The British just like other European colonial powers such as Spanish and Dutch were keen on expanding their territories in the North American region. However, their conquest of this region was slowed by the fact that Spain had already set up base in this region. Nonetheless, the British still managed to get control of this region, which was marked by setting up Jamestown in the early 17 th century. From here, the British were then able to set up other corporate, royal and proprietary colonies along the Atlantic seaboard.
Factors that Led to the Development of the British North America Colonies
Britain was successful in developing colonies in North America because of several factors. For one, the British were already looking for a market to sell its surplus wool and North America became one of its export destinations. The surplus income from the sale of wool, in turn, gave the British colonialists an edge against their other European colonialists. Moreover, the British colonialists used a different approach when it came to establishing its colonies in terms of the governance system. In this case, the British set up corporate, royal and proprietary colonies, which helped this colonial power to enforce its varied policies in each of the colonial set (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019).
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Furthermore, the British, unlike the other colonial masters, had a diversified economy with a focus on agriculture, lumbering, and fishing. This diversification led to the rise of a merchant class, which in turn led to an increase in local and international trade. Moreover, this diversification helped the British to develop several other urban colonies in the north, central and southern America. The British were able to establish good relations with the Native American Indians who in turn helped the British to navigate the territory and sell their merchandise. Additionally, the British were able to develop more colonies in North America since it set its colonies near harbors and inland waterways. These harbors and waterways helped the British secure their ships against attacks by the other colonialists and the natives. All of these factors helped the British to become such a powerful colonial nation in spite of coming in after Spain and the Dutch.
Compare and contrast the development and characteristics of each region: Chesapeake, New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies
The British acquired and developed thirteen colonies in North America beginning with Virginia in 1607 and ending with the founding of Georgia in 1733. The thirteen colonies were located in Chesapeake, New England, and mid-Atlantic and in the Southern part of North America. While all of these colonies belonged to the British, they had several social, political, religious and economic differences and similarities. On the economic sphere, the Chesapeake and the southern colonies had an agrarian economy, which was based on cash crops such as tobacco and rice, which were grown on plantations. On the other hand, the New England colonies had a more diversified economy as they engaged in fishing and shipbuilding, which gave rise to merchants (Rosenbloom, 2018).
Socially, the people in the New England colonies were closely knit as they had a common religious zeal. On the other hand, the southern colonies lacked this social unity, as the towns were few and scattered. moreover, women in Chesapeake had more power as compared to the women in New England (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). In essence, women in Chesapeake were free to marry more than four times causing family instability as compared to New England where the family was more valued. On religious matters, the New Englanders were mainly Puritans and shared a common religious purpose, which made it become the center of the ‘Great Awakening’ (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019) On the other hand, the Southern territories were more secular who was more concerned with business than with religious matters. Politically, the colonies were theocratic and had self-government. While the Southern colonies were under the Anglican Church, New England was under the Puritans church. However, both the churches determined whether individuals would hold leadership positions and both churches levied taxes.
Early Problems in the Colonies and how they were Resolved
The British colonies faced several problems in the initial years considering that the Spanish and the Dutch had already settled here. Moreover, the British were taking up colonies from the Native Americans were hostile. The first problem that the British colonies faced was hardships in term of hunger as they were yet to have any meaningful economic activity to feed themselves. However, the British colonialists learned how to grow tobacco, which helped the colony to survive (Rosenbloom, 2018). Moreover, the British colonialists faced hostilities from the natives and the colonies but they signed peace agreements and treaties, which helped the British to grow their colonies. Furthermore, the British colonies faced difficulty in hiring workers to tend the plantations as they had a shortage of cash. They overcame this problem by paying for the passage of young workers from the British Isles who would then work for several years to clear off the debt. Over time, the British overcame other problems as they arose and they went ahead to expand their territories in North America.
References
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). American Colonies: British and United States History . Retrieved on 11 February 2019 from https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-colonies
Rosenbloom, J. L. (2018). The Colonial American Economy. Economics Working Papers : Department of Economics, Iowa State University . Retrieved on 11 February 2019 from https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=econ_ag_workingpapers
