What Contributed to the English Colonization of North America?

16th and 17th century London

Of the various European nations which contributed to the settlement of America, England has, of course, a special importance for the history of the United States. The political and social development of England differed in significant ways from that of the continental countries. Her government was less authoritarian and class distinctions were less rigid. American traditions of freedom and equality grew from English seed.

Know the Developments of England that Contributed to the English colonization of North America.

What contributed to the English colonization of North America?

Political Institutions

At the end of the Middle Ages, England, like Spain and France, achieved unity under a strong monarchy. The rulers of the Tudor Dynasty, the greatest of whom were Henry VIII (1509-47) and Elizabeth I (1558-1603), enforced order, promoted commerce, and made themselves the focuses of national loyalty. But the English monarchy, unlike that of continental countries, never became absolute.

In England alone the medieval belief in the supremacy of law had become effectively embodied in political institutions. A bicameral Parliament, with a House of Lords composed of members of the aristocracy and a House of Commons made up of elected representatives of the bourgeoisie and country gentry, had become a regular part of the government. The principle had been established in English politics that the king could not impose new taxes or make new laws without its consent. The English common law, moreover, gave more protection to individuals than did the legal system of any continental country.

Although the English were in no sense a democratic people, they prided themselves on being a free people and on the security given to private citizens through trial by jury and the independence of judiciary. Ever since King John had been compelled to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, the tradition had been maintained that citizens had certain legal rights which the Crown could not violate.

In spite of the extensive powers of the Tudor monarchs, they governed with the aid and approval of Parliament. Although they dealt sternly with powerful offenders, they usually respected the rights of plain citizens. They were, in fact, wholly dependent upon popular support.

The Crown had no large bureaucracy or standing army, and was constantly short of money even for the ordinary expenses of government.

One of the most important features of the Tudor system was that most of the work of administration, especially in local government, was entrusted not to salaried royal officials but to private citizens who were not paid for their services.

In every English county the local gentry, serving as justice of the peace, administered justice and enforced the decisions of Crown and Parliament. Ordinary citizens sat on juries, and were called for service in the militia during insurrections or times of national danger.

Thus government in England was not an alien power represented by a separate bureaucratic and military class but was broadly based on popular approval and participation.

The men who settles the early American colonies brought with them all these English traditions:-

• Limitation of executive power.
• A bicameral legislature.
• Trial by jury.
• Protection of individual rights by the common law.
• Reliance on militia rather than on a standing army for defense.
• On justices of the peace rather than on salaried officials for local administration.

The American system of government was built on these English foundations. The rights and security to individuals, provided by government inspired Englishmen to explore and colonize America.

What contributed to the English colonization of North America?

Economic Development

Economic conditions in 16th century England were particularly favorable to overseas expansion. Feudalism had disappeared more rapidly and completely than on the continent. The peasants had been transformed into free yeoman farmers, tenants or wage laborers. Although a small upper class owned much of the land, there was no sharp distinction between the nobility and rich middle class members. Some merchants and lawyers from the middle class bought land and acquired title. On the other hand many noblemen were interested in commercial profits and became partners with merchants in new economic enterprises.

English society by the late 16th century, in fact, had become predominantly business-minded. The later Tudor period was one of rapid economic progress. Foreign trade and domestic industries, especially spice trade and the cloth industry were expanding, accumulating huge capital.

A number of joint-stock companies were formed. These were chartered by the Crown, usually with providing monopolistic privileges. By organizing a company, merchants and noblemen were able to pool their capital resources for new and ambitious commercial enterprises.

Virginia Company is one of the Oldest British Joint-stock Company

While rich people accumulated more profits and wealth, many of the poorer classes were still in acute distress. The growth of the woolen industry made sheep-herding an especially profitable economic activity. Many large land owners began to use their estates for sheep instead of using for agriculture, and for that reason they appropriated and enclosed some of the common lands formerly available for the use of small farmers. Since sheep-herding required relatively little labor in comparison with agriculture, these economic changes were resulted in widespread rural poverty and unemployment. Rural England appeared to be overcrowded and its surplus population began to flow into the cities to seek jobs in industry.

Thus, by the end of the 16th century, England was ready to take advantage of the opening of the New World. Two greatest resources which helped England to establish colonies in North America successfully were:-

• Rich men had capital to invest, and had discovered how to finance large-scale enterprises by means of joint-stock companies.
• There was a relatively large body of laborers and small farmers who had the requisite mobility and strong inducements for emigration.

What contributed to the English colonization of North America?

The Growth of Puritanism

One other feature of English development was of special importance in stimulating migration to America. This was the growth of religious conflicts. The Church of England, or Anglican Church, set up by the Tudors during the Reformation, was controlled by the Crown and the bishops, permitted considerable divergences of belief, and made little attempt to enforce a strict morality.

But during the reign of Elizabeth I, Calvinist doctrines won steadily increasing support, especially among the middle class and the rural gentry. The English Calvinists, who became known as Puritans, remained within the Church of England but wished to make drastic changes in its organization and principles. They declared:-

• The Church should be controlled by the ministers and devout laymen instead of by the Crown.
• The whole community should be compelled to accept the theology of Calvinism and its strict ethical code.

Both the revolutionary program of church government put forward by the Puritans and their theological and moral intolerance made conflict with the monarchy inevitable. However the issues did not become sharply defined until after the death of Elizabeth.

Bringing about a union of the crowns of England and Scotland, the crown passed to the Scottish Stuart dynasty in 1603. However, the two countries continued to have separate governments until 1707.

The early Stuart kings, James I and Charles I, strongly opposed the Puritans. They tried to prevent Puritans from their beliefs. Charles I’s policies finally resulted in English Civil War in 1642. With very strong religious and political motives many Englishmen moved to America during the Civil War period.

Meanwhile, English Anabaptists, who believed in liberty and religious freedom, unlike the Anglican Church and the Puritans moved to America to escape persecution from Anglicans and Puritans. Of various Anabaptist groups formed, the group responsible for the voyage of the Mayflower and Society of Friends (better known as the Quakers) has very special place in the history of the United States of America.

What contributed to the English colonization of North America?

Conclusion

A new kind of society was, in fact, taking shape in the England of the Tudors and Stuarts. A responsible government to the will of people, free and uncontrolled opinion and place of a person in society according to his abilities rather than on hereditary class or rank were the major features of that period. It was a long time before this new society was fully achieved.

Most Englishmen of the early 17th century still thought largely in medieval terms, accepting hereditary class distinctions and religious intolerance as in accord with the will of god. But the concepts of a free society were already germinating in English land. Wherever Englishmen settled in other parts of the world, they carried with them the seeds of religious freedom and liberty.

ALSO CLICK:-

• History of the United States
• U.S. History Timeline
• What was the European Background to Colonization of North America?

What contributed to the English colonization of North America Sources:

1. Cheyney E.P. (1904), European Background of American History.
2. Jones H.M. (1964), O Strange New World.
3. Bolton H.E and Marshall T.M. (2015), The Colonization of North America 1492-1783.
4. Pagden A. (1993), European Encounters with the New World: From Renaissance to Romanticism.
5. Boorstin D.J. (1983), The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself.
6. Palmer S.H. (1988), Essays on the History of North American Discovery and Exploration.