<P> Colonial artisanship emerged slowly as the market for advanced craftsmanship was small . American artisans developed a more relaxed (less regulated) version of the Old World apprenticeship system for educating and employing the next generation . Despite the fact that mercantilist, export - heavy economy impaired the emergence of a robust self - sustaining economy, craftsman and merchants developed a growing interdependence on each other for their trades . In the mid-18th century, attempts by the British to subdue or control the colonies by means of taxation sowed increased discontent among these artisans, who increasingly joined the Patriot cause . </P> <P> Colonial Virginia provided a potential market of rich plantations . At least 19 silversmiths worked in Williamsburg between 1699 and 1775 . The best - known were James Eddy (1731--1809) and his brother - in - law William Wadill, also an engraver . Most planters, however, purchased English - made silver . </P> <P> In Boston, goldsmiths and silversmiths were stratified . The most prosperous were merchant - artisans, with a business outlook and high status . Most craftsmen were laboring artisans who either operated small shops or, more often, did piecework for the merchant artisans . The small market meant there was no steady or well - paid employment; many lived in constant debt . </P> <P> Colonial silver working was pre-industrial in many ways: many pieces made were "bespoke," or uniquely made for each customer, and emphasized artistry as well as functionality . Silver (and other metal) mines were scarcer in North America than in Europe, and colonial craftsmen had no consistent source of materials with which to work . For each piece of silver they crafted, raw materials had to be collected and often reused from disparate sources, most commonly Spanish coins . The purity of these sources was not regulated, nor was there an organized supply chain through which to obtain silver . As silver objects were sold by weight, manufacturers who could produce silver objects cheaply by mass had an advantage . Many of these unique, individual aspects to silver working kept artisan practices in place through the late 18th century . </P>

3 natural resources that fueled the american industrial revolution