GKE1 Task 3, Historical Systems of Power and Authority

Part A The rise of colonialism in North America occurred in the 1600’s by the British. Britain had sent to North America, colonists which were to establish new settlements in the name of the crown and Britain. Most of the colonists were privately funded with endorsement by the British government. The Idea of colonization was to establish settlements for the purpose of expanding a trade base for economic purposes. Britain colonized North America basically because they had a limited amount of land and natural resources, North America presented a great opportunity to expand their land holdings and create a source for raw materials. Britain still considered the colonists to be British citizens and therefore were expected to abide by rules and laws established by Britain for the colonists. Britain exerted tight control of the colonists through laws and acts that were specifically designed for the benefit of Britain. The needs of Britain were always put first before the needs of the colonists. Acts and taxes were put in place as a means to control trade and make sure that monetary items were received by Britain. The economic cycle was one of Britain obtained raw materials cheaply from the colonies, the goods were finished in England and sold back to the colonists for large profits. The colonies in North America were strictly established for the economic benefit of Britain. Also there was great prestige in this era that came from global expansion. (“British Colonization of the Americas” n.d.)

Part A1 The indigenous people of North America reacted initially with skepticism and reluctant acceptance. The acceptance eventually turned into rebellion, skirmishes and all-out war, when they realized that that the Colonists were there to only rape their land with a never ending campaign to advance their colonization. Relations between the indigenous people and the Colonialists varied between conflicts and regions, but the overall situation was one of resentment, distrust and at times hatred. (U S Department of State n.d.) One specific incidence of hatred by the indigenous people of North America towards the Colonists was the Powhatan Indian Attack of 1622. When it became obvious to the Powhatan Indians that the Colonists were intent on expanding their holdings in Virginia, they planned a surprise attack. On March 22, 1622, in the morning, the Indians and Colonists were freely circulating and socializing when the Indians suddenly picked up tools within the colony and attacked the Colonists. When it was all over the Powhatan Indians had killed 347 Colonists consisting of men, women and children. The treatment of the dead bodies was also symbolic of the way the Indians felt toward the Colonists. The Powhatan Indians also burned down houses and crops, also killing livestock. The Powhatan Indian’s goal was to drive out the Colonists for good. (Shifflett, 1998) Part B The cause of the American Revolution were many, but mainly consisted of differences in idealology. Disagreements erupted over how the colonies felt that they should be treated and the way they were actually treated by Britain. The British stance was that the colonies were created for the benefit of Britain and the Colonialists wanted more say in their own existence. One main cause of the revolution was that the Colonists wanted more representation within the British government hence “no taxation

without representation”, (Hickman n.d.), Britain was unwilling to do this. Another factor was the geographical distance between Britain and the Colonists, this created a sense of independence with in the colonies. Britain therefore tried to tighten control over the Colonists through a series of acts designed to quell any sense of rebellion. This situation grew to one of intolerable differences on both sides. The goal of the American Revolution for the Colonists was to gain total political and financial independence from Britain and to become its own sovereign country. The goal of the British in the American Revolution was to squash all resistance and retain control over the colonies. The cause of the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine was initiated by political opposition groups and the masses of determined middle class people of Ukraine. The people of the Ukraine were fed up with the corruption and the ruling elite. The ruling elite falsified election results for the presidency and attempted to install their own puppet president as president of the Ukraine. These actions set off wide spread demonstrations, sit in’s and strikes. The Goal of the Ukrainian people was to achieve a fair and just election outcome for the presidency of the Ukraine. (“Orange Revolution-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia”, n.d.)

Part B1 The strategy for the American Revolution was initially to gain equal representation for the colonies within the British government, through defiance and disobedience. Strategies changed several times due to circumstances. When the first strategy failed and Britain sent troops to the colonies, the strategy again changed to stop the invading army. As tensions and fighting rose the strategy then changed again to defeat the British in battle. The ultimate end strategy for the Colonialists was the defeat and surrender of the British army along with expulsion of all British governmental influence through the act of all out warfare. An initial strategy for the Colonists was to stage protests, such as the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, a group of Bostonians dressed up as native Indians boarded a British merchant ship and destroyed and threw 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. Britain responded by closing the harbor until the colonists paid for the destroyed cargo and they also passed the Coercive Acts of 1774. This furthered the increase in tensions and in essence was the start of the revolution. (Gale Encyclopedia, 1999) Secondly the goal was to stop the advancement of British troops such as in The Battle of Lexington. Although shots were fired on both sides this was more seen as a skirmish than a battle. The final outcome was that eight Colonialists were killed and ten injured, after a brief delay the British continued to march on to Concord. (Dictionary of American History, 2003) Finally the Colonialist’s strategy changed to all-out war and defeat of the British army. The Siege of Boston (April19, 1775-March 17, 1776), was the starting point of actual organized fighting in the American Revolution. (Wikipedia, n.d.) The outcome of this battle, although lengthy was the withdrawal of the British army from Boston. After this point the strategy of the Colonists didn’t change, they used guerrilla warfare tactics throughout the war, with the ultimate goal of British defeat and expulsion from America. (Wikipedia, n.d.) The strategy for the Orange Revolution was to stage sit in’s, demonstrations, strikes and nonviolent civil disobedience by the masses of citizens of the Ukraine. This strategy paralyzed the ruling elite’s ability to squash resistance due to the sheer numbers of participants. This strategy also garnered worldwide attention and with the immense pressure being felt from the rest of the world the original election results were cancelled and a new election was granted. The new election reversed the

presidential winner and the Orange Revolution ceased. (Orange Revolution-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia”, n.d.)

References British Colonization of the Americas. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/british_colonization_of_the_americas.html Dictionary of American History. (2003). Battles of Lexington and Concord. Retrieved from www.encyclopedia.com/topic/battles_of-lexington_and_concord.aspx Gale Encyclopedia. (1999). Boston Tea Party Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Boston Tea Party. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/boston_tea_party_.aspx Hickman, K. (n.d.). The American Revolution: Causes of Conflict. Retrieved from www.militaryhistory.about.com/od/americanrevolution/a/amrevcauses.htm Orange Revolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/orange_revolution Shifflett, C. (1998). Virtual Jamestown. Retrieved from http://www.virtualjamestown.org/phatmass.html U S Department of State. (n.d.). About.com Search - Find it now! Retrieved from http://www.ecomonics.about.com/od/useconomichistory/a/colonization.htm