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How Did The British American Colonies Different From England

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Between 1607 and 1754, many British North American colonies were formed. Many colonists migrated to the New World seeking profit. One thing that these colonists had in common was that they still had a British identity. However, as the colonists became more and more stable in their own ways, the resentment of England grew. Eventually, the British American colonists created a self identity distinct from that of the citizens of England. Environmental factors like the difference in land and political factors like the governmental structure contributed to a colonial identity that would one day lead to the colonial break with England.
Environmental factors, especially the vast difference in environment between North America and the profit to be made …show more content…

Because the colonists were so far away from England, it was impossible to govern them. When the pilgrims first landed in Cape Cod in 1620, William Bradford, the leader of these colonist, wrote the Mayflower Compact to form a basic government to prevent the colonists from wandering off. More and more colonies eventually formed, each with their own form of contract and a rudimentary government. These governments all gave some rights, however basic, to the colonists’ ability of governing themselves. Back in England, the king ruled and the subjects had no say in how the country was run. The fact that the colonists (white, male, landowners) could have a slight say in how the government was run showed the beginning of political breakage of the colony away from Great Britain. In addition, the colonists’ victory in the French and Indian War taught them that they could unite in difficult times and triumph over adversity. However, when Parliament attempted to tighten control of the colonial governments and make the colonists pay for their fair share of the war, colonists were furious at the attack on their freedoms. Also, when Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, the colonists were upset that the British government would bypass their own colonial system of taxation; they felt that they shouldn’t be taxed by an assembly in which they had no representation. Combined this with Parliament’s other acts like the Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act, colonists became concerned about the increasingly hostile Parliament which designed to limit their rights and liberties. Parliament’s aggression towards the colonies reinforced the fact that colonist’s political ideas varied significantly with those of the

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The colonies in North America were an ocean away from the country that ruled them. As a result, it was hard for the king to govern the colonies. Consequently, the settlers were left to make many of their own decisions about government. The governmental decisions made by the colonists would forever change the course of the colonial regions. New England

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This was alarming to the colonist because they familiar with the “no taxation without representation”. This Act resulted in a strong unified violent response from the colonists. The colonist issue was not with the tax itself, it was the fact that parliament was trying to tax them with no elected representatives in Parliament.

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The colonists’ sense of identity and unity as Americans was further developed when they coalesced to fight the British. Many people who lived in the colonies were not English; they were German, Dutch, Swedish, Jewish, Scots-Irish, and French. Some people were a mixture of many different ethnic groups. This “mixed” group of people, which could not be found anywhere else in the world, that united to fight for their rights led to the creation of a separate identity (from Britain). The British thought that this “open Rebellion” was unjustifiable and that the colonists had no reason to turn against their mother country, who “…protected them against the Ravages of their Enemies…”

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Q6. Throughout the time of the 1800s, England had colonies located around the world. As England continued to prosper throughout this time period, the colonies followed suit in the improvements. In these colonies, the European colonists tended to take control over the natives. With these colonies thriving, they became strong enough to eventually be on their own.

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At the dawn of the 1770s, American colonial resentment of the British Parliament in London had been steadily increasing for some time. Retaliating in 1766, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act which repealed most taxes except issued a reinforcement of Parliament’s supremacy. In a fascinating exchange, we see that the Parliament identifies and responds to the colonists main claim; Parliament had no right to directly tax colonists who had no representation in Parliament itself. By asserting Parliamentary supremacy while simultaneously repealing the Stamp Act and scaling back the Sugar Act, Parliament essentially established the hill it would die on, that being its legitimacy. With the stage set for colonial conflict in the 1770s, all but one

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The relationship between Britain and its American colonies was civil at first but began to strain in the mid-1700’s. In the beginning, Britain ruled colonies with little involvement because they were busy dealing with the French and Indian War among other things. As a result of this, the colonies were typically left in charge of themselves with little interference from British authorities. After years of being left alone, the colonists had developed a feeling of freedom and independence. When the war ended there was a significant change in the relations between England and the colonies.

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The people of America (colonists) were tired of being controlled by England. They wanted to be free and independent. They believed that they were able to control themselves and be their own country. They wanted England to let go of their control and to view them as independent and their own country.

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The British government was not looking for the best of the people. They were only thinking about what they wanted; the government was not interested in what the people wanted so they decided to make decisions on their own, which resulted in changes that form the United States today. Because of this, they were justified in rebelling and declaring independence. One reason why the colonists decided to rebel and declare independence was because of taxation.

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Colonies were built in British North America, although most of the land was still unexplored in the seventeenth century. The Spanish, English, and French were the three powers at the time on this land. The winter of 1609-1610 was a harsh winter for the new settlers, they started out with 400 settlers and only 60 of them survived due to the starvation, diseases, and malnutrition. At this time the Natives and English were major rivals until the Peace Treaty of 1646, the Chesapeake Indians had to agree to staying outside of the English areas, as well as having hope that they could peacefully coexist. By 1669 roughly only 2,000 Chesapeake Indians remained.

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The American colonies had a past of practicing limited forms of self government. The Colonists came to America for economic freedom, religious freedom, and many more reasons. In 1620, the first Pilgrims were headed for the land of what is now known as Virginia. In a crazy twist of fate, they found themselves in Plymouth instead of Virginia, what is now in Massachusetts.

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“No Taxation without Representation. ” This would be a heated topic over people not having a say over the issue of taxes. The first war fought in the American Revolution was the french and Indian war, which was between the colonists and the natives over who should attain more land. Britain had a concept of Virtual Representation which meant that people did not get to have a say in the government there was also Actual representation which meant the people did get to have a say in the government.

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The British colonized the eastern seaboard of America during the 17th and 8th centuries. However, the colonies were not contented with the British government. The disatisfaction of the colonist towards the British government led to a continuous back and forth of revolts; thus leading to laws attempting to affix the colonies. These laws inevitably induced the rise of the American Revolution. The demand for no taxation without representation supported the colonies abhor for British tyranny, forgather the colonist, and symbolized the pressure colonial leaders placed on a republican form of government.

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Although the Spanish, French, and English all had major impacts on their respective settlements, the English had a substantial influence on what became the American colonies. From the early founding of Jamestown in 1607 until the calls for American independence in 1776, the people who settled in New England had a direct impact on the nation’s future. American culture and values changed over the course of the next one-and-a-half centuries, leading to uniqueness only present in the New World. Spanning from religious groups to scientific thinkers, developments in New England led to independent viewpoints that differed from Great Britain’s. Ultimately, this was a contributing factor for the American War of Independence in 1776.

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