On Jun 29, 8:06*am, "John Gilmer" wrote:

The "modern" problem required a modern economy. * In the 18th Century, for
example, the idea of *masses of "seasonal workers" could not have been made
to work.

If you mean *migratory* seasonal workers, no, that definitely wasn't
allowed in feudal Europe or the British Isles, where the common man
was a serf who wasn't allowed to travel.

The only people who could travel were the nobility, the clergy, and
Jewish merchants, who were identified a such by a *red* star badge.

Any vagrant who wandered freely and lived off the land, as the Norse,
Celts, and Anglo Saxons had lived for centuries was outlawed.

And, the serfs on a feudal estate were also expected to perform as
"infantry" in case of a war, because the feudal lord was unwilling to
pay a large group of professional mercenaries, year in and year out.

In "Old Mortality", Sir Walter Scott described the mandatory "weapons
shows" of 18th century Scottish peasants with their pitchforks and
rakes...

But even in colonial times, folks were suspecious of too many "new" people
who were like themselves. * Xenophobia has been around for a long time and
with good reason.

The English colonies became a dumping ground for convicts in the early
17th century. Tens of thousands of convicts were shipped to the
Bahamas, Caribbean, Antilles islands and to Georgia to work as *white
slaves* until they completed their sentences or, more likely *died* of
overwork or disease.

They were forbidden to return to England upon threat of being
*hanged*.

By 1740, the number of white slaves exceeded the number of African
slaves.

The British/Norman landowners feared the power of the aggregate slave
work force and enacted laws in Virginia to prevent intermarriage
between the races.

The convicts were not necessarily *bad* people, their offenses might
have been something petty, such as annoying a British/Norman nobleman
about being *paid* for their services.

The common people of England weren't allowed to own land, nor were
they allowed to travel freely around the countryside.

The British/Norman nobility originally got their land and titles from
the Norman kings and they gradually began fencing off their feudal
estates for sheep herding.

The peasants became very inconvenient, because their cottages and
subsistence fields were taking up space that could be used for grazing
sheep.

The peasants had to manufacture something they could sell in order to
pay the rent on their cottage. They did these handicrafts during the
winter and were called "crofters."

Sales of handicrafts were uncertain. Sale of *wool* was a sure thing.

My own English ancestors were middle class, between the British/Norman
nobility and the peasantry, because they owned a textile mill in
Dorset.

The house where they lived still stands. Last I heard, it was a bed
and breakfact inn.

My direct ancestor in Dorset made felt out of wool and they made
woolen clothing. Before they got into that, they'd been weavers of
flax in Belgium.

But, back to the English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish convicts in the
colonies.

It didn't much matter what the "common folk" of the colonies thought,
the convicts still weren't welcomed by the established and wealthy
English businessmen in New England.

Benjamin Franklin likened the convicts to rattlesnakes and said that
at least you knew what a rattlesnake was when you met it.

Franklin was opposed to convict labor in the colonies.

When the Founding Fathers got the chance to enact the first
Immigration Act in 1790, they declared their desire for FREE WHITE
MEN, OF GOOD CHARACTER
to come here and become citizens.

After arriving here and declaring their intent to become citizens,
they had to serve a two year waiting period.

This was gradually raised to 14 years, in order to prevent large
numbers of immigrants who were sympathetic to the British cause from
gaining citizenship and voting for a return to British rule.