History of Early North American Colonies Essay

     Between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the emergence of a society quite different from that in England. Changes in religion, economics, politics and social structure illustrate this Americanization of the transplanted Europeans.

The colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut made up the New England colonies. Most of the Europeans in the New England colonies were there to escape the religious persecution they faced in England. They practiced a lot of different things in these colonies compared to the middle and southern and colonies of colonial america.

The thirteen colonies started in 1607, before this England tried to do a colony called Jamestown unfortunately it failed to become a colony. Later the king that had tried to start the Jamestown colony died, then in 1607 the new king and queen Elizabeth I decided to try again this time it worked the first colony was called Virginia and was named after Queen Elizabeth I. Virginia was not dominated by a specific religion they welcomed Baptists, Anglicans, and others. The thirteen colonies included Virginia, Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

After the first few struggling settlements in the New World progressed, more and more colonies sprung from the untested North American soil. Eventually, there were three main categories to the European colonies. They were each unique, although one certain class stood in stark contrast to the other two. This group, the Middle colonies, was a halfway point between the New England and Southern colonies – and not just geographically. The Middle colonies extracted parts of its neighbors, like farming habits and spiritual sects, but the middle group managed to retain its own flavor.

The English men and women joined the ventures in hopes to better their own life or that of their families. Another reason some joined the venture was that they hoped to be able to freely practice their own religion in the Americas. “The opportunity to worship according to their own beliefs in America may have been a major incentive for some settlers to join White’s venture” (Horn 133). Most of the settlers that White was recruiting were people that he knew or people that he was recruiting knew. “At least a third of the settlers were related to other members of the group” (Horn 130). The settlers represented many different kinds of groups. A group that they represented was the Puritans. “There is a strong possibility that some of the London colonists were Puritans. London was at the heart of the English Puritan movement after the restoration of the Protestant church in 1558” (Horn 131). They also had a middle class background. “Most of the colony’s ruling group came from respectable middle-class backgrounds” (Horn 126). By settling in the Roanoke Colony they hoped to achieve a better life for themselves or their families back home.

Have you ever wondered where why the many different countries in Europe came to America to explore and colonize? There were two main concepts that drew the Europeans to America: the excitement and profit of the "New World", and the past histories of their countries. The English, French, and Spanish each came to the Americas in search of a new beginning; a fresh start in which they could escape past torment and capture new wealth. However, each motive defined the character of each settlement.

By the 1700’s, The northern and souther colonies had evolved into two distinct societies. This is so because the northern and southern colonies had different environments and also different reasons of settlement. The North was established for mainly religious freedom, while on the other hand, the south had been established for economic freedom. The climate also affected the different turnout of the north and the south. The north was much colder and so their soil was not beneficial for farming, so the people of the north found other jobs, while on the other side, the south had rich soil and the colonists there used that idea to set up huge plantations and farms.

Colonists: About 250,000 Spanish emigrants populated the newly established cities; they saw the New World as an opportunity for success. As the natives died off Africans and their children replaced them. As mixing production rose due to Spanish women scarcely traveling to the new world, the government created a hierarchy known as castas to keep social order.

For the people of Europe the Americas was a place to prosper, worship in there own way, and expand there kingdoms. The only problem is that they attempted to settle in their own way and all failed dismally. The New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southern Colonies grew differently in various ways, but each with the same state of mind, “do it our way”. Examining the three sets of colonies will prove that they were all different in religion, government, and ways of expansion.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, initiated the colonization of the New World by Europe when he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. Spain and England soon established colonies in the New World which grew to become very different from one another with frequent similarities. The Spanish colonies and New England greatly differed in terms of control by a European government, were both vastly similar and extremely different in terms of religion, and were largely similar in terms of treatment of indigenous people.

In Europe, population grew quickly and land value, prosperity, and trade increased with it. Also the rise of nationalism made the nation more powerful, unified, and imposed new taxes. Beginning with Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America in 1492, colonists settled in America for different reasons. Some came for profits; others came for religious freedom (and for escaping religious persecution). It was England, France, Spain and the Netherlands who, in the sixteenth century, launched major colonization programs in eastern North America. Each colony more or less differed or resembled in their first interaction with the Natives (such as the more peaceful contact of the French, the more hostile one of the Spaniards, and the peaceful-turned-hostile

     Religion was a very important part of everyday life in colonial America. Sometimes people were not allowed to question what they were taught, and if they did so they were punished accordingly. Before 1700 some colonies had more religious freedom then others. While others colonies only allowed religious freedom to a select group, others allowed religious freedom to all different kinds of religions. In the overall there was quite a bit of religious freedom in colonial America

Why would anyone want to go through the trouble of colonizing? The English had such motives that compelled them to leave their motherland. It was for the reasons of seeking freedom, seeing there was nothing in Britain for them, and success accessed by other nations.

The Massachusetts colony, otherwise known as the ‘Massachusetts Bay colony’ was originally settled by Puritans in 1630. They were plagued by the religious persecutions of King Charles I and the Church of England. Weary from this dogged torment, they left England under the leadership of John Winthrop. These original colonists quickly established many small towns in the name of high religious ideals and strict societal rules. They also planted churches, spread Puritanism and religiously educated the masses, as these were some of their goals. A utopian society that other colonies looked upon with high regards was the ultimate goal.

Europeans played a huge role in the New World by discovering the Americas and implementing their culture and religion into the lives of the natives. The first phase of European activity in the Americas began with the Atlantic Ocean crossings of Christopher Columbus, sponsored by Spain, whose original attempt was to find a new route to India and China, known as "the Indies." As a result of the discovery of the Americas; colonization began to occur throughout the land. Colonization first occurred along the Caribbean coasts on the islands of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and since the early 16th century, extended into the continents of both North and South