The English imperialists were interested into the Northern American land for various political reasons. One of the major political causes of English imperialism was to gain power. The English people wanted to expand their influence beyond Britain (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Through this enlargement of their territories, they would be the most powerful in Europe. Another underlying political motivation was the need to strengthen the English country (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). The government felt that through expanding its territory to North America, it would make England a very strong country. English Imperialism was also motivated by the quest for popularity across the world by the Britain. The British believed that the occupation of North America would be a great source of political pride to the country. It was prestigious for Britain to have such a vast control over its colonies in North America. Canny (1973) observes that the English Imperialism was motivated by the search for a competitive edge over the other European countries.
It is also vital to note that the thought of coming to occupy and control an untamed land, where laws and regulations were not in existence was another political motivation for the English imperialists. In the modern days, the national laws and regulations that countries have strictly guide their engagements with other foreign countries and it is very difficult for a foreigner to come and occupy land without following the right process. This scenario was absent when the English imperialists went into North America. They were attracted by the fact that they could freely enter the region and settle there without barriers (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). The English people hoped that they would establish new reforms on reaching their colonies.
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Moreover, the political affairs that took place in England pushed people away as they sought for new territories to exercise their powers. The English imperialists were greatly disappointed by the high level of corruption that existed in England. They wanted a place to set up fresh governance rules (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). They were greatly motivated by the chance of creating and developing their new states in the colonies. It is also important to observe that most of the people who left England to occupy the North American land were the victims of political oppression in the homeland. In England, there were those citizens who felt politically oppressed hence had to leave in search of freedom and independence. They thought that by colonizing Northern America, they would achieve this goal. Therefore it is this search for freedom that brought them to North America.
The English leaders had for a very long time advanced the idea of establishing colonies in North America. The defeat they secured against the Spanish Armada coupled with the political experience that was got from the failure of the Raleigh motivated the English imperialists to successfully colonize North America (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Moreover, the English government had intentions of weakening Spain through establishment of the military and naval outposts. All these are some of the political reasons that led to the English Imperialism, particularly in North America.
Social pressures that contributed to English colonization of North America
Equally, there very many social pressures that contributed to English Imperialism in the North American land. Most of these social motivations were religious-based. Poverty, which is a social problem, caused the pressure for the English locals to move to North America. A lot of the English families lived in landlocked areas. In their landlocked homes, they could not develop hence were affected by deep levels of poverty. This high level of poverty forced them to move to North America. Bolton & Marshall (1920) note that religious issues were part of the social pressures that contributed to English Imperialism. There were the Puritans and Quakers who underwent religious persecutions in England. They were under pressure to leave England for North America in search of peace and freedom.
The Christians had huge hopes of developing a better faith within the new colonies. The Puritans had grown weary of the reforms established by John Calvin. They felt that the English Church had not been sufficiently reformed (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Therefore, they hoped that by going to North America, they would get the chance of concluding the reformation agenda that was incomplete within the English Church. The Puritans wanted to abolish the position of bishops from the church organizational structure. Therefore, the puritans and the pilgrims left to look for a place in North America, where they would manage their affairs in the best manner they liked.
Another social pressure that contributed to the English Imperialism was the high desire for adventure. Most English people were interested in getting the new experience of life in North America as well as the chances of improving their social lives through interaction with new friends.
English colonies in North America
| Colony | Economic system | Social system | Political system |
| Massachusetts Bay | The economic system of this colony was mainly made up of ship building. Ships were made by the locals and sold as a commercial activity. Another economic activity in this colony was exporting rum. | It was made up of pilgrims and puritans, who were separatists. | It was founded by William Bradford and John Winthrop. Moreover, the male church members, who had property, were allowed to vote. |
| Virginia | The economic system of this colony was mainly made up of agricultural activities. There were large plantations of tobacco and sugar. | The social system was mainly defined by the Anglican and Baptist religions. | Some of the politically famous people in this colony included John Smith and John Rolfe. |
| The Carolinas | The agricultural sector with large-scale plantations of sugar and tobacco. | The colonies had a social system based on the Catholic religion. | The famous political leaders in the North Carolina colony were the Lords Proprietors while in the South Carolina colony was the Charter of Carolina. The governor was appointed and people had very little say. The colonies were divided into parishes. |
Major ideas and events
Various ideas and major events caused the emergence of the American Revolution. The Enlightenment Ideas greatly led to the American Revolution. These ideas included the philosophy that every human being had certain natural rights. John Locke advanced the idea of natural rights by claiming that every person has certain rights like freedom and privacy, which are not provided by the law (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Furthermore, Locke always argued that people had to revolt if the government infringes on their natural rights. Colonial conflicts between the Native Americans and the colonialists led to the American Revolution (Canny, 1973). Moreover, the Native Americans felt that the imperial regulations were very punitive hence had to revolt.
The Enlightenment philosophy
As mentioned earlier, the enlightenment philosophies of Locke contributed to the emergence of the American Revolution in many ways. The major Enlightenment ideals included liberty, equality and justice. These Enlightenment ideas occasioned the creation of the conditions for the American Revolution (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Basically, the philosophical ground for the American Revolution was formed by the enlightenment ideas on the social contract and the natural rights of people. The Americans, therefore, had a belief that the British government had no right to rule and govern them hence decided to revolt.
Locke encouraged the Americans to revolt against the English Imperialism through his philosophical writings. According to Locke, if a government fails to safeguard the natural rights of people then the citizens have to revolt (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). The Americans were encouraged by these enlightenment ideas of Locke, which informed their revolution. They felt that the British government was not protecting them properly.
Another fundamental Enlightenment idea was democracy. Philosophers such as Thomas Jefferson rallied the Americans to push for democracy building up a very strong desire for a democratic government with balanced powers. The early philosophers had the belief that progress of a country was highly related to the unlocking of human reasoning in order to understand the secrets of the world. They believed that the discoveries of Isaac Newton would help them know the way the world operates (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). The enlightened thinkers felt that with freedom and independence, they would perfect the human society. The only way to achieve this freedom and independence, they thought, was through revolution hence the emergence of the American Revolution. The Enlightenment held on the idea of natural rights and freedoms as rational ideologies, which led the American patriots to start yearning for liberty and democratic government that would safeguard their rights. These philosophical aspirations led to the American Revolution with a view of realizing them.
Colonial conflicts, imperial regulations and acts of rebellion
As mentioned earlier, the colonial conflicts between the natives and the British catapulted the emergence of the American Revolution (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). There were various causes of these colonial conflicts. For instance, the colonists did not want to be taxed for things they had free access to before the English Imperialism. Therefore, they immediately started to boycott the British goods. In response, the King sent soldiers to force the colonists to behave accordingly. This move led to a conflict between the soldiers and the colonists (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Moreover, there was also the issue of laws that were not favorable to the colonists. The colonists resisted such intolerable Acts, a development that again occasioned a serious conflict between them and the British government. Some of the common contentious laws included the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act and Administration of Justice Act. These laws coupled with the intolerable English imperial regulations made the colonists to engage in acts of rebellion causing colonial conflicts, which greatly contributed to the American Revolution.
Effects of the American Revolution
Native Americans
To the Native Americans, the social and political changes that followed the American Revolution posed a great danger to them. They began to feel that an independent America was even worse than being ruled by the British. Independent America posed a huge threat to the Native American Indians way of life and interests. Most historians report that the Iroquois Confederacy within the northern New York offers a good illustration of the impact of the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution on the Native American groups, mainly Indians (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). The Iroquois was an alliance of about six different native groups, which had been able to successfully react to the political and social changes of the colonial period. The Iroquois Confederacy had remained united and solid for a very long time, even before the era of the English Imperialism. However, with the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution, this confederacy disintegrated as internal conflicts increased among the six different Native American Indians that formed it. The Native American Indian groups in this confederacy started fighting against each other leading to its fall. Therefore, the political and social changes that succeeded the American Revolution brought about internal conflicts and disunity among the Native American groups (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). It led to the loss of some Indian lands.
It is also worthy to note that the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution had both adverse and positive direct effects on the Native Americans such as the American Indians. Politically, the Native Americans gained power from the colonialists. They now got back their land and distributed it amongst themselves. They had full control over the institution of slavery (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Therefore, the changes that came after the American Revolution were in favor of the Native American politically. However, the whites also felt some pinch of negative results of the changes that came after the American Revolution (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). For instance, because the Proclamation Line did not stay for long, the white settlers started to stream into what had initially been referred to as the Native American territory. This led to conflicts and strife amongst themselves.
African Americans
It is vital to understand the fact that most of the effects of the American Revolution on the African Americans were based on the hot issue of slavery. For the African Americans, who comprised the majority of the slaves, the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution motivated them to start begin the search for their freedom and equality. Slavery still thrived even after the changes brought about by the American Revolution (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). The inspiration they derived from these changes went a long way in helping them throughout the struggle for their independence and equality. The African Americans had though that they would get freedom and better life after the revolution, but the Native Americans inflicted worse atrocities on them when they took over control of North America.
The impacts of the social and political events following the American Revolution were mixed for the African Americans. There were states in the northern region that did abolish slavery. However, most black people were still barred from natural rights such as voting. Moreover, the African Americans could not even serve in the military. In the southern states, the British took their slaves away with them when they left to their other colonies in the Caribbean.
It has to be noted that the African Americans had served with great zeal during the American Revolution in the hope that it could help free them from slavery. A lot of the slaves got their freedom through serving for both sides of the war. In the end of the American Revolution, many slaves were manumitted. Furthermore, many others were able to free themselves by way of escaping away (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). What is so interesting is the common philosophy that was held by both the British and the colonists about the African Americans. They both enlisted the services of the black slaves during the American Revolution.
Women
Women were also greatly affected by the political and social changes that came after the American Revolution. Like the African Americans, they were inspired to claim equal treatment in the society. The changes gave them the motivation to struggle for their legal and political rights. The ideals of the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution inspired women for equality and independence in the society (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). These political and social changes made the voice of women to start being heard. The changes made property rights to be within the reach of women. The feminine power started being felt as feminists such as Abigail Adams rose to compete for leadership positions.
The political and social changes that followed the American Revolution put women in non-traditional roles. Women started filling the jobs that had traditionally been a reserve for men. The political and social events after the American Revolution caused a revolutionary rethinking regarding the rules for the society. Moreover, the relationship between men and women was reconsidered. The American Revolution enhanced the attention of people to issues of politics with special focus to the matters of liberty and equality in the society (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). Issues of gender equality started emerging as women started coming up to claim their position in the affairs of the society.
In the colonial era, women did have a political voice because of the strict restrictions that were put on them. However, the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution led to a movement that started improving the education of the females so that they could get more means to support themselves. It is vital to note that most of these women had lost their husbands in the revolution war. The men who died during the American Revolution war were breadwinners in their families (Bolton & Marshall, 1920). After the American Revolution, the women had to start providing for their families. They became more civilized and could take on responsibilities that they had not done before the war. Women such as Abigail Adams emerged as strong feminists who championed the political voice of the women to be heard in the society. These are some of the significant effects of the political and social changes that followed the American Revolution on the women.
References
Bolton, H. E., & Marshall, T. M. (1920). The Colonization of North America, 1492-1783 . New York, NY: Macmillan.
Canny, N. P. (1973). The ideology of English colonization: from Ireland to America. The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History , 575-598.
