Final answer:
A married female colonist was generally not allowed to own property because the legal doctrine of coverture gave her husband control over her property and wages. Single women, however, could own property. Over time, there was some shift in attitudes, but legal and economic equality came much later.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of the American Revolution, a married female colonist was generally not allowed to own property. The legal doctrine of coverture essentially merged the legal existence of the wife with that of her husband, making a married woman (or feme covert) lose her economic and legal autonomy. As a result, any property that a woman owned before marriage would legally become her husband's, without the ability for her to control it independently. While a woman could not sell property without her husband's consent, he could manage and profit from it. Additionally, if a married woman worked, her wages were legally owed to her husband. This reality underlined women's secondary status in society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Despite these restrictions, the situation was different for single women, who were allowed to own property. The restrictions for married women didn't imply they could not work outright, but that any compensation would typically go to their husbands. Post-Revolution, attitudes began to shift slightly, with more employment opportunities for women, though still steeped in societal expectations and lower wages compared to men. Over time, there was an increasing advocacy for equal legal rights and educational opportunities for women, although major changes occurred much later in history.