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The British Empire During Colonial America

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The British Empire in Colonial America The colonization of Virginia, Maryland and the Massachusetts Bay corresponds to pivotal points in history that began the formation of our modern day United States of America. In all three of these regions the process of transplantation developed because of the hunger of finding the Northwest Passage and ultimately the search for a get rich-quick-scheme, gold. Besides their initial intentions, other common factors were the shortages of financial resources and the need for continuous investment from London. Virginia After receiving a charter from James I, the London Company sailed to the Americas with almost 150 men aboard the Godspeed, the Discovery, and the Susan Constant. Voyages during those times were treacherous, hence the survival of only a little more than two-thirds of the original crew and passengers when they made landfall in 1607. While entering the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, they went up the river which they called the James. They decided to establish a colony on a peninsula they called Jamestown. It was a poor site location; it was low and swampy; hot and humid in the summer, which caused outbreaks of malaria; they were surrounded by thick woods, which made it difficult to clear for agriculture; and it was near powerful local natives, Chief Powhatan being the centralized figure. A possible mistake was not creating a family oriented community with women and children. It was hard to create a society with only men

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