Middle School and High School

Barter to Market or What's in Your Household?

Lesson Abstract

For the most part, in the 17th and 18th century agrarian societies, there was little or no money. Exchange of goods was completed through the barter or trade system. This gradually began to move to a market system. By examining trade records from the Fort Pitt Day Book (1765) and early inventories of households, we can discover what was being traded and what people relied upon in their homes.