July 4 of this year will mark the 240th year for the publication of the Declaration of Independence for the United States of America. Although the United States signed the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776, this did not mark the first day of independence from Great Britain. The beginning of English settlements in America were based mainly on wealth and land. This can be seen by the Jamestown settlement. King James I gave the Virginia Company of London lands covering from present-day North Carolina to southern New York. They named the region Virginia, honoring the never married Queen Elizabeth I. The men dispatched for the settlement had no ability to support themselves. They were expected to go and find the riches of this new found
…show more content…
By 1640, the region accumulated 20,000 migrants. The parties coming here were not like of Virginia or Barbados. They were not young adventure seeking men prying for fortunes or under contract of labor for someone else. These people were family groups that sought out communities similar to the ones they left back in Great Britain. The only difference from home and here for them was that they intended to make these communities according to Protestant principles. These Pilgrims were Puritans who had left the Church of England. King James I had threatened to kick Puritans “out of the land, else do worse” and they were not having that. Some went to live among the Dutch Calvanists in Holland and some sailed over to America aboard the Mayflower (Pg. 52.) Again, this is another situation of how religious intolerance back in Great Britain drove their own people out. Years later, the Dominion of England emerged. It extended to America the authoritarian model of colonial rule that the English government imposed on Catholic Ireland. Governor Andros was ordered by James II to rid of the existing legislative assemblies. Andros prohibited town meetings in Massachusetts, pissing off villagers who supported local self-rule, and advocated public worship in the Church of England, which in return pissed Puritan Congregationalists off (Pg.72). What made …show more content…
162). War had begun. Luckily, the Americans were able to get aid from the French in 1778 (Pg. 168). In 1779, Americans gained another ally, the Spanish (Pg. 169). After a few years of battle, Great Britain finally formally recognized American independence and relinquished its claims to lands south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. Parliament wanted peace and did not want to lose a rich sugar island (Pg. 172). Signed simultaneously, the Treaty of Versailles made peace between Britain, France, and Spain (Pg.173). With religious and political differences between the colonists and Britain, it was foreshadowed that the colonists would either revolt and break free of their chains of following and obeying or sticking to live in the shadows of Great Britain. As you can see, Americans decided to stick it to them.
By 1640, the region accumulated 20,000 migrants. The parties coming here were not like of Virginia or Barbados. They were not young adventure seeking men prying for fortunes or under contract of labor for someone else. These people were family groups that sought out communities similar to the ones they left back in Great Britain. The only difference from home and here for them was that they intended to make these communities according to Protestant principles. These Pilgrims were Puritans who had left the Church of England. King James I had threatened to kick Puritans “out of the land, else do worse” and they were not having that. Some went to live among the Dutch Calvanists in Holland and some sailed over to America aboard the Mayflower (Pg. 52.) Again, this is another situation of how religious intolerance back in Great Britain drove their own people out. Years later, the Dominion of England emerged. It extended to America the authoritarian model of colonial rule that the English government imposed on Catholic Ireland. Governor Andros was ordered by James II to rid of the existing legislative assemblies. Andros prohibited town meetings in Massachusetts, pissing off villagers who supported local self-rule, and advocated public worship in the Church of England, which in return pissed Puritan Congregationalists off (Pg.72). What made …show more content…
162). War had begun. Luckily, the Americans were able to get aid from the French in 1778 (Pg. 168). In 1779, Americans gained another ally, the Spanish (Pg. 169). After a few years of battle, Great Britain finally formally recognized American independence and relinquished its claims to lands south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. Parliament wanted peace and did not want to lose a rich sugar island (Pg. 172). Signed simultaneously, the Treaty of Versailles made peace between Britain, France, and Spain (Pg.173). With religious and political differences between the colonists and Britain, it was foreshadowed that the colonists would either revolt and break free of their chains of following and obeying or sticking to live in the shadows of Great Britain. As you can see, Americans decided to stick it to them.