Early English Colonies Research Paper

Life in the American wilderness was brutal and short for the earliest Chesapeake settlers. Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid cut ten years off the life expectanct of immigrants from England. Half the people born in early Virginia and Maryland did not survive even twelve years, and few lived past their fifties, forties if they were women. The settlements only grew slowly, mostly from immigrants from England, and most of the immigrants were single men in their late teens and early twenties. There were barely any women and so they were fought for; eligible women did not remain single for long. Moreover, families were few as most men could not find wives and marriages were destroyed by deaths. Yet the Chesapeake colonies struggled on, becoming more

Seeing how devastating their worlds were, the English, came in fleets of ships around the late 16th and early 17th century They, decided to colonize here in the east coast of America; however, many problems did arise when trying to settle. Different clashes of culture diversified the English into two separate colonies; New England, and Chesapeake. The reasons behind the unfolding of these two colonies are reasons for colonization, social reasons and environmental reasoning . Thus procreating two very distinct colonies. The Puritans were persecuted in England.

In the time span of 1689 to 1763, some great changes began to happen in the New World. To begin with, various European nations began to compete for their own land in the New World. The Spanish was one of the first to have already settled in parts of North America. However, later England began to also settle. During this time England began to create colony after colony; building and expanding their control over land in North America.

For the New England colonies like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, they had the Mayflower Compact. Their political and government structure had a interrelation between politics and religion. It dictated the economic, political, and social lives of colonists. Each town had meetings, elected legislatures, debated, and issued laws. Voting was allowed to white men who went to church. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, or the Middle Colonies, elected representatives to assemblies. The assemblies would then elect government officials which passed laws and did the decision makings. The Middle Colonies had religious tolerance that was founded by William Penn and practiced by the Quakers and it played a minor role in politics and economy. For the Chesapeake colonies, the House of Burgesses was founded in Jamestown where

When Virginia Company brought and settled the English men into Virginia colony, it took more than a decade for it to reach to the conclusion that the colony is now ready for self-supporting. By stablishing the House of Burgesses and General Assembly of the Virginia Colony, colonists literally organized a legislative body in the colony which enabled them to choose their own leaders, adopt laws and setup regulations based on their needs. It was July 30, 1619 when the twenty two burgesses, Governor Yeardley and the Council gathered at Jamestown Church to setup rules, adopt laws and govern the colony themselves. The result of this meeting was the significant birth of the first government in the history of America which not only protected the Virginia

That is until Virginia created a novel idea in the colonies, in 1619, a democratic self-government known as the House of Burgesses. Each county sent two representatives to the House of Burgesses to the meetings. During the meetings, the burgesses decided upon important matters such as trade, and moral laws. The colonists’ saw how inadequate and inefficient the monarchy was, so they strived to make a democratic representative government. Another important event occurred on the Mayflower ship, forty-one passengers on the ship signed the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower compact stated that everyone would follow “just and equal laws” that were created by the elected representatives in the Plymouth Colony. Later the Mayflower Compact helped create the American Constitution. This pact is another example of the colonies forming democratically just

The arrival of New English colonists foreshadowed the doomed fate of many Native Americans. Along with Native American being affected by colonialism, a chief named Tecumseh of the Shawnee Tribe asked,“Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pokanoket, and much other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the white men”. The chief questions the presence of many tribes due to the colonists.

Each of the 13 colonies had a charter, or a written agreement between the colonies and the king of England or parliament. The charter of the royal colony was ruled by the king. The legislature of the colony was elected by the property of man's property. But the ruler is appointed by the king, and in theory is almost entirely authoritative. The legislature took control of the governor's salary and used it frequently to keep the governor in line with the colonists' wishes. The first colonial legislature was the Virginia house of representatives, which was established in

When America was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus exploration of the New World began almost immediately. England began to set up colonies in the new world. Programs such as Joint-Stock Companies, Headright systems, and Indentured Servants were made in attempt to encourage British immigrants. As time proceeded thirteen colonies had been established . These colonies began to flourish through impacts of the political, social and economic developments. Some colonies were established for religious reasons, others created for money purposes. The southern colonies were formed solely to make money for the mother country, England. The southern colonies consisted of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. With the establishment

Starting a new colony in a completely new land is similar to a dog being lost in the streets of London. Both the colonists and the dog have no real idea of what is going to happen next, nor do they have any guidance. Ordinarily, when the people of England started the colony, they often relied on the leaders to guide them, but they also had their beliefs or practices that acted as the basis of the colony’s organization and success. Life within the colony was hard, but with a religious basis, punishments, and class order the colony was

Government of the colonies represented an extension of the English government. Courts enforced the common law of England. The Governor's Council or the Governor's Court was a body of senior advisers to the appointed royal Governor in each province. The legislative body, which went by various names from colony to colony and through time, was elected by the selected voters. By 1750 most free white men could vote. In colonial New England there were annual town meetings, where each colonist had a voice. Diplomatic affairs were handled by London, as were some trade policies. The colonies generally handled domestic matters and wars with the

If I moved over to a colony in the 1600’s, I would travel to Pennsylvania. William Penn guaranteed freedom of religion, civil liberties, and representation in elections. It is roughly in the middle of the other twelve colonies, so trading was accessible. Soon after the founding of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia became the most significant colonial port in North America. Since it isn’t in the south, there wasn’t much slavery.

The colonial period in the United States all started when people starting immigrating to Boston in the 1630s. With high articulation of Puritan cultural ideas, the New England colonies have been regarded as the center of early American literature. In class we only talked about a few of the writing throughout the period but in this paper, I am going to tell you about the colonial period as a whole.

Perception, understanding and judgment of humankind were far backward in the sixteenth century. The English Empire was a huge colonial power in that era. They were discovering the places that have never touched by so-called fair-skinned people. English voyagers were able to reach the shores of West Africa after 1550. Until seventeenth century English colonials did not develop a slave trade. These small number of people set up an organized settlement in the foreign land. They were also able to keep their own laws and language. At Kormantin in 1631 Englishmen had their first settlement in Africa.

The American colonial period refers to the years 1600- 1776, in which Great Britain sent colonists to live on the east coast of North America. During this period the American people went from dutiful British citizens to rebels who rose up against their mother country to gain their independence. This period was formative in both our legislation and literature, setting a precedent and groundwork for their contemporaries and descendants. In my opinion the core of colonial American literature can be summed up in three themes: Morality, enlightenment, and transcendentalism.