Mercantilism was a highly pervasive economic theory, which advocated for governmental regulation of the mother country 's economy for the purpose of augmenting national power, necessitating a great aggregation of colonies so that the nation’s exports may exceed its imports. It was quite clear in the seventeenth century that the colonies of North America would serve as vital providers of wealth, thus England seized control of North Atlantic trade, solidifying its grasp of North America’s Eastern coast. The first of the Navigation Acts was enacted in 1651, restricting the use of foreign ships between all nations with the exception of England. It barred direct interaction between the colonies and Spain, France, and their possessions. It demanded
…show more content…
Keeping slaves was more expensive than hiring indentured servants, and tobacco workers died at alarmingly high rates, making paying for a lifetime of labor seem inefficient. The spur of tobacco cultivation created a continuous demand for workers that turned European nations to increasing reliance on slave labor, especially African males, accustomed to intensive labor and immune to many of the diseases that afflicted and ultimately destroyed the Native Americans, who could not sustain a viable source of labor because they were familiar with their home terrain and were killed rapidly. The Europeans were overtly xenophobic; all other cultures were deemed unenlightened and barbaric. It was universally acknowledged that Europe’s inherently superior culture and religion entitled the Europeans to rule over the other. It is not by any means an uncommon practice to import foreigners for slave labor. Slavery has been almost ubiquitous throughout human history. The African slaves seized by Europeans had often been formerly enslaved by their fellow Africans. African warlords would exchange enslaved members of the conquered tribes to Europeans in exchange for more weaponry, which, in turn, was used to conquer more tribes. Slavery was an essential component of Greek and Roman societies, both major ideological influences on Europe, and existed, to a certain extent, in the …show more content…
In 1689, the Parliament officially endowed all Englishmen with certain inalienable rights including the right to speedy trial by jury, and expanded its powers to encompass control over taxation. Protestant supremacy was secured in the colonies as Catholics faced increasing discrimination. In 1678, England was alarmed to find that the colonies claimed that they could simply dismiss any violations of the Navigation Acts that may have occurred because, as they had no representation in the English parliament, such provisions did not apply to the colonists. James II combined Connecticut, Plymouth, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey into one united colony called the Dominion of New England in order to reduce his dependence on the parliament, which gave the impression that James II was opposed to freedom. The reign of Sir Edmond Andros over the Dominion of New England was seen as a threat English liberties and Puritan theocracy. In 1689, the Boston militia revolted against him and reinstated the territories of the colonies prior to the Dominion of New England, shortly before Puritans in Maryland under John Coode demolished the rule of their Catholic proprietor, Lord Baltimore, marking the end of Maryland’s history of religious tolerance. This was one of many rebellions
Keeping slaves was more expensive than hiring indentured servants, and tobacco workers died at alarmingly high rates, making paying for a lifetime of labor seem inefficient. The spur of tobacco cultivation created a continuous demand for workers that turned European nations to increasing reliance on slave labor, especially African males, accustomed to intensive labor and immune to many of the diseases that afflicted and ultimately destroyed the Native Americans, who could not sustain a viable source of labor because they were familiar with their home terrain and were killed rapidly. The Europeans were overtly xenophobic; all other cultures were deemed unenlightened and barbaric. It was universally acknowledged that Europe’s inherently superior culture and religion entitled the Europeans to rule over the other. It is not by any means an uncommon practice to import foreigners for slave labor. Slavery has been almost ubiquitous throughout human history. The African slaves seized by Europeans had often been formerly enslaved by their fellow Africans. African warlords would exchange enslaved members of the conquered tribes to Europeans in exchange for more weaponry, which, in turn, was used to conquer more tribes. Slavery was an essential component of Greek and Roman societies, both major ideological influences on Europe, and existed, to a certain extent, in the …show more content…
In 1689, the Parliament officially endowed all Englishmen with certain inalienable rights including the right to speedy trial by jury, and expanded its powers to encompass control over taxation. Protestant supremacy was secured in the colonies as Catholics faced increasing discrimination. In 1678, England was alarmed to find that the colonies claimed that they could simply dismiss any violations of the Navigation Acts that may have occurred because, as they had no representation in the English parliament, such provisions did not apply to the colonists. James II combined Connecticut, Plymouth, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey into one united colony called the Dominion of New England in order to reduce his dependence on the parliament, which gave the impression that James II was opposed to freedom. The reign of Sir Edmond Andros over the Dominion of New England was seen as a threat English liberties and Puritan theocracy. In 1689, the Boston militia revolted against him and reinstated the territories of the colonies prior to the Dominion of New England, shortly before Puritans in Maryland under John Coode demolished the rule of their Catholic proprietor, Lord Baltimore, marking the end of Maryland’s history of religious tolerance. This was one of many rebellions