Difference Between English Colonization And The Road To Revolution

English Colonization and the Road to Revolution
A. Considering English Colonization, there exists a striking difference between the attitude of English Colonists and other Europeans. Europeans came to America with an intention to stay and travelled in the form of family groups. In the mid seventeenth century, Europeans started settling their colonies in America that disturbed the lives of the local people. As evident from their actions, the basic reason to settle these colonies was to gain access to the wealth and resources. English colonists displaced the natives and established New England in America in order to gain more and more influence over the vast continent. Some major developments took place in the early seventeenth century that required England to consider America for colonization. One of those developments was the change in social and economic lives of English population in England. During a period of 150 years, the population of England doubled. This created several issues like increased competition for food, clothing, and shelter, increased poverty, inflation and fall in wages. In 1550, the population of London reached 75,000. The English thought of an idea to spin off the
surplus population, and ordinary people moved to the new world to improve their lives.
Another major development that led many Europeans to America was religious transformation in England. The monarch’s got complete hold of the church affairs and declared that their power is directly from God and his subjects should obey him. There was no religious tolerance and dissenting clergymen were removed from the churches. This situation motivated many Puritans, Separatists, and Presbyterians to move to America where they can practice their religion freely. In Chesapeake freedom of religion to all Christian settlers was given and codified in the Maryland’s Act of Religious Tolerance. The basic motives that drew people to New England were economic and religious.
In order to get economic stability, a group of merchants aligned with religious reformers to get royal charter of Virginia organized as Joint Stock Company. These stock companies pooled the resources of small investors. Even after the collapse of the Virginia Company, the colonists were able to exercise their power by Head right system that promised the possibility of vast agricultural enterprises to English gentry. After some time, the land owning people were given a right to elect the representatives in the House of Burgesses.
Another attempt of English people to dominate America economically is setting up Massachusetts Bay Company. This new joint stock company attracted more Puritans from their homeland who had a fear that they won’t be able to practice their religion freely. By setting up such companies English men enhanced their influence and paved way for more English people to enter America. In 1630 more than a thousand English men and women moved to Massachusetts. Political motivation was another reason behind the colonization of America. In every single example where a joint stock company was set up, this lead to the creation of legislature and governing bodies. It was a gradual process to settle and exert influence on the American land and natives. In the case of Massachusetts Bay Company, it was converted into a small colonial legislature in the beginning, and then in less than a decade, the colony had a self-governing legislature, governor, and two house legislatures. English men executed their economic and political motives side by side to exert their influence on America. (Norton, et al., 2014)
The Caribbean was considered a favorable place to set up colonies because of the valuable cash crop grown on the islands, i.e. sugar. The trade of this valuable cash crop brought far more revenue than any other cash crop. There were economic, political, and religious motives to setup English colonies in America. C. A number of events including wars, rebellions, and alliances led the American Revolution. With the passage of time, the colonies became more diverse based on their ethnicity. In the southern colonies, the 50-90% of the population was African and in the West Indies, the black population was much larger. International trade also affected the colonial economies. Most of the African Americans were enslaved. The assemblies and constitutions established were controlled by dominant families, and they were solely focused on enhancing their own power and influence with very little concern to the poor constituent’s rights. Assemblies began to claim privileges such as initiating tax legislation and controlling militia. These royal governors and councils became a threat to the colonists’ stable governmental structures. These political structures faced a series of crises. A series of upheavals and rebellions lead to the glorious revolution.
The American Revolution finds its inspiration from a number of sources from ancient to modern and from scientific to philosophical.
John Locke was considered the godfather of the Revolution. His school of thought was Liberalism and played a vital role in the remarkable effort. The concepts of liberalism and republicanism were very dominant in the mind of eighteenth century Americans. Among his work, his theory of exploitation and rights of the common man was the most significant one. Jean-Jacques Rousseau also played a significant role. His social contract and religious views were radical and banned in Paris. He was of the view that religion is marked with errors and lies. His political philosophy was more recognized and authentic where he explained the process of community
good.
Many slave rebellions arose. In south of Charles Town, twenty enslaved men gathered near the Stono River and they killed storekeepers and planter families. They were supported by other bondsmen and headed towards Florida. A troop of militia controlled them quickly, but the rumors of escaped slaves haunted the colony. In 1712, in New York, black men were killed to plot a conspiracy under the Spanish Priest. The Stono Rebellion and New York Conspiracy expressed the weakness of the assemblies to prevent the internal disorder. Apart from internal rivalries, colonies were surrounded by hostile rivals like French, Spanish, and Indians. This situation led to a number of colonial wars from 1689-1763. Some of the most significant events that took place at that time were the King William’s war over French power, Queen Anne’s war over the throne of Spain, and King George’s war over Throne of Austria. British, entering into war with Americans, used the same European warfare strategies, but Americans resisted far more than they expected. Paine’s famous pamphlet expressed the formation of American Republic and breaking ties with England would make America prosperous. Through the war, two-fifths of the population was loyal to America and two-fifths remained neutral. The French also played a great role by secretly sending supplies to the American army to avenge its defeat to Britain. All of these events led to the great Revolution. (Norton, et al., 2014)
D. At the time of the revolution, Native Americans realized that the American Revolution was going to have disastrous effects on their lives. In southern America, tribes provided great support to the British in the war. Americans considered the victory over British as the victory over Native Americans as well. Natives were not given any representation in the treaty arrangements. Therefore, they had very poor treatment in diplomatic arrangements. Despite the American victory, natives resisted the American control in the trans-Appalachian west. This led to a number of treaties. Though revolution was a disastrous process for the Native Americans, their struggle for autonomy, independence, and legal treatment helped them get their rights in the time to come.
In post revolution time, women were excluded from political activities. Women were given less status and wives had no independence concerned with their legal, political, and civic matters. Majority of the women in the 18th century were restricted to their homes. The most arduous work was bearing children. After the independence from England women earned no substantial rights. Some of the states gave voting rights to the women and other denied it. Women kept on facing discrimination in voting, occupational licenses, and property ownerships. No substantial changes occurred in women’s rights as a result of the American Revolution, but subtle changes appeared. Women started playing a greater role in the public sphere and reform movements. (Norton, et al., 2014) The revolution didn’t abolish slavery completely, but it inspired the slaves for equality and independence. Soon after the war, the contributions of African Americans were forgotten. Not even at a single instance were the contributions of the slaves in the American Revolution recognized. Blacks were active participants of the war and contributed effectively in the whole process. In eighteenth century, colonists started apposing slavery. Liberty talks gave a lot of expectation to the slaves and they were even ready to fight for their rights. But the revolutionary story didn’t consider black slaves at all. Many Black soldiers were serving in the army, but both the Americans and British were afraid of them. African Americans played a vital role in the revolutionary battle on both sides of the fight. This revolution gave a chance to the slaves to indulge in their freedom and independence struggle. This helped them to unite as a community and fight for their rights. (Norton, et al., 2014)