Essay about The Rise of Colonies and the Causes of Revolutions

Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. It occurred in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth century. Nationalism had produced strong, centrally governed nation-states. The Industrial Revolution had made economies stronger as well, with growing need for raw resources that continental European countries didn’t have. During this time, European industrialized nations became more aggressive into expanding into other lands. Despite the massive gains in land and resources, because of the economic and humanitarian costs, in the eyes of the conquerors, imperialism wasn’t justified.

Imperialism was a time period in which more developed nations colonized less developed nations. The developed nations took advantage of the less developed nations resources, people, lands, and much more. Many countries lost their freedom and independence due to imperialism, however, they also received new technologies and innovations.

Imperialism is the spread of control over territories across the globe. The Industrial Revolution and interests in nationalism created a new period of imperialism around 1750. Old imperialism lasted from 1450- 1750, but imperialism alone remained until 1914.Old imperialism and new imperialism shared the same basic concept of controlling and utilizing foreign countries. Old imperialism focused mainly on systems of trade while new imperialism took bolder steps to overtaking nations.

The American Revolutionary War was caused by the political disagreements between Great Britain and the American colonies. Most of the Americans initially didn’t want to completely separate from England but wanted to regain the rights that Parliament had taken away from them. England made war unavoidable with its unwillingness to negotiate, heavy taxation of the colonists that violated their rights, and strict trading policies.

The Jamestown colonists believed that the Native Americans could be coerced into doing their labor for them. This, however, was not as easy said than done. King Powhatan was suspicious of the Englishmen, and after failing to gain the trust of the Powhatans, the colonists turned the the Monacans, the Powhatans’ nemesis. “The Monacans, on the other hand, lived too far inland (beyond the falls) to serve as substitute allies, and the English were thus deprived of their anticipated native labor.” (39) When

Imperialism is the domination of one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. Imperialism is more often than not fueled by two major schools of thought known as nationalism and Social Darwinism. Nationalism is a feeling of pride and devotion to one’s country. This can drive a person to think that their country is the most powerful, and in essence drives that person mad with power and a hunger to conquer, which not ironically is exactly what many countries did. Social Darwinism is the very idea that a more powerful country conquer the smaller countries. “Survival of the fittest,” as the well renowned Charles Darwin used to say. Imperialism is also sometimes sparked by military motives, such as when USA set up

The first business that the settlers got to after they shortly arrived in Jamestown was establishing who would be making decisions. They chose seven men to be a part of a council. Captain John Smith was included in this council. After getting settled in to Jamestown, a report was made to the King. This was done by two ships traveling all the way back to England. On the way back to Jamestown from England, more supplies were brought back and more people to become settlers of Jamestown. But in the time that the people were back in England giving a report to the King, most of the settlers back in Jamestown had become very sick and many had starved to death due to the lack of supplies and food. The indigenous people of the land where Jamestown was located tried many times to attack the settlers who were left behind.

An indian Confederacy, the Powhatan confederacy, was composed of various tribes near Jamestown involved in a war with the Settlers.

Unlike William Bradford, John Smith had a difficult relationship with the native Americans. When Captain Smith first arrived in Virginia, the Powhatans were unsure if they should allow the setters to stay there. They were invading their land, but the tribe welcomed Captain James and setters with open arms. The Powhatans helped the setters, by giving them food and supplies to help them survive on their own.

Once this colony was brought up it had a rough start. Many of the colonists had died off due to starvation and diseases. Not only that, but the land they were living on was also home to a tribe of Native Americans. Once Smith was released from custody, he was sent by the new president, John Ratcliff, to trade with the natives for food and explore the area. During one of his small explorations, he was captured by a group of Algonquian natives to their chief, Wahunsonacock (English called him Powhatan). Once Smith was captured, the natives had attempted to kill him though the chief’s younger daughter, Pocahontas, stepped in to save Smith. After seeing this, the chief agreed to let Smith live as well as granted him some land in return of a promise of mutual agreement and protection. Once John had returned to Jamestown, he was thrown into jail for a failed exploration and the suspicion that he would overthrow the colony with his new native friends. Later, after John had been released, peace between the natives had gone well. Every now and then a few native people would bring goods for the colonists to

Europeans arrived in the Americas around the 1400’s. They explored the world looking for new trade routes and land. When the Europeans arrived in the Americas, they began to colonize. They soon discovered that they weren’t alone, and learned that the Native Americans were living on the land which the Europeans (specifically the Spanish) wanted to colonize. The Spanish noticed that the Indians were not technologically advanced, so they coercively took control of the Native American’s lives.

Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effects on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so. They also needed land to acquire raw materials for growing markets.

On July 4th 1776, a committee, formed to draft a letter to the King of England, formally signed a document containing a list of demands and statements of position that ultimately started the Revolutionary War. This action was not popular with all the citizens of the colonies but the majority of the people were in favor of it and the cause prevailed. This declaration was a poke in the eye of England and forced them to try to put the colonies in their place and reestablish the Empire.

The British had control of the thirteen colonies for many years prior to the French and Indian War. After the war Britain took sole possession of the thirteen colonies. The French and Indian War had put Britain in debt so they began taxing the colonists. Britain also began to enforce laws made by the King of England. This led to the phrase "no taxation without representation". The colonists had no other choices but to try and settle their differences with Britain or attempt to break away.

“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.