What was life like in British colonies?

Answer 1

Life in the English Colonies

BUILDING BACKGROUND When they moved to America, the English

colonists brought their ideas about government. They expected to have

the same rights as citizens in England. However, many officials in England

wanted tight control over the colonies. As a result, some colonists were

unhappy with the policies of colonial governments.

Colonial Governments

The English colonies in North America all had their own governments.

Each government was given power by a charter. The English monarch had

ultimate authority over all of the colonies. A group of royal advisers called

the Privy Council set English colonial policies.

Colonial Governors and Legislatures

Each colony had a governor who served as head of the government. Most

governors were assisted by an advisory council. In royal colonies the

English king or queen selected the governor and the council members. In

proprietary colonies, the proprietors chose all of these officials. In a few

colonies, such as Connecticut, the people elected the governor.

In some colonies the people also elected representatives to help make

laws and set policy. These officials served on assemblies. Each colonial

assembly passed laws that had to be approved first by the advisory

council and then by the governor.

Established in 1619, Virginia's assembly was the first colonial

legislature in North America. At first it met as a single body, but it was

later split into two houses. The first house was known as the Council of

State. The governor's advisory council and the London Company selected

its members. The House of Burgesses was the assembly's second house.

Colonists elected the members.

In New England the center of politics was the town meeting. In town

meetings people talked about and decided on issues of local interest,

such as paying for schools.

In the southern colonies, people typically lived farther away from one

another. Therefore, many decisions were made at the county level. The

middle colonies used both county meetings and town meetings to make

laws.Holt Social Studies: United States History (Beginnings to 1914)

Chapter 3: The English Colonies

Section 4: Life in the English Colonies

Political Change in England

In 1685 James II became king of England. He was determined to take

more control over the English government, both in England and in the

colonies.

James believed that the colonies were too independent. In 1686 he

united the northern colonies under one government called the Dominion

of New England. James named Sir Edmund Andros royal governor of the

Dominion. The colonists disliked Andros because he used his authority to

limit the powers of town meetings.

English Bill of Rights

Parliament replaced the unpopular King James and passed the English Bill

of Rights in 1689. This act reduced the powers of the English monarch.

At the same time, Parliament gained power. As time went on, the

colonists valued their own right to elect representatives to decide local

issues. Following these changes, the colonies in the Dominion quickly

formed new assemblies and charters.

Colonial Courts

Colonial courts made up another important part of colonial governments.

Whenever possible, colonists used the courts to control local affairs. In

general, the courts reflected the beliefs of their local communities. For

example, many laws in Massachusetts enforced the Puritans' religious

beliefs. Laws based on the Bible set the standard for the community's

conduct.

Sometimes colonial courts also protected individual freedoms. For

example, in 1733 officials arrested John Peter Zenger for printing a false

statement that damaged the reputation of the governor of New York.

Andrew Hamilton, Zenger's attorney, argued that Zenger could publish

whatever he wished as long as it was true. Jury members believed that

colonists had a right to voice their ideas openly and found him not guilty.

English Trade Laws

One of England's main reasons for founding and controlling its American

colonies was to earn money from trade. In the late 1600s England, like

most western European nations, practiced mercantilism, a system of

creating and maintaining wealth through carefully controlled trade. A

country gained wealth if it had fewer imports-goods bought from other

countries-than exports-goods sold to other countries.Holt Social Studies: United States History (Beginnings to 1914)

Chapter 3: The English Colonies

Section 4: Life in the English Colonies

To support this system of mercantilism, between 1650 and 1696

Parliament passed a series of Navigation Acts limiting colonial trade. For

example, the Navigation Act of 1660 forbade colonists from trading

specific items such as sugar and cotton with any country other than

England. The act also required colonists to use English ships to transport

goods. Parliament later passed other acts that required all trade goods to

pass through English ports, where duties, or import taxes, were added to

the items.

England claimed that the Navigation Acts were good for the

colonies. After all, the colonies had a steady market in England for their

goods. But not all colonists agreed. Many colonists wanted more freedom

to buy or sell goods wherever they could get the best price. Local demand

for colonial goods was small compared to foreign demand.

Despite colonial complaints, the trade restrictions continued into the

1700s. Some traders turned to smuggling, or illegal trading. They often

smuggled sugar, molasses, and rum into the colonies from non-English

islands in the Caribbean. Parliament responded with the Molasses Act of

1733, which placed duties on these items. British officials, however,

rarely carried out this law.

By the early 1700s English merchants were trading around the world.

Most American merchants traded directly with Great Britain or the West

Indies. By Importing and Exporting goods such as sugar and tobacco,

some American merchants became wealthy.

Great Awakening and Enlightenment

In the early 1700s revolutions in both religious and nonreligious thought

transformed the Western world. These movements began in Europe and

affected life in the American colonies.

Great Awakening

After years of population growth, religious leaders wanted to spread

religious feeling throughout the colonies. In the late 1730s these

ministers began holding revivals, emotional gatherings where people

came together to hear sermons.

Many American colonists experienced "a great awakening" in their

religious lives. This Great Awakening-a religious movement that swept

through the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s-changed colonial religion.

It also affected social and political life. Jonathan Edwards of

Massachusetts was one of the most important leaders of the Great

Awakening.Holt Social Studies: United States History (Beginnings to 1914)

Chapter 3: The English Colonies

Section 4: Life in the English Colonies

His dramatic sermons told sinners to seek forgiveness for their sins or

face punishment in Hell forever. British minister George Whitefield held

revivals from Georgia to New England.

The Great Awakening drew people of different regions, classes, and

races. Women, members of minority groups, and poor people often took

part in services. Ministers from different colonies met and shared ideas

with one another. This represented one of the few exchanges between

colonies.

The Great Awakening promoted ideas that may also have affected

colonial politics. Sermons about the spiritual equality of all people led

some colonists to begin demanding more political equality. Revivals

became popular places to talk about political and social issues. People

from those colonies with less political freedom were thus introduced to

more democratic systems used in other colonies.

Enlightenment

During the 1600s Europeans began to reexamine their world. Scientists

began to better understand the basic laws that govern nature. Their new

ideas about the universe began the Scientific Revolution. The revolution

changed how people thought of the world.

The Enlightenment also influenced many colonists. This movement,

which took place during the 1700s, spread the idea that reason and logic

could improve society. Enlightenment thinkers also formed ideas about

how government should work.

Some Enlightenment thinkers believed that there was a social contract

between government and citizens. Philosophers such as John Locke

thought that people had natural rights such as equality and liberty.

Eventually, ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

influenced colonial leaders

Answer 2

It was very hard for them to live there because it was very hard to get everything they need.