British America in 1584-1783 - Essay Example

Answer Christopher Columbus and Cabeza de Vaca were the first Spanish explorers to discover the ‘new world’ in early 16th century. Columbus’s journey to America and his encounter with the natives brought forth a new understanding of the place and people. According to him the new land was extremely fertile and beautiful with mountains and rivers and with all types of colorful flowers and fruits. The people were shy but intelligent. Except for few tribes, they believed in peaceful existence. Spanish explorers treated the natives with friendliness and generous spirit. They shared their goods like clothes, food and other equipments with them. The natives, in return showered them with expensive gifts like gold etc. Later the Spanish, in their quest for wealth and precious metals like gold and silver, tried to isolate the Native Americans from the other European invaders’ influence. In the early 17th century (1607) the British came to North America to have a strong foothold in the region. Jamestown in Virginia became the first place for British settlement followed by colonies in Massachusetts and eastern seaboard in the later part of the century. The initial friendly relationship with the native Indians turned hostile when the settlers started exploiting natives with respect to labor and sea faring activities. Diseases like tuberculosis, diphtheria were brought by the settlers who passed them on to the natives. The natives then refused to work for them. The settlers then brought Africans to work as bonded labors in the plantations and elsewhere, whom, they were freed after several years. Turn of the century saw the raced based slavery becoming a full fledged tradition with Africans and non whites becoming slaves for life. Control over the blacks became the main concern of the white because of the rebellion from the natives. The British Crown delegated the power to the companies who administered in their behalf with rules and regulations. The natives, on the other hand, did not believe in subjugation and rebelled against any revenue imposed by the settlers. French came to America in search of trading avenues and in 1599 the first serious fur trading was established as Tadaussac that grew into the city of Quebec. They had no desire for colonization. They did their trading with the Native Americans as equal. Though French claimed large area in Canada and north America by coming first to Quebec and later expanding from Louisiana in the south to great lakes in the North which included Montreal, Detroit, New Orleans and Quebec. It was during the rule of Louis XIV that foundation of New France was laid and colonization started with the establishment of self governing colonies. In 1755 the French came as warriors with the intention of expanding their territory and trade in the new world and expanded and protected their region by building forts in Ohio and other places. The increased trade and business activities created conflicting interests with the English settlers which escalated into war which later came to be known as ‘seven years’ war’. The clever strategic moves by William Pitts, the English Secretary of state with subsequent relaxing of policies won the crucial support of the native-Americans and their combined efforts saw the defeat of the French in the ensuing war. The above interaction between the Native Americans and the foreign explorers and invaders clearly showed the vast differences and similarities. Answer 2 The Southern colonies comprised of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia. The British settlers came in search of riches and were lured by the gold and other precious metals and rich fertile land of the new world. The regional economy basically consisted of farming and trading of goods especially deerskins. The indentured labor consisting of European workers, worked as bonded laborers who were freed after several years so as to payoff their passage to a new country. They worked in labor intensive tobacco plantations along with Native Americans who later refused to work because they were afflicted with diseased like tuberculosis etc. which were brought by the settlers. The settlers later diversified into other cash crops like rice, cotton and sugarcane and brought Africans as slaves to work in their plantations. The British started the tradition of raced based slavery in the new world. Shiploads of Africans were brought to America and sold as slaves to the settlers who made them work under harsh conditions in the plantations. The southern colonies were characterized by puritan values with patriarchal society with subordinated roles for women. Later in mid 17th century, advent of Quakers, empowered women who started playing dual role of religious prophets and traditional role of women as homemakers. The northern colony comprised of Quebec, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, Nova Scotia and the rest. The colony was characterized by the presence of a number of Europeans settlers which included French settlers, Dutch, Spanish and the British settlers. French settlers brought in the concept of self governance and religious freedom which was denied in the regions governed by the British settlers who tried to impose strict rules and revenue regulations, against which the Native Americans rebelled. The protestant dominated the British settlers and like southerners women did not enjoy much freedom. The Native Americans enjoyed much autonomy. The northern colony was much isolated initially but later, Spanish hold was weakened by the French and the English settlers. The English and the Dutch pirates also became a big threat to the Spanish who had deliberately isolated the northern territory against other European settlers so that it could claim all its valuables and precious metals like gold, silver etc. The climatic conditions also imposed several hardships for the Native Americans who could not overcome their poverty and deteriorating general well being. Witchcraft and puritanical values dominated the social fabric of North America in the middle 17th century. The mixed cultural values of the various European settlers, is the highlight of the northern colony. Answer 3 Women through the ages have been perceived as inferior to men. In the early colonial America the dominant patriarchal society did not allow many rights to women. Maternity was regarded as the major social role for them. The girls were expected to follow their mother and learn cooking, cleaning and taking care of children. Education was not a priority area for the fair sex. In the early 16th century, the church was a powerful institution and did not seem to give any prominent role to women barring the traditional one which subordinated women to men. The lengthy sermons describing feminine chastity, modesty and motherhood as women’s main attributes and expected social behavior, helped confined women within the domestic parameters. Though the women were expected to work in the fields alongside men, the society did not accept them as equal to their counterparts. Early 17th century saw many changes in the perceived roles of the women. The women became more proactive and the Quakers movement, provided women with the opportunity to take up the dual role of religious prophets while continuing with their traditional role of being a mother and wife. Education became a universal priority and women writers like Elizabeth Jocelyn and Dorothy Leigh, vociferously advocated for women’s rights. This was also the time when the church was undergoing major upheavals with its protestant and catholic ideologies being challenged with new puritan values. Anne Hutchinson was a prominent social leader in 1636, who had challenged the theocratic vales of the church. She was subsequently banished from Massachusetts for blasphemy but is till today, remembered for pioneering the cause for civil liberty. The emerging puritan orthodoxy did obliterate the Quakers movement, but women continued to enjoy wider autonomy within the social fabric. The class and race of the people did not have much influence on the overall social responsibilities of the women. It was basically the religion and the church that defined the social parameters of the women. Poverty combined with socially inferior role of women in the male dominated society often made them a victim of the circumstances. The Salem trial of 1692 is a prominent example of the case where 14 out of the total 20 accused were women. It was mainly because, most of the women were either poor or had, at one time or the other, defied the church. It can therefore be said that despite the autocratic philosophies of patriarchal society of colonial America, Women like Anne Hutchinson have made emphatic statement of the power of women which have outshone the decadency of the time. Reference The British Colony. Retrieved 17 August 2007 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/map1_txt.html>. The French and Indian Wars. Retrieved 17 August 2007 . Threatened Colonies I: European Competitors. Retrieved 17 August 2007 . An Outline of American History. Retrieved 17 August 2007 . Read More