The Most Important Motive for Colonization - Coursework Example

The Most Important Motive for Colonization Considering all thirteen English-American colonies together, was religion, commercial interest, or something else the most important motive for colonization? Introduction During the age of colonisation, the British Empire ruled an area over which the sun never set. The government policy of expansion and increased utilisation of colonies like the Americas certainly helped the economic and social development which took place at home leading to Britain becoming one of the first industrialised societies in the world. The input gained from commerce, farming and export of material to the American continent was the fundamental reason that led to the economic boom and the growth of Britain as a powerhouse amongst its European neighbours. A detailed record of the relationship between the American colonies and the homeland of Britain shows that the conquest of the Americas can be taken as a founding mechanism and a cornerstone of economic advancement and the industrial revolution that took place in Europe (Hamilton, 1929). However, it is possible to say that this boost to the British Empire was merely a side effect of the religious interest which the British had in converting the pagans to Christianity. Certainly, missionaries and religious thinkers also came with traders and farmers (Divine et. al., 2004) but it seems that the financial side of matters was more important overall to British interests than the religious side. Faith in Trade The religious side seems nothing more than a side note since the ruler of England is the de facto head of the Church of England as the Defender of the Faith and has to pay lip service to the position. However, the development of religion in America took quite a different path from the development of religion in Britain in just a hundred or so years after the colonies were founded (Divine et. al., 2004). If we consider the foundations of America itself, the idea of giving a king money without him having to listen to the opinions of the tax givers appears to be more connected with economics than mere ideology. Of course, credit must also be given to the increased scientific development which was slowly taking shape in colonial times as well as the philosophical changes to the concept of government, but without the financial policy to support colonisation efforts; such developments might have gone unused. The colonies were an investment for British interests and that is why colonial powers such as the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Spanish and even the Germans went to war in distant regions. The cause may have been given a fresh coat of paint with religious leanings but the motive was always the trade of things such as, spice, tobacco, indigo or other rarities which could only be found in locations such as New Amsterdam (now New York) in America, Lahore in India or Jakarta located in Indonesia. Early Capitalism It must be noted that the policies of the British government of the time supported the idea of capitalism. The formation of organisations such as the famous East India Company or the Dutch East India Company and government granted monopolies greatly added to the wealth of many citizens. These citizens went on to make increased investments in their homelands as well as in their stations or land holdings abroad that led to the generation of more wealth for everyone associated with the venture (Hamilton, 1929). The ideas of capitalism as well as increased international commerce had been around for many years but until they became a part of government policy, the benefits of those ideas could not be gathered by the people. It can not be said that everyone living in Britain at the time benefited equally from the process of colonisation but the factory owners and the producers of finished goods certainly had a run of it when they were able to export their products to America and get hard cash in return. Capitalism seems to come with the idea that religion must take a back seat to the religion based policies which are set by the government for the economic advancement of the country. Policies that supported capitalism were the result of several lines of thought coming together to diverge from the puritanical opposition to usury which was seen in the middle ages. Political structures centred on the monarchy had changed after the Treaty of Westphalia and social demands for peace and economic development were a great influence on the governmental policies of the time (Hamilton, 1929). In time, the government policies developed further through which direct control of the colonies was established under the crown rather than to let it stay with a company or a governor which controlled the region with an imperial monopoly. Such monopolies were only created to control trade and the passage of goods through the colonies. Comparatively, very little was done by the British rulers to prevent the spread of other religions or even to bring the light of Christianity to the natives who were the original inhabitants of the continent. Things have not changed much even today since imperialism and globalisation have seemed to replace the idea of colonisation where larger more powerful countries are able to dictate their terms of business as well as create a significant cultural influence on the smaller, lesser developed nations (Inozemtsev and Karaganov, 2005). Colonisation Rapp (1975) further supports the argument of financial reasons directly affecting the development of colonies when he suggest that the discovery and conquest of the Americas was the most important reason for the rise of Europe as a region more powerful than the Middle East or Eastern Asia which had dominated the globe during previous centuries. He further states that the policies and laws established by Britain were supportive of economic growth and market penetration and allowed the country to simply outperform its international rivals. With effective policies, Britain managed to become the power that controlled trade around the world, while not allowing other countries to do so. In fact, if we examine the role played by other European nations during the same period of time, we see that other powers like Portugal and Spain also gained considerably from following a government policy that supported the colonisation movement (O’Brien, 1982). There were considerable economic gains to be made from the process of establishing colonies and allowing controlled trade to flourish while restricting the ability of other nations to trade freely. The restriction in trade also restricted the abilities of other countries to spread their version of Christianity but this again was a side benefit while the main purpose remained economic gains (Rapp, 1975). Of course the social and ethical contention points of colonisation are more or less impossible to be painted in a positive light. Present day historians as well as those countries who had to suffer through colonisation can certainly say that such policies were inhuman and evil guided only by greed. However, given the times in which those policies were enacted as well as examining them from a strictly business point of view, the policies were beneficial for the government as well as the people who invested in the process of becoming colonial masters. It was nothing personal or religious, it was just business. Word Count: 1,280 Works Cited Divine, R. et. al. 2004, America Past and Present, Longman. Hamilton, E. (1929). American treasure and the rise of capitalism. Economica, 27(11), 338-357. Inozemtsev, V. and Karaganov, S. (2005). Imperialism of the Fittest. National Interest, 80(1), 74-80. O’Brien, P. (1982). European Economic Development. The Economic History Review, 35(1), 1-18. Rapp. R. (1975). The unmaking of the Mediterranean trade hegemony. The Journal of Economic History, 35(3), 499-525. Read More