounds, shillings and pence.

To learn more about money in Colonial times, visit “Coins & Currency in Colonial America” at www.history.org/history/museums/coinExhibit/ for an interactive online exhibit that examines the diverse types of money jingling in the pockets and purses of our Colonial ancestors and how the varied coins they exchanged influenced the currency we carry today. 

For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call (800) HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Web site at www.history.org.