Essay Sample on British Colonization of the Americas: Challenges and Success

Introduction

Unlike the swift colonization of the other parts of the world by the British, the English colonization of the Americas was coupled with multiple challenges. They tried numerous times to establish colonies in the new world but failed. However, they eventually succeeded and established their first settlement in Jamestown and finally started other new settlements in New England (Kennedy, David and Cohen 78). The British colonization of these two areas had numerous similar issues. In contrast, others differed, such as the challenges that were faced and the reasons behind the successful colonization of the regions.

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Jamestown colony

Jamestown colony was primarily agricultural with minimal cities and schools. The colony was set up as an economic venture and placed more emphasis on improving their farming activities. Most of the parts remained rural, and few schools were set up because it was not the primary concern (Kennedy, David and Cohen 70). On the contrary, New England had specialized craftsmen because of their emphasis on education. Schools were established in New England to help children read the bible, which resulted in more focus on professional training. Here, more people in the New England colonies developed special skills due to education.

The development of James town was due to a business venture for London's Virginia Company. The company was mandated with the migration of colonialists to the new world. As opposed to the Jamestown colony, which was established for economic gain, the New England colonies were established for religious reasons. For instance, there was increased prosecution of the Calvinists, Christians behind the bid to reform the Anglican Church. The Calvinists were against the Anglican Church's continued use of catholic doctrines (Kennedy, David and Cohen 74). They migrated to the new world because they were running away from the widespread religious prosecution back home.

In both the colonies, the primary threat was the conflict between the native Indians and the settlers. The settlers in New England and Jamestown faced strong opposition from the natives who felt threatened by the increased number of settlers in the colony (Kennedy, David and Cohen 80). The tensions between the colonialists and the native Indians resulted in bloody wars in the two regions. For instance, in Jamestown, the conflict resulted in the Powhattan war, while in New England, it resulted in king Philip's war.

The Jamestown colony was started along the James River, where deadly diseases such as malaria and waterborne diseases were prevalent. The number of settlers at Jamestown was threatened by the diseases leaving them weak to counter other challenges. Also, frequent attacks from the native Indians left them fighting for their survival, denying them ample time to make the colony secure. The native Indians felt that the arrival of the English people threatened their livelihood (Kennedy, David and Cohen 80). The English people were more focused on securing land for the mining of the raw material of their industries, and this meant that other people would take the Indian lands that were used for planting corn. The flourishing tobacco farming in the region made more settlers move to the area to seek fortune in tobacco farming. The result was that most settlers were acquiring land from the Powhattan, the native Indians resulting in tensions between the two groups. Also, the conflict between the Powhattan and the settlers was sparked by the death of the Powhattan chief. The chief was behind the peaceful existence between the Indians and the Native Americans. The other challenge that the colonialists in Jamestown faced was poor leadership that left them unprepared for the winter and left them with no food to prepare for the season. As such, most of the settlers died of starvation and even sought help from the native Indians.

The Jamestown colony's success is mainly affiliated to John Rifle, who started tobacco farming, making it a profitable business. Tobacco made the Virginia company to make money, thus facilitating the expedition of a high number of settlers to Jamestown. The killing of the brother of the Powhattan chief's brother ended the conflict between the settlers and the Indians (Kennedy, David and Cohen 84). It was characterized by the signing of the treaty that made Indians subjects of the colonialists. On the contrary, the success of the New England colonies is attributed to the strong business links that became developed in the regions. For instance, due to education, most of the people in New England developed skills such as the supply of naval supplies that they traded with other people. As a result, the regions became economically stable contributing to the survival of the region

Initially, the settlers at New England peacefully coexisted with the Indians, but as the settlers' population increased, the peaceful coexistence became threatened. As a result, the relationship ended up wars such as King Philip's war that significantly threatened the colonialists in New England (Kennedy, David and Cohen 82). Therefore, just that the challenges faced in the other colonial regions, New England was threatened by the persistent conflict between the colonialists and the native Indians.

The American Revolutionary War

The American revolutionary war, also known as the American Revolution, was sparked by the desire by 13 North American colonies to became independent from the British government. The fight started as a confrontation between the British army and the colonial militia in Lexington and concord, resulting in the battle for the independence of the colonies (Kennedy, David and Cohen 126). The colonies developed the desire to break from British rule primarily due to disagreement in tax rules. However, there were other reasons, such as differences between the regions that also resulted in the fight.

The colonialists wanted representation in the British parliament for them to take part in the taxes passed by the government. The support of the colonialists in the French and Indian wars made the British government decide to make the colonies to pay taxes to finance the war. The queen did not welcome the decision to break from Great Britain, and thus they declared war on the territories that were supporting the move (Kennedy, David and Cohen 130). The colonialists felt their lack of representation in parliament meant that the parliament did not have the right to decide on the taxes that they were supposed to pay. The war eventually resulted in the defeat of the British army making the United States of America win their freedom.

The colonialist also felt the urge to participate in the voting to be personally responsible for the rights. In a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the British government, he explained the desire for them to have the fundamental rights, which meant they should be allowed to be free and govern themselves (Adams 2:07). Equally, the constitution only allowed the parliament to comprise of members elected by the people in England. The colonialists felt that the lawmakers could not solve the issues that the colonialists wanted to be addressed (Kennedy, David and Cohen 128). However, Great Britain was not ready to tackle the colonialist's concerns and considered them as their subjects. As such, the American revolutionary war was the only means for the colonies to fight for their rights and freedoms. Equally, there were more conversant with the issues that they were facing in the new world, and most of the concerns could only be addressed by the colonies, without having to wait for England to respond which would sometime take long or even fail to comply.

The thirteen colonies felt the need to break from the British because they were economically stable to run themselves. As such, the difference between the regions made some of the colonies to realize the role that they were playing and the need to gain freedom. Most of the first 13 colonies that were interested in separating from Britain were economically empowered due to the agricultural and other economic activities conducted in the areas (Kennedy, David and Cohen 131). The desire to break from England was due to the need to be an independent region that would take charge of the affairs of the colonies. Most of their efforts, such as business, and agriculture, were enjoyed by England, and to ensure that see the fruits of their efforts, they had to separate from Great Britain.

The regional differences made the colonies have people with different skills that aided in their success in the revolutionary war. Some of the colonies were concerned with religious activities and invested in the education of their people. For instance, there were scholars from the regions who saw the need to govern themselves. It ended up sparking the campaign that led to the revolutionary war. For example, education was so much support in the New England colonies through the established tax-supported elementary schools (Kennedy, David and Cohen 129). In the end, most of the people in New England became great scholars writing documents, which informed the decision to seek independence. Every region had a unique aspect that was significant in the success of the colonies in the American revolutionary war.

Conclusion

The regional differences between the colonies created a strong bond of relationship because none of them was self-sufficient. The regions developed highly specialized economies meaning each could not supply everything needed to create an interdependent system (Kennedy, David and Cohen 133). The strong bond that was brought by the regional differences significantly aided in the unity of the colonies during the revolutionary war. Most of the colonies felt indebted to the other and therefore offered support in the revolutionary war leading to the colonies win. For instance, various colonies involved in the revolutionary war staged their attacks on the British army, living them fighting several battles that made them weak.