The English colonies in America were established for a variety of reasons including economic and religious factors. Other reasons for colonization include the desire to expand the British Empire, establishing order, protecting colonies and to rehabilitate debtors.
Religious factors that contributed to the establishment of the English colonies occurred in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
In England, due to Henry VIII ‘s action upon breaking his ties with the Roman Catholic Church and making himself head of the Church of England, it stimulated religious reformers into carry out purification of English Christianity. These religious reformers, known as Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England from within. Therefore, in 1629, Puritans secured a royal charter to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They proposed to establish a settlement in the Massachusetts area, where Boston would become the core of Puritan society. The Puritans didn’t want to separate from the Church of England, but rather separate from its impurities.
In Rhode Island, people such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson challenged the Church of England as well as Puritan beliefs. Anne Hutchinson argues that people had the ability to talk to God, and that it was unnecessary to go to Church as well as reading the Bible. Roger Williams, also with radical ideas, questions whether the government had the right to regulate religious behavior. Also, he pursued people to make a clean break from the Church of England. In Rhode Island, Williams established a Baptist church, with freedom of religion. He encouraged no taxes to support a state church as well as no oaths regarding religious beliefs. Rhode Island was the shelter for banished religious rebels and the religious tolerance made Rhode Island more liberal than any other of the English settlements.
The Essay on Church Of England Puritans God Puritan
In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled "A Model of Christian Charity." Winthrop's sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example ...
In Connecticut, Reverend Thomas Hooker establishes Hartford, claiming that Massachusetts doesn’t have enough religious background. Another Puritan community, who planned to set up an even closer church-government alliance than Massachusetts, established themselves in New Haven.
In the mid-1600s, Quakers, known for their trembling under religious emotion, were not respected by the English. They refused to support the Church of England; they built their on meetinghouses and congregated without a paid clergy. William Penn, born as an Englishman, became involved in the Quaker faith. Although he was despised by many of his fellow Englishman, he embraced the faith and suffered persecution. At that time, many Quakers were persecuted through fines, cruel treatment, and being sent to prison. Therefore, Pennsylvania was created by William Penn, which was to establish a refuge for Quakers in the New World and at the same time, experiment liberal ideas and make profits.
Finally, Maryland was established as a refuse for Catholics. Protestant England was continuing Roman Catholic persecutions as well as discriminations such as a couple seeking wedlock could not be married by a Catholic priest. Nevertheless, Protestant backcountry planters would surround the Catholics. In response, Lord Baltimore, founder of Maryland, permitted unusual freedom of worship. He hoped that he would purchase toleration for his fellow worshippers. However, the Protestants, once again, threatened Catholics. Catholics would then throw their support to the Act of Toleration, which guaranteed religious toleration for all Christians.
Another reason the English colonies were established were due to economic factors, which happened in Virginia and South Carolina.
Virginia was established by a joint stock company, Virginia Company of London with only one concern: making gold, getting profits and becoming rich. After several attempts, Virginia would develop into a profitable plantation colony with tobacco as the main cash crop. The methods of raising tobacco were perfected in 1612 by John Rolfe, an English colonist who had settled in Jamestown. John Rolfe perfected the methods of raising and curing the strong weed, by eliminating the bitter taste. As a result, tobacco became an economic savior, where it was then planted everywhere, including graveyards. Tobacco played a vital role in putting the colony on firm economic foundations. In 1618, 30,000 pounds of tobacco were sent to England. In 1627, over 500,000 pounds were sent to England.
The Term Paper on Differences Between The Chesapeake Bay And New England Colonies
Differences between the Chesapeake Bay and New England ColoniesThere are many key differences that distinguish the inhabitants of the New England colonies from those of the Chesapeake Bay colonies. These dissimilarities include but are not limited to the differences between the social structure, family life, forms of government, religion, and the lives of indentured servants and children in the ...
In South Carolina, rice emerged as the main export crop. In England, rice was considered an exotic food, since no rice seeds were sent from London in the first supply ships to the Carolinas.
The next reason of English colony establishment is the desire to expand the British Empire. The settlements of New York and New Jersey were the main targets of British expansion.
At first, New York, formerly named New Amsterdam, was a company town belonging to the Dutch. Vast feudal estates were granted to promoters who agreed to settle fifty people on them. The English, regarding the Dutch as intruders, conquered New Amsterdam, without firing a shot. As a result, England won a bustling harbor, which was strategically located in the middle of the mainland colonies. With the conquering of New York, the English possessed a stretch of territory from Maine to the Carolinas.
New Jersey was established by small Quaker settlements outside of Pennsylvania. New Englanders traveled to New Jersey, where the soil was rich and healthy, unlike the soil that had been used up in the northern colonies.
Another reason that the colonies were established was to establish order. New Hampshire, North Carolina and Delaware were the main focus in establishing order.
In the mid-17th century, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had possession of Maine’s coast as well as New Hampshire, having been absorbed by the strained interpretation of the Massachusetts charter. The king of England, annoyed by the greed of land and disobeying English trading, separated New Hampshire from Massachusetts and made it a royal colony. Maine, too would eventually be separated from Massachusetts in the 1800s.
The Essay on North Carolina England Virginia English
The Planting of English America 1. England's Imperial Stirrings Only 10% of the 1492 population of Indians were still living. Three prominent outposts existed in North America, including: Santa Fe by the Spanish in 1610, Quebec by the French in 1608, and Jamestown, Virginia by the English in 1607. Religious arguments were still being had. Much rivalry between Protestant England and Catholic Spain. ...
North Carolina was known for being irreligious and hospitable to pirates. Since North Carolina was isolated from neighbors by wilderness, they developed a strong spirit of resistance and authority. As a result, resistance among the royal governors caused North and South Carolina to become two separate colonies. In time, North Carolina would become a royal colony, which had happened to Massachusetts for the same reasons.
Delaware, consisted of three counties, harbored Quakers. Therefore, Lord De La Warr, a harsh military governor, ruled Delaware, while closely associating with Pennsylvania. Delaware would not gain its independence from Pennsylvania until after the American Revolution.
The last reason of colony establishment was for the protection of the English colonies and the rehabilitation of debtors, mainly Georgia.
When Georgia was established, England wanted Georgia to serve as a defense for the valuable Carolinas against Spaniards and the French. The Georgia defense proved useful, as wars broke out between Spain and England. In addition to serving as a “buffer” to the English colonies, England planned to create a refuge for people imprisoned for debt. In Georgia, instead of being imprisoned in England for debt, debtors could immigrate to Georgia to work off the debt.
In conclusion, the English colonies in America were established for a variety of reasons including economic and religious factors. Other reasons for colonization include the desire to expand the British Empire, establishing order, protecting colonies and to rehabilitate debtors.
