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Colonies in the British Empire. Colonies vs. England. England’s Commercial Empire Empire spans the globe and is also widespread in the New World - Belize to Canada purpose of the colonies is to benefit England The Navigation Acts enforce this policy manufacturing vs. extractive.
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Colonies vs. England • England’s Commercial Empire • Empire spans the globe and is also widespread in the New World - Belize to Canada • purpose of the colonies is to benefit England • The Navigation Acts enforce this policy • manufacturing vs. extractive
George III • King begins reign in 1760 • “Be a King, George” • Parliamentary power - end of neglect • Attempts to rule through a “King’s Party” • Lords Bute, Grenville, Rockingham, Pitt • Lord North • initially a calming influence • Boston Tea Party inflames rage
Parliamentary Support • Colonists gain support from unlikely source • opposition leaders use colonist complaints to attack current government • William Pitt • total liberal, total conservative • victor of Seven Years War • “It is my opinion that this kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies. At the same time I assert the authority of this kingdom over the colonies to be sovereign and supreme.” • statues in NYC and Charleston, Pittsburgh
The Different Colonies • Mainland North America has 14 British colonies • all have similar concerns but deal with them differently • territorial administration, fur industry, Native Americans, land policy, defense • ex. Defense of the western frontier • different system of control in each colony
Foreign Affairs • English colonies in constant fear of invasion and attack • French from north and west, Spain from south • fears that both countries would utilize Indian tribes • European involvement starts many wars whose influences are felt in the colonies
Colonial Inhabitants • Most inhabitants come from England and Wales • others tend to settle in regional enclaves • ex. Scotch-Irish - Carolina uplands • ex. Germans - Pennsylvania, Mohawk valley
Colonial Settlement • Settlement along coast and rivers • color coded “fingers” extend into portions of the Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, and Massachusetts • Why?
Land Usage • 95% population lives on farms • not all parts of country have same type of farm - regional differences • New England • Middle States • Chesapeake • Southern
Surveying • Land parcels needed to be surveyed before ownership was official • surveyors get cash or a portion of the land they survey • major landholders in Virginia - Washington, Jefferson Survey by GW 1749 courtesy VA state library