Free Essay

Colonial America

In:

Submitted By 321faith
Words 335
Pages 2
America is sometimes referred to as the land of opportunity and even when America was first being colonized that statement seemed to ring true. People decided to move to the New World for multiple different reasons, but the one thing each of these people had in common with their motives was that they were in search of new opportunities and the chance to have a better life. Some of these groups of people included the members of the Virginia Company and the Pilgrims (Tindall & Shi, 27).

After making peace with Spain many of the men who had been adventurers working for James I needed somewhere to go and the idea of getting rich quick by striking gold seemed like the perfect plan. Thus The London Group of the Virginia Company was born and the plan to voyage over to the New Land and form a colony was set into motion. The Virginia Company, a for-profit enterprise chartered by James I, had stock holders who thought that the colony would be a source of gold, wine, olive oil, and forest products that were needed in England (Tindall & Shi, 27). Many of the stock holders also still had hopes that they would find a passage to India (Tindall & Shi, 27). So on May 6, 1607 three ships set sail with 105 men aboard and four months later landed in what they named Virginia and started the first permanent colony in Virginia (Tindall & Shi, 27). The men built a small colony but many of them did not know how to hunt or fish. They had, after all, come to the New World to get rich not to learn the ways of the land (Tindall & Shi, 28).

Years later another group would find its way over to America after leaving not only England but also Holland. The Separatists, also known as Pilgrims, were a small group of Puritans who had cut all ties with the Church of England, believing that it was too corrupt (Tindall & Shi, 32).

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Colonial America

...Colonial Life in America Jazmyne Brown Dr. Franklin Williamson History 2111 May 23, 2016 Word count:1 The Colonial America era was the start of our nation’s society. Colonial America is not only an important time, but also a very controversial time as well. Moreover, life in Colonial times was never equal to everybody at once. In addition, some parties were always given the short end of the stick. Furthermore, Colonial life then had many points of views that made things fair and superior to one party but unfair for another. To better understand life in Colonial times, there are a few main things that stood out the most among these times. These points of views that stood out the most were religion, gender roles, and land property. First, Colonial life was very strict and precise on religion. There are several examples throught out voices of freedom by Eric froner that show and explain instance the trail of Anne Hutchinson is a well known story in colonial society. Anne Hutchinson was put on trail and banished from her community and the puritan church. Most puritan’s beliefs are salvation was God’s direct gift to the elect could not be earned by good works, devotional practices or other human effort. Give me liberty by Eric froner. However, Anne believed that most of the ministers were falsely preaching and singling saints from sinners based on their church attendance and moral behavior rather than inner state of grace. In addition she held religious meetings in her home...

Words: 371 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

English Colonization In Colonial America

...English colonization of the seventeenth century underwent remarkable complications demonstrated by settlement patterns and transformation of social structure. Specifically, throughout the settlement process, Indians experienced immense religious influence by the English and conflicted over both land and religious liberties. Also, as individuals emigrated from England to the Americas, challenging liberties concerning economic and societal structure began to surface. Furthermore, by delving deeper into the tensions that accompany freedom, insights involving the reasoning behind English impact arise. When analyzing the English settlement patterns in the Americas, Native Americans were challenged religiously and by the liberty of their land. For...

Words: 1195 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Music in Colonial America

...How colonial music relates to our day music while helping us form a united country and patriotism. It has been found that music of the Colonial age wasn’t written in America; but, inclusively transported to help define the colleagues and for founders of this country. The music that early Americans have chosen to sing and play helps to clarify the understanding of the colonist themselves. 1 “Their music included ballads, dance tunes, folk songs and parodies, comic opera arias, drum signals, psalms, minuets and sonatas. Such music came mostly from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, and Africa, and it was played on whatever instruments were handy.” Many different styles and forms of music emerged in early America to express the full effect of colonial life. Colonial music included both oral and written processes; in which, people most commonly could recognize by ear but frequently came up with new words to the older tunes. The instruments we have today were brought to us by the Revolution age with some in their original form and prevalent. Men from all different classes, from slaves and indentured servants to Thomas Jefferson, played fiddles or violins. While prices varied from high to low violins were usually imported in great numbers. In addition to popular instruments such as the violin, the flute happens to be another prominent instrument that was driven by man. 1 Woman had limited musical options due to high levels of “maintaining reputation” for men. Wealthy...

Words: 778 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Capitalism In Colonial Latin America

...The economy in Colonial Latin America was complex and contained elements of similarity to the mother country system. Although many of the colonies’ economies in Latin America are influenced by the parent country, there different in nuance. Steve Stern does a great job of showing Colonial Latin America utilize attributes from both capitalism and feudalism to create its own sense of an economic system. The fusion of feudalism and capitalism helped to sustain slavery and provide European colonists with political and monetary power over indigenous people living in Latin America. Systematic forced labor proved Stern was correct about how European settlers established a feudalistic society in the Americas. The first establishment of forced labor came in the form of the Encomienda. The Encomienda allowed conquistadors to control Indigenous...

Words: 1208 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Bacon's Rebellion In Colonial America

...The Columbian exchange started shortly after Christopher Columbus founded the Americas. This was trade between the “new” and “old” worlds, they traded gold, fur, diseases, and many other things. Although this seemed like a great idea in the beginning it killed off a lot of the Indians. When the Europeans came over to America, they brought over disease such as the smallpox, influenza, and measles. The Indians didn’t have any antibiotics to kill off the diseases thus killing most of the population of the Indians. There was also a plus for the Columbian exchange, the Europeans brought over new technology, they brought over bow and arrows, cannons, and even guns, this shaped what America is today. Bacons rebellion was a war in the late 1600’s between two men, William Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon. This war started when Bacon and Berkeley had settled in the town of Virginia, Bacon wanted to push out all Indians, he stated how they were the enemies. Although the governor of the town, Berkeley felt like it was not morally right to push out the Indians. He said how he didn’t want to attack the “friendly”...

Words: 640 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Colonial America

...Colonial America project Hi, my name Duke Aushaffenburg, and this is my Colonial America project. I am a Silversmith in colonial Williamsburg. I live above my shop, the Golden Ball on the Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, in the colony of Virginia. Well, you might wonder why a silversmith is important. I am important in my community because I forge silver or gold into bowls, forks, spoons, containers, ringboxes and many other things for the people of Williamsburg. Sometimes people would bring silver or gold coins to me. I would take a few for the pay and forge the rest into whatever the person wanted. Silver or gold utensils and objects including valuable items were signs of power and wealthiness in the 1700’s. If you are wondering, what a day was like for me, I would usually eat a breakfast possibly of broth, bread with rice, or possibly a fruit or a vegetable. There was also porridge, coffee, beer, cider and tea. I would dress in my light, baggy work clothes and possibly wash my face in a bucket of water. Once I was ready, I would go downstairs to get my fires going, open up my store, and go to work. During my work time, I would use my five senses. I would smell wood, charcoal or coal burning in my hearths. Sometimes I could smell horse droppings from outside. I would hear silver being pounded against a stake with a “raising hammer”. I would also hear people talking and sometimes a horse and buggy come by. I would see my assistant or apprentice if I had one...

Words: 647 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Colonial America

...AP US History Miss Nye Mod 3 Colonial America In the passage from the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards he talks mainly about how God is the one keeping people out of hell, and that it is God’s own decision that would decide if a sinner would go into the bottomless gulf that is hell. In Jonathan Edwards’ sermon he also brings up the fact that if it were not of the pleasure of God, that the earth would not hold you, because you are a burden to it. (You being the terms of the sinner that the article is talking to.) This passage shows the huge role that religion plays in American society, by showing how important religion is held in people’s everyday life, that if they do not please God, or have committed sins they were to be immediately cast into hell. Religion played another role in American society, because America was used by different people as a chance for religious freedom. An U.S. event that is similar to how religion plays a role in American society is World War II. World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945 that involved the Axis Powers, including Germany, Japan, and Italy. The other side of the war was the Allies which included the U.S., Britain, France, China, etc. One of the biggest parts of World War II, was the Holocaust and the Nazis that were killing mass amounts of Jews organized by Adolf Hitler. Although it was not America’s priority to help with the Holocaust, because of the current war, they did help with numerous recue projects after...

Words: 291 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Religion in Colonial America

...Religion in Colonial America Deanna Levant ENG 491/American Literature to 1860 Professor Rathi Krishnan October 27, 2014 The Colonial period was an abundant period of American history in its source of respectful and influential people who helped to shape modern society through questioning the past beliefs. As a result, many people came to America with the purpose of searching for religious freedom. Their major hopes and wishes were to escape the religious persecution, which they were forced to face. In addition, they had the opportunity to choose religion that wished to be part of. Hence, the settlers came here with a load of European cultural and artistic traditions and began to implement them in real life. Consequently, the earliest writings that emerged during the colonial period were religious tracts and historical essays. Thus, this paper presents the information on the role of religion in colonial American literature and discusses the works of colonial authors to analyze how their religious views shape their literary works, their styles, and their interpretation of historical and political events. To start with, for the Puritans of the Colonial Period, various creations were actually connected to their religious beliefs and views of God. The Puritans sailed to America in order to build their lives on biblical laws away from the rule of the old church. Severe Calvinists, they believed in the indisputable authority...

Words: 1236 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Shipbuilding In Colonial America

...referred to as the colonization of the United States or “Colonial America”. The British were depleting their wood sources along the waterways on Europe’s west coast. Shipbuilding in Colonial America was mutually advantageous to both the colonists and the British. The many attributes that the wood in Colonial America could provide were desirable to the British. Another benefit of buildings ships in North America was that they were cheaper than those built in British yards. Finally, Building ships in North America also gave the colonists another useful trade item. These are the main reasons why shipbuilding...

Words: 767 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Life In Colonial America

...Colonial Life In America Throughout the Colonial America it is evident that the American Colonies became gradually more stable overtime. This is evident because there was more diverse economies, there was an establishment of a more sophisticated government, and colonies population stabilized as it increased. The colonies survived, and they became free and independent in Colonial America and later in the United States. The economies became more diverse for the fact that there was cash crops. America’s first cash crop was tobacco. Tobacco was shipped from a young English colony in Jamestown in a ship named Elizabeth, bound for London. It included four barrels of tobacco, about four thousand pounds. These four few barrels changed the whole...

Words: 1596 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Slavery In Colonial America

...Fredrick Douglass experiences as a salve were very different in comparison to the slaves in the earlier colonial labor period. These differences can be defined in terms of Slavery, Plantation, and Trade. Slavery has been a part of the American revolution from the beginning. First slaves/indentured servants happened to arrive in Virginia. Most of the people coming to America came in search of trade or else to improve their life and get benefits by earning money. The slaves did not come on their own instead they were forcibly bought here to work. . During the Colonial period, there were to kinds of people working in the crops. One of them being the black people who were forced to work as slaves and the other being the white people, who were called...

Words: 999 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Women In Colonial America

...many changes that reformed their way of life from the time they first set foot in the New World. After being discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, colonists began to cross the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of riches, religious freedom, and many other reasons. The average age of the colonists was seventeen before the revolution. A seventeen year old is very rebellious, and when the British throne mistreated them, they stood up to fight. However, before the revolution, colonial society was different before the revolution. The different aspects of the colonial society included: mercantilism and the Navigation Acts, women in colonial...

Words: 801 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Education in Colonial America

...Education in Colonial America Marjorie Waloski Introduction to Elementary Education Professor Susan Bridges Abstract The education system in Colonial America is very different from the education system of modern times. Education usually began in the home and in the fields. Lower class students only received an elementary education while upper class students went on to higher education. Native American and African American children received little to no education at all. Students were not required to be educated until 1642. Teachers were known as schoolmasters and were not regarded as highly as teachers are today and the profession required very little education. The education system in Colonial America In Colonial America education got its roots from English culture. The main reason for basic elementary education was to teach the male children how to read and write so they could study verses from the bible. Female children also received elementary education that was geared towards the work they would eventually have to do in the home. Secondary schooling was offered to upper class families where the male children would learn subjects like Latin and Greek (Parkay & Stanford, 2009, p. 143 & 144). According to Peterson (1983) “Education in early America began in the home at the mother’s knee, and often ended in the cornfield or barn by the father’s side” (Education began in the homes and the fields section, para. 1). Standards and styles of education...

Words: 935 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Slavery In Colonial America

...As Colonial America commenced, a wide labor force became a necessity in order to progress economically through developments such as the mass production of tobacco. During this period, no slave laws were set in place, which caused Africans to be treated as indentured servants, in which they too were given similar freedom dues as white folks. Between 1640 and 1660, however, racial slavery developed into a legal reality in Virginia. While interracial marriage or sex was banned and would result in banishment, as time progressed, laws changed, resulting in imprisonment and children were being subject to servitude. The ambiguous status of mixed race children shifted from the early Virginia laws which did not stipulate the child’s status, whereas the shift in laws later mandated that children were to serve according to their mother’s status revealing that the intent of these laws was to secure the ruling class’ desire to obtain as much labor as...

Words: 743 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Anglicanization In Colonial America

...Anglicanization Up to 1750 Anglicanization was the process to become more like the English in the mother country. The American Colonists tried this, even though technically they were English. They tried to do this by a couple ways such as socio-economic, homes and fashion, and legal changes. Stamp Act In 1765 the Stamp Act was created in British America. It required the American Colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. The Stamp Act was one of George Grenville's efforts to get the colonists to pay for the 10,000 British soldiers he thought should be kept in the colonies to protect the settlers. The Act was passed by the British parliament. The Great Awakening In New England during the 1730s-60s, a religious...

Words: 258 - Pages: 2