Essay On 17th Century American Imperialism

Colonizing the New World was the main objective for much of Europe during the 17th century. Britain’s economy was plummeting, unemployment and population growth were on the rise as well as the desire to spread religion throughout the northern hemisphere (National Geographic Society). In turn, Britain began colonizing the New World in search of political and religious freedom, wealth, and a new way of life.

Throughout the 1500s major religious reform was taking place in Great Britain. At the forefront of this religious revolution was John Calvin and Martin Luther. Both of them established their own version of protistantism which in turn broke up the Church of England. The New World was seen as an opportunity for Britain to spread their religion

It was essentially the start of Western Capitalism. With the increase in capital and land, Europe was able to create better ships and navigational aids to sail longer distances. This was of great economic benefit considering the Atlantic Revolution opened new routes up geographically for more trade to take place. England had expanded their colonization in the mid-17th century to the Carribean and the island of Barbados through the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Plantation owners of the Caribbean and Barbados were making a vast profit off of trading sugar and various other items such as tobacco. This fueled and financed the expansion into the New World. As a result, the Virginia company, a joint-stock company in search of wealth, in 1607 sent 105 men to Virginia to look for gold, copper, and silver (McClay, pg.24). The colony they founded became known as Jamestown. Crops such as tobacco and the trading of furs became the saving grace on which the colony survived and later flourished. With the rise of inflation and unemployment, more Europeans began to colonize Jamestown and the rest of the new world for fear of a crashing economy and by 1624 the population of Jamestown had grown from 1000 to 14,000 (McClay,

Years later many of colonists had brought disease such as small pox and measles to which the natives had no immunity to (McClay, pg.21). This caused thousands of Native Americans to die, and shaped the new world into a predominatley European culture. Colonialism eventually lead to the harsh treatment and slavery of the native people in America as well as the African peoples that would eventually be captured and taken to North America. Colonists forced their religion and customs onto the native people, forcing many to assimilate to British customs. They essentially stole land from the Native American people and tried to destroy the society they had built. Britain shaped North America, by bringing their way of life with them such as religion, new ways of governing, and technology (National Geographic Society). They created their own political system independent from Europe, in which self-governing and democracy were at the forfront. Through hard work and self governing, the British colonist eventually built a home for themselves and created the foundation for what America has