Most people in the state are of European descent. The earliest colonists were from England and Scotland, and the country's first colonies were established in 1775. The state became a Royal Colony, with its own constitution asserting the right to revolution. Initially, the colonists made their living by fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding. Whale oil was a valuable resource because it could be used as fuel in lamps. Land was scarce, and farming was difficult, but by the 1850s there were permanent classes: day laborers, mariners, and indentured servants.