Challenges Faced By The English Colonies In The 18th Century Essay

The English colonies continued to grow, despite many challenges. They faced difficulties such as wars, restrictive laws, rebellions, and power-hungry kings and governors. Colonial governments were influenced by political changes in England. The English made new trade laws that limited free trade in the colonies. The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment led to ideas of political equality among many colonists. Also, French and Indian War gave England control of more land in North America.

Political changes in England influenced colonial governments. King James wanted more control of England, including the colonies. He united northern colonies under one government were called the Dominion of New England in 1686. The Parliament replaced him and passed the English Bill of Rights in 1689. The government of the English colonies differed from that of England. One part of the government were colonial courts. They controlled local affairs and protected individual freedom.

Earning money from trade was one of England’s reasons for founding the colonies. So, they practiced mercantilism, a system of creating and maintaining wealth through controlled trade. The Parliament passed a series of Navigation Acts between 1650 and 1696 to limit trade. This was one of the challenges the colonies had to deal with because the colonists had to

pay taxes, were importing and exporting fewer goods, and to importing/exporting to fewer places. In response, some colonists turned to illegal trading, or smuggling. By the early 1700s, English merchants were trading around the world.

Trade between American colonies and Great Britain was not direct.

Instead, it took a form of Triangular Trade. Triangular trade was a system in which goods and slaves were traded in the Americas, Great Britain, and Africa. Colonial merchants traveled great distances to find the best markets. Slaves were one of the big things traded this way. The slave trade brought millions of Africans to the Americas on a voyage called the Middle Passage. There were terrible conditions on the Middle Passage, causing thousands of captives to die on slave ships. This made the Atlantic Ocean a massive African

graveyard.

The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment led to ideas of political equality among many colonists. The Great Awakening was a religious movement that swept the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. It changed the religion of the colonies. The Enlightenment was a movement that occurred during the 1700s that spread the idea that reason could improve society. The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment introduced concepts like natural rights and reason. Also, they made revivals a place to talk about political and social issues, including political equality.

Another problem the English colonies faced was the French and Indian War which was started in 1754 on accident by George Washington. He led an expedition against 10,000 men with only 1,000 men. After many losses, the British captured Quebec in 1759. In the end, the French gave most of Canada and some of the western frontier to the British. Immediately, the British started moving into the western frontier. So, in response, the Chief Pontiac led a group of Native Americans and attacked British settlements in the Ohio River Valley. To end the rebellion, the English sent blankets infected with smallpox and killed many Indians. Finally, to prevent future conflicts, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, which banned settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

The English colonies were relentless. Despite many challenges, they never gave up. They survived against wars, restrictive laws, rebellions, and power-hungry kings and governors. They grew successful by finding solutions to their problems. “The die is now cast; the colonies must either submit or triumph, there is no defeat” ~King George III