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The relationship between England and its colonies
The English colonies in the 17th century
The relationship between England and its colonies
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“Why did the British Government decide to colonise Botany Bay?
In the evaluation of why Britain colonised Botany Bay, Australia, one can draw on many conclusions. When the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788, little did they realise that for years to come historians would be contesting the real reasons as to why the British Parliament planned to establish a colony in Botany Bay. The Botany Bay debate, as it has been known to be called, began among historians in the 1950’s when Geoffrey Blainey said that it was colonised for strategic motives#. These motives included such plans as there was a plant nursery to be established on Norfolk Island and Australia was to become a flax farm and a market garden that was to be surrounded by goal walls; there had been a failure of the growing of flax and pine on Norfolk Island, this at first had been very promising; and that flax and timber were vital to Britains economy as explained by the British Politicians in many letters. Along with Blainey’s argument came another debate, this being that Botany Bay, was colonised as it was a good outpost for trading purposes. The traditional view in the debate was that Botany Bay was the chosen place for the convict population and it is this traditional view that my argument will follow.
The idea of establishing a colony in Botany Bay started with the “Matra’s Proposal”# in August 1783. Matra’s idea was that there was a possibility of a new colony of the Americans who had remained loyal to Britain during the War of Independence, this idea being rejected by all. Botany Bay was then seen as a solution to the ever growing number of filled rotting convict hulks along the River Thames and the overpopulated goals. The proposal for the establishment of the new colony being “Heads of Plan”# addressed the effective disposal of the convicts to the new colony. With Britain continuing to send convicts to Australia for many decades, the cost involved in transporting the convicts would be greatly decreased and it would be better than dealing with the problem of the overcrowded hulks and goals in England and the costs associated with feeding the convicts etc.
Up until 1776 Britain had been transporting convicts to the American colonies but this practice was stopped with the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
The novel “Nanberry” written by Jackie French, tells the story of early European settlement in Australia. Nanberry, Surgeon White and Rachel Turner are all main characters in the novel but three minor characters who could have been examined in more detail were Maria, Colbee and Mr. Trench. Each of these characters either performs something or states something that is vital to the story line and plot. This essay will also suggest ways that these three characters could have been developed to make “Nanberry” a little bit more thought – provoking.
It is well known that Captain Arthur Philips landed in Australia on 26th of January and took over the land and is referred to as “invasion Day”. Yet little do people know, Captain Arthur Phillip didn’t land in Australia on 26 January. He first landed in Australia between the 18th and 20th of January 1788 in Botany Bay, however where he landed he couldn’t find fresh water so he then sailed into Sydney Cove on the 26th where he found a Tank Stream…..problem solved. Australia day today celebrates our diverse society, our remarkable achievements, our future as a nation and how we can make Australia a better
Looking at the early English colonies in the Chesapeake Bay region, it’s clear that the English had not learned any lessons from their experiences at Roanoke. Poor planning, a bad location, unrealistic expectations, flawed leadership, unsuccessful relations with the local Indians, and no hope of finding the mineral wealth the Spanish found in Mexico, all contributed to failure. The first colonists in the Chesapeake region were not only ignorant, lazy and unambitious, but their attempts were hampered before they had begun. However, a solution to these problems was found in a single plant: tobacco. Nevertheless, this cash crop ultimately created numerous problems for the colonists. The ignorance and indolent acts of the Chesapeake colonists to unsuccessfully restore the colony by themselves led to the demise of the colony as a whole especially regarding the planting of agricultural goods for food.
The movie The Hunger Games, originally based on a book by Suzanne Collins, is about a place called Panem, which is ruled by the Capitol and has 12 districts within it. These 12 districts are separated founded on their economic statuses, meaning the higher the district, the more impoverished the residents are. There are 2 tributes that are chosen to participate, forcibly, in The Hunger Games each year. Each competitor is instructed to eliminate one another in order to survive and come out on top. There is only one tribute allowed to come out of the arena alive. Katniss lives in District 12, which is the most impoverished district of them all, and she volunteers as tribute in “the Reaping” when her sister is chosen to participate. She and the other tribute from her district, Peeta, make it into the arena with the hopes that one of them comes out the winner and above all else, alive (Ross, 2012). I will refrain from going any further just in case you have not read the book or have not seen the movie. In terms of soci...
In the nineteenth century, the “History wars” became the fight between the most prominent historians revolving around the deception of frontier conflict between the labor and coalition. The debate aroused from the different interpretations of the violence that took place during the European colonization and to what degree. It became a crisis in history, emerging from the dispossession of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) that resulted in exclusion of their traditions and culture. The ATSI were the first people of Australia that brought along a different culture, language, kinship structures and a different way of life (Face the Facts, 2012). Post European colonization was a time where the ATSI people experienced disadvantage in the land they called home. With the paramount role as future educators, it demands proficient knowledge on the Australian history and one of the most influential moments in our history started from the first European settlers.
Pecquet, Gary M. "British Mercantilism and Crop Controls in the Tobacco Colonies. A Study of Rent-seeking costs." CATO Journal, 2003. 19 pages.
Colonisation of Australia began in 1788, when Englishman Captain Cook claimed the land as an empty, uninhabited, continent giving it the classification Terra Nullius and leaving it open to colonization. Eckermann (2010), stated that the English failed to recognise the aboriginal tribes as civilized, co-inhibiters of the land, feeling they had no right to a claim.
Colonial America began in the early 1600’s when the European nations directed their focus toward the “New World,” a place of opportunity. According to Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty, England’s motives for colonization were built upon national glory, profit, and religious mission (41). The purpose of the colonies in the New World was to import manufactured goods, produce marketable resources, and serve the interest of the mother country, England (Foner 74). Because economic circumstances in England were not great, England had a large proportion of men, women, and children willing to migrate to the New World and settle into the colonies. Nevertheless, after the British colonies were established, they were separated into three regions: the New England, Middle, and Chesapeake colonies. Each of these regions faced a series of challenges with economic, political, and cultural development.
Kupperman argues that the geographical location along with the lack of potential profit (until the introduction of the tobacco plant by John Rolfe) was the prime components which resulted in the rocky start of the colony. "One reason was its site, which proved to be a very poor choice of promoting the well-being of the people who tried to live there...was a time of environmental crisis that made establishing a thriving settlement even more difficult." The fact that the Jamestown colony eventually began to develop value does not expunge it of its past and it does not change the foundation upon which it was
The slave trade into the United States began in 1620 with the sale of nineteen Africans to a colony called “Virginia”. These slaves were brought to America on a Dutch ship and were sold as indentured slaves. An Indentured slave is a person who has an agreement to serve for a specific amount of time and will no longer be a servant once that time has passed, they would be “free”. Some indentured slaves were not only Africans but poor or imprisoned whites from England. The price of their freedom did not come free.
This means looking back at the arrival of Europeans, particularly the legal and political system that were used in the apparent legitimisation of the invasion. Colonisation occurred in 1700’s when Australian soil first became ‘occupied’, not by the indigenous Australians who had lived with and upon the land for centuries before but rather by European colonial fleets who had been in search of undiscovered land. The act of occupation occurred through compliance with international law and the legal doctrine of discovery of uninhabited land; terra nullius. The Australian land was declared void not of inhabitants but rather of ‘organised society united permanently for political action.’ It was declared that those who inhabited the land when it was discovered had no local laws, and as such no
After the failure of Roanoke, British colonization of the New World petered out for a few decades. In the 1600s, the tides changed. The English began colonizing again, founding numerous colonies with many different goals in mind. The purpose and makeup of each colony was different, but most of them had one thing in common. The colonists were often unprepared for the challenges that they would face in the New World, for a variety of reasons. For example, many settlers didn't realize how different the new land was from their homeland, and so didn't prepare for the challenge of harsh winters. Many also underestimated the natives, and made potentially fatal mistakes in their dealings with them. Lastly, citizens who funded certain colonies had purpose
In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell argues that most of the world’s mythologies and stories that feature a protagonist, or “hero,” going on a journey share an eerily similar structure. Campbell dubs this structure the “monomyth,” which he describes as follows: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (30). What is most important, however, is the purpose behind this journey. Campbell writes that the “modern hero-deed must be that of questing...
With the constant notion of war in the neighboring situation, Katniss Everdeen reactions to her threats much differently than Harry Potter. As the Hunger Games contains a lot of futuristic elements, the society although as many innovative technologies, in the most part these technologies do not impact the people in the capitol or the districts. The only use of the common people of these advanced mechanisms is surveillance, as it control the separation of movement to prevent any alliances between the people. Hence, as Harry Potter is surrounded with his friends, Katniss is surrounded with the isolation of the
The book The Hunger Games by Susan Collins is written in the point of view of Katniss, the female tribute from district 12. We can read all her thoughts and it makes the book more personal because we are able to see what makes her so unique through understanding all her thoughts and thought process. In the book we can see that she uses her critical thinking to interpret all her situations...