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How Did Geography Influence The Development Of The British Colonies

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“Geography was the primary factor in shaping the development of the British colonies in North America”. This is a valid statement as Geography was a factor in the development of the British colonies in numerous ways. Some of the primary reasons include where ports were settled due to the rivers of the new world, limitations on were settlers could settle and develop due to barriers such as mountains and rivers, different crops growing in certain colonies due to the layout of the land, and the overall amount of land that could be taken from the Indians because of their prior knowledge of the lands layout. Firstly, the location of numerous rivers of North America helped define the land by dictating ports in certain areas of the colonies. The ports …show more content…

The land was sometimes flat plains which were great for planting large amounts of crops at one time while other times the land was rocky and course which meant a limited supply of crops. The amount of crops in an area was important because it could tell you how successful that area was probably going to be. Plantation owners were more likely to head south to Virginia and South Carolina so that they could establish enormous plantations and make a profit. The amount of crops in the area was also responsible for feeding the entire population of said area. Colonies in the southern part of North America usually had no problem with this, but the northern colonies did. One colony that supports this idea is Jamestown. Jamestown settled in Virginia near the sea. While they did settle in Virginia, they were more concerned with finding gold then establishing stable living conditions. When the first winter rolled around, they had little crops and the crops they did have were pathetic due to constant exposure to sea water. All of these unfortunate circumstances caused many of the original Jamestown settlers to die. While most of the problems arose due to the lack of responsibility, the problem couldn’t be resolved in the end because they had no way of successfully planting …show more content…

The Indians grew up in North America and called it home, so when the colonists came to north America and tried many times to take their land, things got nasty. The Indians were already at a strategic advantage because they had many tribes surrounding the areas to later be colonized by the colonists. These tribes could sometimes band together to keep the colonists from encroaching on their land. Indians also knew the layout of the areas better than the colonists because they grew up there. This also gave the Indians an advantage and allowed them to sneak up on the colonists and use guerilla warfare to kill many of them. Even though the colonists eventually took over, these factors allowed the Indians to reduce the colonists’

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