US History
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Us history
In the sixteenth century, significant changes were occurring in England. There was an increase in the demand for woolen clothes, which caused the government to come up with legal actions to protect farmers and landowners. Due to the increased wealth, the English men were looking for more opportunities to invest their wealth. On the other side, the small farmers were not fortunate because, for many years, they had rented their small farms from the large scale landowners. As the landowners fenced their farms, the small farmers were being displaced from the countryside to towns. These people faced many problems in the cities and villages where others were reduced to stealing or begging to survive. In their attempt to solve this enormous problem, the English leaders saw colonies as a way to solve the problem. The government, therefore, seeks to expand the rule to other countries (Kelly, 2013). Other than getting more space for the displaced citizens, English colonialism was motivated by political, economic, and social factors, as discussed below.
The growing imperial power and patriotism motivated countries to compete with others for supremacy. The competition was a matter of security, prestige, and national pride. For protection, empires sought a strategic location for easier access to their armed forces. This is because for them to be more powerful, they need to expand their empire and strengthen their defense forces. Politics, economics, and religion were the social pressures that contributed to the English colonization of North America. It is important to note that religion was the main factor that contributed to English migration. The puritans, in search of freedom of religion, fled to America from England. Economically the British people were ambitious about making more money through investing their capital. So they believed that North American colonies presented an excellent opportunity for them to make money.
Massachusetts Bay
The Puritans founded the colony. As many of them got into the Massachusetts colony, they started to form communities and towns. They started farming in the fields that surrounded their villages and grew different types of crops. The variety of crops and the pure drinking water in the colony stopped the spread of diseases that were happening in other colonies. Besides, the different types of crops helped them to become economically successful. They were well established in that if one plant failed, they had other crops to sell and feed their families. In terms of religion, each puritan had its church. They also had a different form of government and conducted town meetings after a specific period. In their government, all the church male members were to decide how to run the towns and other activities (“American colonies”).
Virginia
The colony was the origin of the 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. It was founded in 1670 by john smith. The settlement heavily depended on agriculture and iron industries. It grew cash crops such as tobacco and corns. The colony focused on agriculture and gave more concentration on developing plantations of the cash crops for export. The plants were traded for items that could not be produced or grown in the colony, such as farm tools, dishes, and threads. The main food crop in the province was wheat. The colony did not have a dominant religion, and therefore everyone was free to choose which worship to attend. The various religion included the Anglicans, Baptist, and others (“American colonies”).
The Carolinas
Many of the settlers came from the island of Barbados in the Caribbean. The people brought with them the plantation system in the west indices colonies. Large areas of land were privately owned, and slaves provide labor. The colony was divided into North and South Carolina, which had significant differences in social and economic aspects. The main cash crop in the colony was tobacco. The colony never had a functioning religious establishment. The official religion of the colony was the Anglican Church and was supported by the government. The law protected a religious group if it had more than seven people who believed in a God to be worshiped by the religion.
Significant events and ideas that led to the American Revolution
The American Revolution was a war between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies in North America. The revolution resulted in independence for the colonies. Many events lead to the revolution ranging from colonial conflicts, acts of rebellion, imperial regulations, and enlighten philosophies. For colonial conflicts, the colonies expressed dissatisfaction with how Great Britain controlled its economy and political system. The parliament passed a series of acts that required the colonies to pay taxes and import duties on a variety of raw materials and commodities. The two significant actions were the stamp act and the Townshend act. However, the colonies refused to comply with the act and demanded more autonomy in governing their affairs. All this rebellion decision was greatly influenced by enlightenment ideas from the educated (Kelly, 2013). The enlightenment philosophies included the freedom of speech, equality, freedom of the press, and religious tolerance.
Effects of the American Revolution
The American Revolution brought a new outlook on people in America. The natives Americans were now able to regain their homelands and retain access to their trade supplies engulfed by the revolutionary war. They were also faced with new concepts such as land treaties, citizenship, and the United States’ creations. The African Americans, who were mainly slaves and gunmen in the colonies, benefited from the sanction of slavery, and nearly every province counted slaved people among its population. The women in the colonies had freedom and rights after the revolution. In conclusion, the revolution made the United States the most liberal, democratic commercially minded and most modern people in the world (“Whites, Africans, and Native Americans in the South Carolina colony,” 2004).
References
Whites, Africans, and Native Americans in the South Carolina colony. (2004, May 19). ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/south-carolina-colony-103881
Kelly, M. K. (2013, February 27). Learn about the significant events that led to the American Revolution. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-events-leading-to-american-revolution-104296
American colonies. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-colonies