Motivations For English Colonization And The American Revolution

Reasons of English Colonization

At the beginning of the 17^th century, the English did not establish any permanent settlement in the America. However, by the next century the English outpaced the rivals and English encouraged the emigration of the Dutch, French and the Spanish. Each of the countries sent a large swarm of immigrants that started to populate the land. During the 16^th century, England has experienced a rise in the population and a rise in poverty as well. Thousands of the English migrants started to arrive in the Chesapeake Bay colonies if the Maryland and Virginia. These people used to work in the tobacco fields (Greer, 2012). This study is focussed on the on the examination of the motivations for the colonization by the English and the government and organization of the several English colonies. The causes of the American revolution will also be described and it impact on the population of the new United States.

The political motivations for the English imperialism- the political motivations of England pertaining to the colonization are the economic benefits aligned with the trade. The urge for trade alone made the English to keep the chances of trade high in comparison to the other European countries. The private companies and the imperial government under the governance of those governments sought the ways of maximizing its profits. Economic expansion demanded the usage of the cheap labour, control over the land, precious metals, natural resources, control of markets by buying and selling of products (Armstrong, 2016). The growth of the imperial power and the patriotism led to the belief that the English were superior than the other groups and nations. The English used to believe that the imperial conquest will eventually bring the successful culture to the inferior people. During the 19^th century the Europeans had the belief which was part of a racist belief. The English used to think that inferior races should be conquered to so that they can be civilized. The Europeans had the belief that acted on their ethnocentrism and it laid the belief that one nation or race is superior to the others. Growing imperialism and Patriotism is a matter of security, prestige and national pride. English wanted to increase the number of strategic territories and at the same time will provide access to the armies and the navies of around the world. At the same time, the empire wanted to defend and expand simultaneously (Colonialism and Imperialism 2018).

Social pressures that contributed to English colonization of North America- The price revolution started with the doubling and tripling of the commodities. When goods cost more, people ask for more money and this leads to super inflation. Furthermore, this leads to the exploration of the New World. Majority of people that came to the New world did not belong to the aristocratic class. The people were sailors, colonizers and artisans. Thus, these people wanted a better way of life. Agricultural revolution occurred and it asked for greater rates of production. Land owners would incorporate lands for the and incorporating the same will lead to a wealthy agricultural yield. The exploration for the New World helped the European society to transform into an agrarian economy. Forced many people to turn into vagrants and they used to look for works. The larger poor sections in England forced the people for New world migration, new job markets (Sageamericanhistory, 2018).

Social pressure and English colonization of North America

Table 1: English colonies in American (Roper, 2015)

Factors- The women and men and that colonized the New World saw the opportunity of gaining new found freedom and that can increase their level of freedom. In the later part the formation of the colonial legislatures led to a feeling of independence among the English and thus they were able to bypass their own laws and have their own troops. Before the end of the Indian war and the French war, the English were did not wanted to get involved with the American colonies and were having a lax attitude towards framing regulations (Let.rug.nl, 2018). The British attitude towards the Indian war and the French war changed and thus Britain wanted to raise the money so that they can pay their debts. In the later part of the 1600 and 1700s a cultural movement took place which was called Enlightenment. Writers like John Locke that were involved with the movement wrote on issues like consent of the governed and the limited government. This thinking changed the very base of the freedom and liberty and people wanted to gain freedom from the British rule (Bailyn, 2017).

Events- Intolerable act of 1774 which saw a series of laws which is also called the coercive act and this act was passed in response to Boston tea party. Boston tea party of 1773 was a response towards the tea act patriots and concluded with the dumping of the British tea into the Boston harbour. Tea act of 1773, this act gave the British East India Company a monopoly over the tea trade in America. Boston massacre of 1770, in Boston an angry mob confronted the British soldiers. In this event five colonist were killed.  The Townshend Acts of 1767 forced the settlers the British soldiers with food and shelter whenever needed. The stamp act of 1765 required he printed materials which included the newspapers to be printed on paper and produced in Britain. It also required such papers to be stamped with a revenue stamp. Currency act of 1751 and 1764 regulated the issue of money by the colonists of America. Sugar act of 1764 charged tax on sugar that are imported by the colonists (Bemis, 2013).

Native Americans- Native Americans viewed the Americans as aggressively expanding westward. During the American revolution, majority of the Native Americans took the British side. The names of the Native Americans are some tribes of the Iroquois Nation, Creek and Cherokee. Where Oneida took the American side and still lost the lost after the war was over. The Treaty of Paris neglected the Native Americans that helped the British. The treaty of Paris said that the Americans will treat the Native Americans as conquered nation. The land between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi river was granted to the Americans which actually belonged to the Indian Territory (Washington & Army, 2014).

African Americans- The abolition movement started and it was against the contradiction of the “life, Liberty & Pursuit of happiness,” which was written in the Declaration of independence. Antislavery society was established by Quakers in the year 1775. The movement generally grew in the northern states. If the African Americans fought for either the Americans or for the British, then they were freed. The free black communities grew at a slow pace. While, the importation of the slaves was banned in the year 1807 (Robinson, 2013).

Women- During the times of war women became self sufficient and more independent. Women were required to run households and farms, and they desired equality, education and free thought. The idea of “Republican Motherhood” increased and it later led to the idea of educating the women (Klepp, 2017).

Conclusion

From the above discussion it can be concluded that, the private companies and the imperial government under the governance of those governments sought the ways of maximizing its profits. Economic expansion demanded the usage of the cheap labour, control over the land, precious metals, natural resources, control of markets by buying and selling of products. The exploration for the New World helped the European society to transform into an agrarian economy. Forced many people to turn into vagrants and they used to look for works. The larger poor sections in England forced the people for New world migration, new job markets.

Reference

Armstrong, C. (2016). Writing North America in the seventeenth century: English representations in print and manuscript. Routledge.

Bailyn, B. (2017). The ideological origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press.

Bemis, S. F. (2013). The diplomacy of the American Revolution. Read Books Ltd.

Colonialism and Imperialism. (2018). Colonialism and Imperialism, 1450–1950 — EGO. Retrieved from https://v/en/threads/backgrounds/colonialism-and-imperialism

Greer, A. (2012). Commons and enclosure in the colonization of North America. The American Historical Review, 117(2), 365-386.

Klepp, S. E. (2017). Revolutionary Conceptions: Women, Fertility, and Family Limitation in America, 1760-1820. UNC Press Books.

Let.rug.nl. (2018). The Colonial Period < History 1954 < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond. Retrieved from https://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1954/the-colonial-period.php

Robinson, C. J. (2013). Black movements in America. Routledge.

Roper, L. H. (2015). The English Empire in America, 1602-1658: Beyond Jamestown. Routledge.

Sageamericanhistory. (2018). Introduction to American Colonial History. Retrieved from https://sageamericanhistory.net/colonial/topics/colonialintro.html

Washington, G., & Army, C. (2014). The American Revolution: 1775-1783. Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown.