European Colonization in the New World

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European Colonization in the New World

Anthony Milbut

American History I

Professor Ken Rodgers

This paper will elaborate on the 17th century European motives for expansion and colonization into the New World.  I will also describe the different colonial transplantations that occurred in Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts Bay, as well as discuss details of the major sources of conflict between the Native Americans and the English in Virginia and Massachusetts Bay.

The expansion of Europeans into the New World started long before the first settler reached the eastern shore of modern day America.  “The Black Death, a plague that swept through Europe in 1347, destroyed more than a third of the people on the continent, and decimated an already limited economy.” (Brinkley, 2007)  Nearly 150 years later, the population had recovered.  With this rebound came an awakening of commerce.  There was great profit to be had in raising sheep to counteract the worldwide demand for wool.  This prompted many landlords to convert their farms to pastures to raise the wool bearing animals.  The end result left thousands of serfs and prior renters without a job or a roof over their head.  With the establishment of chartered companies and a new concept of economic life, known as mercantilism, there was great interest in products from distant lands, which was complimented by the advance in naval technology.  These new advances allowed for the newly founded chartered companies to establish colonies allowing them to export products found in the New World preventing them from having to procure them from other nations.  The merchant capitalists and a growing interest in quicker trade routes to the east, prompted Europeans to head in the direction of the New World.

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At the same time the new European economic lifestyle was sweeping the continent, it was also undergoing various religious movements.  The beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church were challenged, by the Protestant Reformation.  “King Henry VIII broke ties with the Catholic Church, and marked himself as the leader of the Christian faith in England.”  (Brinkley, 2007)  The country of England restored it’s allegiance to Rome, and then severed itself again, eventually settling with England’s new official religion, The Church of England.  Because of this religious separation of the Catholics of Rome and the formation of the Puritans, many Europeans sought ...

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