Comparing and Contrasting Life in the Colonies - Term Paper Example

Comparing and contrasting life in the colonies The colony system became practice in most of all American and Asian continents during the time of 1700. Number of European countries, including Great Britain have been formed several colonies in Afro- Asian and American countries. These ruling countries believed that they had the right to impose new taxes on the colonies. The colonies had no direct representation in Government and had been treated as downtrodden. The people in these colonies led their own lifestyle. They formed a particular culture, ruling system, political ideology etc. British colonies in America and French colonies in West Africa were two major colonies which had possessed different social and cultural life. Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta is a small, poor, landlocked country in West Africa which later became the part of French West Africa in 1896. A large number of people in Burkina Faso live in rural areas. The extended family and tribes are the basic social units. Excessive population and drought carved the people and they were compelled to move neighboring countries in search of better life facilities. If one compares the French colonies with that of the American, one can find that there existed somewhat a far better living condition in American colonies which allowed the freedom for education and health facilities for the colonists. Most of the colonies of the world faced the same problem of the wide dispersal of population and the migration of educated people to city life. The New England colonies in America gave more emphasis to education which later paved the way for the renewal of most of the colonies. The Dame school system was very common in the time of early colonial days. The one room school is managed by a woman in her house, with a few children. The political conditions were crucial in Burkina Faso before the conquest of France in the 1890s.The Islamic empire of Mali and Songhai ruled before the arrival of France into the scene. In Burkina Faso, the political life has been controlled by the small group of educated people, military officers and labor unions. The result of extreme poverty, political instability became a curse in Burkina Faso region. After the advent of French administration, these political organizations and labor unions demanded political freedom. The social life was so pathetic and the vegetation was mainly depended on seasonal rain. The poor soil supports few fruit trees and crops, which were insufficient for the inhabitants. While in New England colonies in America have been developed a different social order and they were seeking for religious freedom. Political organizations and movements were strictly controlled by the ruling country. People tried to express their frustration through these kinds of political gatherings and they had tried to use this opportunity to protest against the implementation of unnecessary taxes which really made their life harmful. The puritans made a self governing groups and religious communities for free landowning farmers and their families. The majority of people in the English colonies lived on farms. In these families husbands possessed the legal supremacy over their wives. The British colonies had followed a patriarchal system. People worked on their own farms. The wooden houses were common in that time. New England people had practiced a stable family system in their society. They had followed a planned marriage system. Slavery is an important feature of New England colonies. The enslaved Africans worked the tobacco, indigo and rice fields. These slaves followed hard living conditions and they had no legal rights. A civilized and well planned town system had developed in New England colonies. Blacksmiths, wagon makers and furniture workers formed their shops in rural villages. Above all some established traders managed shops for selling English products like cloths, iron, various glasses etc. Well equipped houses were the major part of these colonial towns. It contains specialized rooms like library, dining hall, parlor and bedrooms. In Burkina Faso, life and the town system is based on agriculture. Small-scale industries like textiles, iron, and glass are very common. The town system is not much developed when comparing the town system in New England. The growth of economy and the systematic development of nation in these colonies were chained by the activities of their ruling countries. The Government and law in the colonies considered as an extension of the law of English Government. There had existed two governing bodies American colonies, including the native citizens. The first possessed the judicial, administrative and legislative functions and was under the direct control of the government. The second is General Assembly, with representation of the native colonists. But the native people were given only the nominal representations and major administrative functions and law making were based on the policies of English Parliament. Their continual cry for freedom were not allowed and the British unwillingness to respond to American demands for change allowed colonists to argue that they were part of an increasingly corrupt and autocratic empire in which their traditional liberties were threatened. (Parliamentary taxation of colonies, international trade, and American Revolution, 1763-1775). The British had never treated them as the part of the British Empire or dissuading them from paying the unnecessary taxes. The colonists suffocated too much from the implementation of unnecessary taxes in the importation of tea, paint, paper, wine, spirits and other necessary items. To conclude one can infer that the colonists of world have been under the suppressive rule of the ruling countries and as such they were forced to lead a pathetic and submissive life with the worst conditions. They were tongue tied and one could not find much difference in the administration of these colonies where the ruling country exerted its full power and prevented the moral and legal rights of the colonists. Laws were never passed for the betterment of the colonists and their necessities of life, educations etc were denied to them. While the British government imposed strict rules on the colonists, the French government even denied their education. Though the colonists had been given representation in the parliament, it was only nominal. Thus it is seen that where ever the colony rule exists, there the poor ordinary people suffers much and have to denied of all their moral and legal rights. References Parliamentary taxation of colonies, international trade, and American Revolution, 1763-1775. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/cp/90617.htm Read More