Assignment 2: Read and answer focus questions for chapter 2 and 3 Chapter 2 1) Britain’s reason for establishing colonies was mostly for profit and the spread of the “Christian religion”. The English formed for profit joint-stock companies as their mode for global expansion, this provided the first step into British colonization in America. After some eventful years the Stuart Kings wanted to weaken Frances and Spain’s power and gain Britain’s share of overseas colonies, trade and plunder. The colonies in Britain began as profit- seeking corporations. One reason was, England wanted to free themselves of dependence from Spain. The stockholders viewed the colonies as a mine for gold and mineral which therefore would guarantee their independence. …show more content…
The southern colonies economy revolved around exotic staples such as tobacco and rice. These staples brought a large profit because the colonies would trade with England. In addition, southern pine trees provided lumber and key items for the maritime industry, while the resin from the pine trees could be boiled to make tar. Since they had Great Plains, the cattle industry prospered. This was in great demand for waterproofing ropes and caulking the seams of wooden ships. Slavery was also an important part of these colonies economy. New England colonies economy relied on the sea. They exported fish, mostly cod, to Europe. This also allowed lesser grades of fish going to the West Indies as food for slaves. The colonies also took part in shipbuilding, an important industry because it later spurred extensive trade everywhere in the world. The economy in the middle colonies mostly relied on crops and trade (similar to all the colonies).The colonies had more fertile soil and a larger growing season, this led to surplus and extra export which in turn gave extra profit .The colonies were also located near 3 great rivers which gave them access to the backcountry and the extreme profitable fur trade with Native Americans. In the southern colonies their social life was easy going and more casual. They did activities such as hunting, and gambling, horse riding and many more activities. Unlike in the southern colonies, the New England colonies wasn’t pious or harmonious, they fished, took time for commercial agriculture and traded. The social strains in the New England colonies led to the Salem witch trials, the tragic climax in the witchcraft hysteria. Many residents were accused and killed for practicing witchcraft. In the middle colonies, the social life was for the social elite. This was dominated by merchants, retailers, innkeepers and artisans. The ethnicity in the southern colonies was made up of British colonist and black slaves, in the New England colonies, were
Both the New England and Southern colonies enjoyed some common conditions that enabled them to grow. First, the colonies were loyal to the English crown and considered themselves English citizens, subject to their mother country’s laws. They also shared a common language. Finally, England inadvertently helped the colonies develop a sense of autonomy by essentially ignoring them while dealing local issues such as the English Civil War in the 1650’s.
The four groups of colonies were distinct from one another in the labor systems that they used. In New England, there were small farms that allowed a much bigger manufacturing and merchant class to arise. This was very different even from the middle colonies, where larger family farms and indentured servitude were prefered. In the Chesapeake and southern colonies, plantations were the most profitable economic choices. However, in the Chesapeake colonies these plantations were smaller and relied more on indentured servants than the slave heavy large
During the colonial era, the economic conditions of both the New World and Great Britain were taking more notice then the religious concerns of the colonies. This was why Britain wanted to solve further economic problems through the colonization of the New World. For instance, many of their earliest settlers migrated to the New World due...
There were blacksmiths, ship builders and all other trades were taken advantage of by those seeking work. The main difference between these two areas (north and south) was the labor fields. In New England, the labor was paid for and in the south it was based off of free labor and indentured servants. The economic system grew in the south because of cash crops such as tobacco. The economic system grew in the north because of people’s want and desire to work hard and better the colony. Another main difference between the two were those who populated the area. In the north, the population was based on family units and 90% of them were decedents from people from before 1642. The families were stable. In the south, the population was mainly single white men in their twenties. The cause of this was the fact that Jamestown was set by the Virginia Company and sought a profit. Families seeking religious freedom founded
Some of the similarities between the colonies was they all had good land and good resources. Example the new England colonies had good resources and good trade. Many people moved there hoping to profit from the trade. Some also came to practice their religion freely. They built their colonies starting off from small farms. The middle colonies settled for almost the same reason as the new England colonies. What they did different though from the new England colonies was that they had more opportunities to profit from. They had choices like trading and farming. The middle colonies had jobs like ship building and lumbering. The southern colonies were very different though they lived by a river and in the wetlands. Something similar though they
The socio-economic in the Chesapeake consist of the plantation which farmed the cash crop of the Chesapeake. Tobacco, wheat, and rice was the cash crop that made the Chesapeake very wealthy. Along with the plantation that also had indentured servitude and later on they would have slavery to take place of indentured servants. The New England colonies socio-economic characteristics included agriculture, a diversified economy, and a social structure that set it apart from the Chesapeake.
The New England, Middle and Southern colonies were all English ruled, but yet very different. Among their distinctions, was the geography which played an important role in shaping these colonies. New England attracted Puritan farmers who wanted to separate from the Catholic Church. But because of the bone dry soil in the North, these colonists found they couldn't continue with their traditional ways of farming. However, with the immense amounts of water that surrounded them, they found that they could fish and trade. The Middle colonies on the other, hand had a moderate amount of everything. The fertile soil and the major seaports such as Philadelphia and New York, allowed these Middle colonists to make a living any way they saw fit. This led to the brisk development of the Middle Seaboard . Unlike the Middle and Northern colonies, the Southern colonies had large amounts of fertile land allowing for the development of large plantations. Because farming the plantations was the economic thrust for the South, towns and cities developed slowly. Thusly Geography greatly affected the lifestyles of these regions in the New World.
While under English control, each of the three regions of colonial America developed its own economic system- plantation agriculture was based in the Southern colonies, but other sectors of the economy flourished in the Northern and Middle colonies (along with some forms of agriculture). The natural resources that were available at the time provided the foundation for each region’s unique specialty. However, one could argue that these economies eventually led to the development of certain social issues within colonial society, such as the cruelty of slavery, the Salem Witch Trials, and even the lack of available labor in Maryland.
During the 1700s, Britain ruled over the colonies. The colonies had been discovered and settled by the British. The British believed that the colonies were British territories and were to be ruled as if they were British territories. The colonies did not like this. The Founding Fathers agreed that it was time for a change and sought to rebel from, and declare independence from the British. The Founding Fathers were justified in rebelling and declaring independence because the British rule had become oppressive, Britain was too small and too far away from the colonies to be in any position to rule over them, and the colonies had become large enough to become their own nation.
The establishment of colonies in America took place within distinct circumstances. Some colonies were founded for the purpose of political and religious havens and pursuit of individual freedom and happiness. People came to the New World expecting a place where the rules in the Old World, such as hereditary aristocracies and dominance of church and state, would not apply. Other colonies such as the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania were established by either proprietors, or individuals who had an ideal for a place that could embrace everyone with his/her own will. With people who sought liberty in believes and equality in rights and founders of colonies who were not under direct rule or servitude to the Kings and Queens in Europe, the English colonies
There were various reasons why the American Colonies were established. The three most important themes of English colonization of America were religion, economics, and government. The most important reasons for colonization were to seek refuge, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. To a lesser degree, the colonists sought to establish a stable and progressive government.
Southern colonies were hilly coast with grew cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cans .also they had specific regions which gave way to religious freedoms.The founders of the Southern Colonies were, for the most part, out to make money. They brought their families, as did the New England colonists, and they kept their families together on the plantations.In the Southern Colonies and travel environment controlled social life. The Southern Colonies had a hard-and-fast three class system. Upper-class rich colony owners, middle-class small colony owners, lower class.The southern colonies were established early on after the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. At first, the south also relied on the forests and the water, but tobacco and cotton later emerged as cash crops. Initially, these crops were harvested by indentured servants, but with the growth of plantations, planters started to import slaves from Africa. In the South, there was a great divide between the rich and the poor. The Church of England was the dominant religion and the center of life for southerners. Laws were made by county governments and the economy centered around the large
Although the only explanation we were presented regarding the reasoning or motives of this colonization was the vague answer of Gold, God and Glory. Which from a general perspective is correct, although similar to various topics in history, there is much more then what we have originally thought. Likewise, Taylor explains how, “until the 1960s, most American historians assumed that the “the colonists” mean English-speaking men confined to the Atlantic seaboard.” Overall, after much research and information from various sources, I will explain the overall motives these countries had and how they intertwine with one another.
Both the colony of Massachusetts and Virginia were founded by companies looking to make money off the New World, but the founding of Massachusetts was motivated more by religious goals and family dynamics. Erin Bonuso, author of “Colliding Cultures”,
One facet of this unique system involved the numerous economic differences between England and the colonies. The English government subscribed to the economic theory of mercantilism, which demanded that the individual subordinate his economic activity to the interests of the state (Text, 49). In order to promote mercantilism in all her colonies, Great Britain passed the Navigation Acts in 1651, which controlled the output of British holdings by subsidizing. Under the Navigation Acts, each holding was assigned a product, and the Crown dictated the quantity to be produced. The West Indies, for example, were assigned sugar production and any other colony exporting sugar would face stiff penalties (Text, 50). This was done in order to ensure the economic prosperity of King Charles II, but it also served to restrict economic freedom. The geographical layout of the American colonies made mercantilism impractical there. The cit...