Differences Between England And The Colonies

New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, but by the 1700’s they were two distinct societies. They differed politically, economically, and socially, and these differences stemmed from when people first arrived in the colonies to how the colonies grew over time.

There were a myriad of differences between Great Britain and her American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but these differences can be divided into three basic categories: economic, social, and political. The original American settlers came to the colonies for varied reasons, but a common trait among these settlers was that they still considered themselves British subjects. However, as time passed, the colonists grew disenfranchised from England. Separated from the king by three thousand miles and living in a primitive environment where obtaining simple necessities was a struggle, pragmatism became the common thread throughout all daily life in the colonies. It was this pragmatism that led the colonists to create

“During the 150 years after the settlement of Jamestown, the colonies grew apart from the motherland”. – (Lecture). Colonies were beginning to support themselves economically and politically without British input. This of course meant they had and were exercising different economic and political views than England. Colonies that failed in the beginning were being restored. While Britain was dealing with issues in England, no new English colonies were established in America for nearly thirty years since Lord Baltimore received the charter for Maryland in 1632. – (Page 26) “The English colonies eventually united, expanded, and became the beginnings of a great nation”. – (Page 28). The colonies became independent minded and created their own governments, and operated separately from the crown. “The growing colonial ventures were producing pressure in England for a more uniform structure to the empire. The English government began trying to regulate colonial trade in the 1650s.” – (Page 32) England imposed the Navigation Acts. This didn’t go well because most colonial governments except Virginia operated independently of the crown. Additionally, although the Navigation Acts were passed - they were not enforced. While Parliament was crashing, “the colonial assemblies, taking advantage of the weak imperial administration, had asserted their own authority to levy taxes, make appropriations, approve appointments, and pass laws for their respective colonies.” – (Page 37). “The British took little notice. England pursued polices of Salutary neglect, leaving the colonist fairly free to conduct their own internal

The Virginia colony, the New World’s first colony was established as a “joint-stock company” colony and was run by the “House of Burgesses”. The House of Burgesses was the first legislative body to exist in the United States. More colonies continued to be founded based on the need of “[t]rade and profits” for the country where the colonists originally came from (American Colonies). The trend of establishing colonies continued until 1733 when the Georgia colony was established.

Between 1607 and 1763, the British North American colonies developed experience in, and the expectation of self government in the political, religious, economic and social aspects of life.

The New England, and the Chesapeake region were settled by englishmen of the same ethnicity, by the 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The different characteristic among the colonies developed due to religion, economy, and motives for colonial expansion. The Chesapeake colonies was Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jerseys, and Maryland. Jamestown, was the first colonie in the Chesapeake, When they first settled their first thought was to find gold as stated in Document 6 until Captain John Smith came he was famous for his quote “ He that will not work shall not eat”.

The relations between England and the British North American colonies could always be considered precarious. Prior to 1750 British essentially followed a policy of benign neglect and political autonomy in the American colonies. (Davidson p.97) The colonies were for the most part content with benign neglect policy, relishing in a “greater equality and representative government”(Davidson p.95) within the colonies. Competition among European Imperial nations began to effect British policy toward North America colonies causing rapid shifts from 1750 to 1776. During this period, the British Empire made a series of policy decision that sealed the fate of the British North American

The four English colonial regions developed so differently socially because of the geography of their region, and religious influence for each colony, but they had a similar goal of creating new life under democratic political systems. By the mid-1600s, flock of new English settlers came to the colonies in search of a better life and happiness. Not every group of people have the same motives to move to the colonies, but the end goal for most people was the same. The new wave of civilization started in the Chesapeake colonies in the current states of Virginia and Maryland.

The seventeenth and early eighteenth century, brought thousands of immigrants to America in pursuit of freedom and a new life. Some desired freedom from religious persecution, others wanted a chance to be free from the poverty that ensnared them in England Thus the American colonies were formed. Although the colonies were all united under British rule, they eventually separated into various regions including the Chesapeake region, the New England region, the Middle region, and the Southern region. Despite all the colonies being primarily inhabited by people of English origin the Chesapeake and New England regions evolved into two distinct societies due to

The continued influx of colonizers would fall to a trickle of only a hundred or so per year after the English Civil War in 1642 and remain subdued until the American Revolution (Reader 's Companion to American History). The colonies which were formed after the English Civil War were much more diverse in their makeup than were the initial Puritan colonies. These colonies formed over a longer period of time and their populations were composed of people who had left England for a varying degree of reasons. In addition, rather than being composed of immigrants from one primary area in England, the English colonists were more geographically diverse as well.

Seventeenth-century Spanish, French, Dutch, and British colonizers embraced different social and economic goals, cultural assumptions, and folkways, resulting in varied models of colonization. Spain sought to establish tight control over the process of colonization in the Western Hemisphere and to convert and/or exploit the native population. French and Dutch colonial efforts involved relatively few Europeans and used trade alliances and intermarriage with American Indians to acquire furs and other products for export to Europe. Unlike their European competitors, the English eventually sought to establish colonies based on agriculture, sending relatively large numbers of men and women to acquire land and populate their settlements, while having relatively hostile relationships with American Indians. The British-American system of slavery developed out of the economic, demographic, and geographic characteristics of the British-controlled regions of the New World. Reinforced by a strong belief in British racial and cultural superiority, the British system enslaved black people in perpetuity, altered African gender and kinship relationships in the colonies, and was one factor that led the British colonists into violent confrontations with native peoples. The New England colonies, founded primarily by Puritans seeking to establish a community of like-minded religious believers, developed a close-knit, homogeneous society and a thriving mixed economy of agriculture

Representation became a key issue within the colonies. Colonists were unhappy how they were being represented within the British rule. This is where the “taxation without representation” comes into play. In 1766 Britain passed the Declaratory Act that said that the parliament had the authority to pass laws for the colonists. This is an example of a “virtual” governing where

The colonies of North America were ready to rebel from King George III in the mid -1770s. There was a sense of “Americanness” amongst the colonists that created a feeling of separation between the British Colonies of North America and the citizens of the Kingdom living in the British Isles. Several factors contributed to the sense of “Americanness” that the colonists felt which consisted of political, social, and economic factors. By creating a feeling of separation, the colonies no longer viewed themselves as British, which would cause them to rebel from King George III.

Before the development of colonial unity, colonists enjoyed the British idea of salutary neglect. This was the philosophy that the colonies did not need any British government influence other than a trading partner. The only problem the colonists faced was internal. The colonies did not get along, or communicate very well across boundary lines. They saw each other as independent nations rather than pieces of a nation. The only thing colonists were worried about was social status inequality, because most citizens had very little money. One reason that the colonies saw themselves as independent nations was because they were not all from the same area. For example, there were many French people living in the north.

During the Colonial Society in the 18th Century many things happened Colonial Growth, Economic Boom, and the diverse branches of religion growing. Germans , Scott- Irish and the Africans were some of the big groups arriving to the American Colonies. A representative government was present but only white male owners were limited to participate in the voting process. Everyone that wasn’t a slave in this society had the opportunity to move up in social status. It was a patriarchal society during 18th Century that consisted of the men running the household and the family business. Whether you were in the upper class or not consisted if you had slaves working for you. Britain was controlling when it came to having a great exponential in exporting, they didn’t want America to succeed more than them and input laws. Religion divided sectors of the colonies when the diverse religions arrived and discrimination was faced. Authority of Religion was lost during this time especially Anglican because the King of England was the head of the Church and therefore, many stopped seeing him as leader. In the Colonies the Cultural life was very much well adopted from England due to it’s habitants. The time of “The Enlightment”, very much had a resulting effect after many Americans followed the movement. Education depended on what town in the colonies you were in you’d go to grammar school, boy school, or had a private tutor. In the government the assembly would be voted by the