Over the course of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, the geography and the environment of the Atlantic Coast impacted the development of the English colonies. These environmental and geographical factors can be separated into two groups: factors that were used to British or colonial advantage and factors that were influential but not specifically manipulated. Regardless of whether or not these factors were exploited, they were crucial to the development of the culture and economy of the colonies on a local and national scale. The geography and environment of the colonies was an influential element in several major political events for both the colonists and the British. For example, the French and Indian War, waged in a dispute over the Ohio River Valley, led to an influx of British soldiers and caused the overseas government in England to realize the need for increased protection and supervision of the colonies, which in turn gave rise to critical antagonistic sentiments between soldiers and colonists. Specifically, the British became convinced of the ineptitude of the colonial militias in war, …show more content…
As a founding aspect, the availability of rich, arable land attracted and supported many settlers from various ethnic backgrounds, producing a unique American culture that would eventually become known as a “melting pot,” though the diversity was less pronounced at this stage. In the southern colonies, the abundance of land allowed the more affluent settlers to run plantations, the organization of which contributed largely to the southern culture. This was one of several environmental causes for the distinction between northern and southern colonies, and the combined weight of these differences would ultimately isolate the North from the South in the Civil War and
By the 1700’s, The northern and souther colonies had evolved into two distinct societies. This is so because the northern and southern colonies had different environments and also different reasons of settlement. The North was established for mainly religious freedom, while on the other hand, the south had been established for economic freedom. The climate also affected the different turnout of the north and the south. The north was much colder and so their soil was not beneficial for farming, so the people of the north found other jobs, while on the other side, the south had rich soil and the colonists there used that idea to set up huge plantations and farms.
Geography and climate impact the economy of a region because they impact what products can be manufactured and then sold. In a region with fertile soil and warm summers, agriculture will be a very large business, allowing extra food crops to be sold. Wheat can be ground into flour and made into bread. Tobacco can be sold to people all over the colony, country, or even all over the world. This is like the economy of the colony of Pennsylvania. The geography, such as large deposits of iron, large forests, and good farmland, along with the mild climate, made Pennsylvania well suited for lots of agriculture and gave it many different products to sell. Therefore, the geography and climate boosted colonial Pennsylvania’s economy until it prospered
The French and Indian War, was a war fought between France and Britain. The war was the product of an imperial struggle, a clash between the French and English over colonial territory and wealth. Great Britain claimed that the French provoked war by building forts along the Ohio River Valley. Virginia’s governor sent a militia to the French and Native American allies. The war started out badly for Great Britain, about 2,000 British and colonial troops were defeated by the French and Native Americans. For the first three years of the war, the outnumbered French dominated the battlefield, soundly defeating the English in battles at Fort Oswego and Ticonderoga. The British then began to make peace with important Indian allies, and under the
The French and Indian war, fought from 1754 to 1763, negatively altered political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American Colonies. Most of these issues can be connected to the large influx of land in North America, nearly everything to the East of the Mississippi River ( as seen in the maps of North America in 1754 and 1763 found in Document A), conquered by Britain and the Colonies by the end of the war. With the colonies rapidly increasing in size, it became more and more difficult for Britain to control them an entire ocean away. North American began to take on a life of its own as in became increasingly apparent to both sides that they had conflicting goals. Further complications ensued with Britain’s attempts to properly
In 1754, a war between the french and the english broke out in hopes of dissolving the fight over land in North America. The French and Indian war, was a war that was fought in both North America and England, and both sides had Native Americans fighting for them but against each other. This war changed the relationship between Britain and its American colonies by tightening its grip on the colonies politically, imposing different taxis on the colonies economically, and thus changing the colonists ideology about the british government.
In conclusion, the French and Indian War had many effects on the Britain-colonial relationship. The war led to England growing stronger as a leader and having more domination, but also contributed to American colonists losing the bondage between them and England. The war also caused suggestions of American independence to multiply and essentially changed the mindset of both Britain and the
By the 1700’s, New England, the Chesapeake region and the Southern Colonies developed into three distinct societies, despite coming from the same mother country, England. The regions of Colonial America each had a distinctive culture and economy entirely different from the other regions. Religion and religious tolerance was completely different in each region, running from being free to complete persecution. Ethnicity and racial composition ranged from almost complete British descent to a wide range of composition. Each region was politically and economically structured different and had its own identity. Each developed differently based on immigration trends, geography and other features. Throughout the colonization of Colonial America,
Economic opportunity was extremely prevalent in the colonies. Factors that heavily influenced the situation were influx of people, triangular trade, and also the New England colonies. An influx of people is beneficial for any economy, and Colonial America was no different. Triangular trade was also how slaves fueled the cultivation of land. The New England colonies were in all sorts of trades, from growing corn to whaling and fishing. All of these factors played a huge role in building a successful economy.
In conclusion, there were many factors that contributed to the development of the colonial America, but geography was clearly a sizable influence. If the geography of America wasn’t the way it was, the colonists who settled here may have not survived as
The French and Indian War had an almost innumerable number of effects on the political, economic and ideological relations between Britain and the American colonies. The war touched the entirety of America’s diverse population; from the Native Americans to the soldiers. Some were gladdened by the invigorated ties to England while others were enraged by the economic situation. There is no doubt that the war truly altered and revolutionized the American colonies.
From the period of 1754 to 1763, the British engaged in a war with the French within American territory. This war, fought due to both French and Native American hostilities, affected both the Americans view on the British and British treatment of their colonies. Ultimately, the French and Indian war lead to political, economic, and geographical changes for the American colonists and Great Britain.
Throughout the colonies, the environment was a key factor that played a huge role in their society. The environment was a stepping stone that helped shaped the colonies and provided many opportunities for them. While the social, political, and economic factors were important to US History, the environment had an impact on the colonies because of the Grass Revolution, Jamestown, and the Columbian Exchange.
Throughout the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the relationship between the British and the American colonies underwent many radical changes. This war drew the British into America to fight the French alongside of the American colonists. Once the fighting began, the vast economic, political, and ideological differences between the colonists and their mother country of Great Britain surfaced. The French and Indian War impacted the political correlation between Britain and the American colonies because the colonies desired a new democratic government in place of the former English monarchy. Additionally, the war altered the economic relations between the two because of the establishment of numerous British taxations to pay for the war
The French and Indian War, a colonial manifestation of the same forces and tensions that erupted in the European Seven Years' War, was, quite simply, a war about imperialism. The French and the English were competing for land and trading rights in North America; these strivings resulted in a great deal of disputed land, particularly that of the rich Ohio Valley. Each nation saw this territory as vital in its effort to increase its own power and wealth while simultaneously limiting the strength of its rival. Although the war itself therefore stemmed from a fairly simple motivation, its consequences were far- reaching. The English victory in the war decided the colonial fate of North America, and yet at the same time sowed the seeds of the eventual colonial revolution. After the war, the British ended their century-long policy of salutary neglect, attempting to keep the colonials under a more watchful eye. The British also raised taxes in an effort to pay for the war. Both of these postwar policies resulted in massive colonial discontent and added to the budding nationalism that eventually exploded in the Revolutionary War.