The Thirteen 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 thirteen colonies were divided into three different areas. The middle colonies were Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. The southern colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. and the northern colonies were Massachusetts, New Hampshire,Connecticut, and Rhode Island and they were all governed very differently.

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.

There were several acts that were passed without the consideration of the colonists that would force them to pay a ridiculous amount of taxes to the British mainland. One of these acts was named the Stamp Act, which was enacted in 1765, forced the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper that they used. This would include legal documents, license, commercial contracts and newspapers in the tax. This tax mostly effected the wealthier and influential of the colonists and would force them to unite in opposition. There were several other acts that would be passed that would force the colonists to pay undue taxes to the British, such as the Quartering Act and the Tea

Between 1607 and 1733, Great Britain established thirteen colonies in the New World along the land’s eastern coast. England’s colonies included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Though the colonies were classified as New England, middle or southern colonies, the colonists developed a unifying culture. With this new American culture, the colonists throughout the colonies began to think differently than their English cousins. Because colonial America displayed characteristics of a democratic society and, therefore, deviated from England’s monarchic ways, it was established as a democratic society.

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.

There were thirteen original colonies. These colonies were split up into three different divisions. There were the New England colonies, Southern colonies, and Middle colonies. The New England colonies consisted of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, etc. The Southern Colonies consisted of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

These colonists were motivated by greed and saw a better opportunity to become rich. Therefore the settlers came over from England. A Virginia ship list in 1625 reports the number of people to be transported to Virginia (Doc C). In comparison to New England, there were very few women or families. Most of the people were men of about 20-30 years of age. The ratios and ages suggest that these people were looking to make money over starting families. The Chesapeake colonies were mostly funded by England. The Governor of Virginia, William Berkeley, asked the King of England to help out (Doc G). These colonies maintained fairly close relations with England. They considered themselves part of and under England, and still owed allegiance to England. The Chesapeake region had a colonial assembly. These were mostly local people of the colony. There was also a governor who was appointed by the King of England. The local people of the colony - the colonial assembly- and the English appointed governor shared political power over the region. The House of Burgesses was established in 1619 and was the first representative government in the New World. Similar to the Chesapeake region, the Southern colonies were founded by the upper class and gentry of England. The reason for this was that there were vast areas of land available that were valuable for farming. The Carolinas were

The colonization of the British lead to significant demographic alterations to the Haudenosaunee, particularly as in nations relinquishing their positions and contributions from the Iroquois Confederacy and mass migrations due to sudden overtake of traditional land by the new sea of American settlers. When the Thirteen Colonies sought independence from Great Britain, the Iroquois found themselves in a deadlock, accustomed to believing that their superior and long-lasting ally, the British, was only one unified group of people and had no desire to engulf themselves in another civil conflict. However, their intentions for neutrality were not maintained, as tensions increased from both England and the Thirteen States. In the end, the American

The year was 1765. The American colonies had been established and were still under the rule of Great Britain, and their leader, King George. Britain and France had just fought a war on American soil. The Indians had assisted France, which proved to be trouble for the British. But after seven years of blood, Britain had emerged victorious. This war had put Britain into debt, and the way they made up for that loss of money was by taxing. They put taxes on many items, which provoked people to hold riots and protests in the streets of my home city, Boston. King George had also decided before that in 1763 to stop Americans from going west of the Appalachians. This, along with the taxes had caused uproar in the colonies. Even though British citizens were being taxed more, the Americans were the ones fussing about it. This was because the Americans weren't being represented in British government. They couldn't vote, or participate in ways the people in Britain could. My great, great, great, grandfather was alive during the time, and was against the Stamp Act. He even joined the Sons of Liberty, a patriot group who helped to push for independence. I have

First they were taxed for printed papers they used, but they did not submit to that law. Next they were being taxed on imported good, which they also denounced and began to not take the imported goods from the British (boycott). The colonists were tired of having the British government ruling over them and not allowing them create their own laws and systems. They finally took a stand and had created a war that won them their independence.

     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

Changes in British policies toward the colonies between 1750 and 1776 played paramount in the evolution of relations between British North America and Mother England. Tension between England and the colonies mounted from the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War to the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a result of the several implemented changes imposed by Parliament for the purpose of increasing income and tightening the grip on America.

“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.

In the history of the American Revolution always we remember names like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, among others. But rarely mention the names of women who made contributions to this revolution. This article is the result of a class master practitioner of History in 2011. Specifically, in a second unit school town of Juana Diaz. When I taught the subject of the war of independence of the Thirteen Colonies, I realized that the textbooks of public schools in Puerto Rico were scarce on the role of women in the War of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies. Also, I decided to dress up and have Betsy Ross flag of the Thirteen Colonies to capture the attention of students in eighth grade.