Early British Colonial Life in the United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the different positions about slave trade, geographic considerations, economic conditions, Native-American relationships and religion resulted in the development of separate cultures in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic colonies. The paper discusses that the introduction of tobacco was one economic factor that greatly influenced the economic and social structure of the Jamestown and Virginia colonist. The author points out that for the New England colonists the sea was their source of revenue and culture.

From the Paper:

"The area soon became controlled by a handful of large plantation landholders with indentured laborers. Since few British colonists could finance their cost of passage, colonizing agencies fronted transportation costs. In exchange, emigrants agreed to work for the agencies as contract laborers for usually between four and seven years. Often, these contracts were sold to colonists with large estates. Though many indentured servants earned their freedom over time, more wealthy colonists were able to absorb New World land rapidly during early colonization. As experienced in other colonies, indentured servitude created an imbalance of economy and political power as Jamestown and the Chesapeake Bay colonies developed. After indentured emigrants won their freedom, the situation also created a need for manpower, which came in the form of a burgeoning slave trade."

More papers on Early British Colonial Life in the United States:

• Research Paper # 5869 : "The Growing Hispanic Population in the United States"
• Analytical Essay # 136738 : "Crime in the United States"
• Research Paper # 62026 : "Homelessness in the United States"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: