Exploration And Colonization Of The New World

1. The political environment in Europe that led to the exploration and colonization of the New World consisted of power hungry world leaders seeking even more global control. Politically speaking, land equaled power because it meant trade and cultural control of a given area. The British established the Thirteen Colonies on the East Coast and the Spanish with the numerous Missions on the West Coast. By having power over regions in the Americas, both countries held power over trade and culture of the surrounding countries and local tribes. This monopoly of sorts yielded economic growth for the British and religious conversion for the Spanish regarding Christianity. 2. The political, social, and commercial incentives of the New World negatively …show more content…
European nations coexisting in the New World impacted their surrounding environment in negative way. With the rise in popularity of growing tobacco, the demand for land soared. Tobacco needed fresh soil every couple of years, meaning that farmers had to find more open land to replant the tobacco. Some of this land belonged to the natives and thus created problems regarding territory and land ownership. The Europeans took whatever land they desired and this created problems by them coexisting in the New World. 3. The structure of Puritan communities was very tightly knit and family oriented. They were very serious and devoted to their faith. They were hard workers and strived to achieve materially to prove their worth and progress to God. Puritans sought out salvation and religious freedom, especially from the English established churches and institutions. They were, as a basis, students of the Anglican faith, but did not accept any authority other than their own. The Puritans influenced the theocratic nature of Massachusetts and many of the surrounding …show more content…
New England and the plantation colonies had very different social structures. In New England, family farms thrived and many new cities and towns came about as a result of this. There was less slavery in the north because the crops did not particularly need a lot of work and tending to. In the South however, crops such as tobacco, cotton, and rice were produced for export in the triangular trade. This meant that the sole purpose of many Southern towns was producing crops and this entailed more slavery. There were also less populated cities in the South than the North because of the commerce being strictly limited to farming. 4. Land settlements in the colonies typically were distributed through families and thought inheritance. The young men of the family usually inherited their father’s land. The daughters did not typically inherit hand but usually furniture and movable items. As time went on however, the parcels of land generations down would get smaller and smaller when divided. This would usually make the sons expand their land to satisfy their wants and needs. This led to more dispersion of families to areas of better farmland and more