Most Influential Aspects Of English Colonial Development

English colonies in the middle of the 17th century were essentially white, English Protestants. A little more than 100 years later, these English colonies started to become more diverse. Different races, ethnic groups, and religious groups started to move into North American. During the time of 1650 to 1755, new forces such as religion, ethnicity and race affected Great Britain's North American colonies.

Beginning in 1607, when ambitious English colonists settled in Jamestown, and continuing until the last of the thirteen colonies was established; geography was a substantial factor in the development of colonial America. The crops that essentially saved the colonists lives, such as tobacco, rice, and indigo, wouldn’t have grown without a certain type and amount of soil to grow properly. Also, the Appalachian Mountains and the dense forests provided a barrier for the colonists, preventing them from going too far west right away, and causing the colonies to form in the arrangement they did. Finally, the population was the most dense in middle colonies, such as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania partly because of the mild

     Between the settlement of 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 New England colonists did not come to the New World in search for a quick fortune. They came for the sole purpose of creating a model society for other settlers who sought a new life. They believed in creating a prosperous society rather than a few wealthy individuals (DOC A).

During the 17th and 18th century, English residents felt that England was over-crowded and intolerable. They wanted to lessen these problems that rose up because of the large population increase and to establish more religious freedom (Horn). The English believed that the best way to go about this was to colonize the New World. Subsequently, many colonies began to develop, and of these colonies, Massachusetts Bay and Virginia were the most well-known. The early settlements of Massachusetts and Virginia were both established by similar groups of people at the same time; furthermore, their contrasting beginnings as a colony, views on religion, and method of economic stability all contributed to our American heritage today.

1. The main contours of English Colonization in the 17th century were Protestant motives to strike Catholicism, along with solving England’s social crisis. With the rumors of the Spanish Empire’s atrocities reaching England, one motive to colonize the America’s was to strike the Catholics, and save the natives from captivity (Foner 51). This shows an interesting aspect of the English Colonization: the English allowed their people to go colonize just to strike the opposing religious country. Along with this, England sending emigrants over solved their social crisis. Because of England’s growing population and economy, the amount of peasants in cities grew. This is because of landlords using land for sheep, which kicked out peasants from their land (Foner 51-52). England hoped that some people of the lower classes would then go to America: to be out of the big cities where important people were, while still helping England in it’s economy.

This displays a very important objective of the English colonists that they wanted to be successful; possibly even an imitation of Spain and their achievements.

In conclusion, the origins and development of Britain’s North American colonies was sustained by the need to stay in economic power. Bacon’s Rebellion, a high demand for cash crops, and an easy purchase of slaves through trade overall introduced and developed slavery to the Americas all while increasing economic status for England and their

One of the important early contributions of the 13 colonies was to grow produce to support the expanding economy in England. The produce that they grew were

(Devore, Lecture #3.) Even though most of the credit was issued from England, it allowed the colonists to buy more things and further strengthen and enhance the cohesiveness of the colonies. By this time the colonies had already well established external trade relationships with both the Indians and other countries. One of their major trade partners was the West Indies, where the colonists procured molasses from which they made rum. (Devore, Lecture #3.) All of these economic developments – consumerism amongst the colonies, Anglicizing of the colonies, the newfound availability and use of credit and the abundance of external trade – play a major role in the reasons that lead up to the American Revolution.

The New England Colonies were the first English colonies in North America, and are where the United States History had started. Economically, the New England colonies consisted of subsistence farming, which is a farming method in which farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families. Shipbuilding industries were also used, a system in which ships were being built for uses such as trading. Cod industries, which worked as fishing industries. Grain mills and saw mills methods were also practiced and helped contribute to the New England colonies’ economy. Trading and fishing also played a big part in the advancement of the economy. All of these economic characteristics are tied to mercantilism somehow.

Economic opportunity was extremely prevalent in the colonies. Factors that heavily influenced the situation were influx of people, triangular trade, and also the New England colonies. An influx of people is beneficial for any economy, and Colonial America was no different. Triangular trade was also how slaves fueled the cultivation of land. The New England colonies were in all sorts of trades, from growing corn to whaling and fishing. All of these factors played a huge role in building a successful economy.

In the beginning of 17 century a group of merchants established first permanent English colonies in North America at Jamestown, Virginia. Englishmen expected to find gold. Moreover, Virginia Company offered 50 acres of land everyone who journeying to Virginia. They wanted to attract many people to expand their possessions in colony. Determinant factor in the

Economies quickly emerged as a result of human and environmental interaction. Each settlement had its own economy which were based on different aspects. The English colonies were arguably the most diverse with economic activities including farming, fishing, and trading. Their settlements were mostly mercantile, meaning it “promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers,” and was famous for their exports, which largely consisted of tobacco, rice, timber, and fish. Tobacco and rice became the major cash crops of the southern colonies. These cash crops were grown on large plantations of land that needed large numbers of workers. Most colonists grew their own food. The soil was too thin and rocky and the climate too harsh for the colonists to grow cash crops. They turned to fishing, lumbering, fur trading, and metal working to nourish their economy. The French economy was mainly based on fur trade because it was more profitable, but still had its part in farming. An abundance of rivers allowed for transportation of goods between the colonies. Mills to grind grains developed and supported local economies. Much like the others, the Spanish were famous for their trading, while also having farming in their western colonies. It was strictly regulated by the Spanish Board of Trade and laws were enforced by the Spanish military. The Northern colonies developed cottage industries that traded on a simple barter system. For example, one household might mill grain while the neighbor spun

- The poor farmers who had lost their land were provided with land because colonies were founded.