Historia

British Colonies Developing a Separate Identity From Great Britain

Arturo Pena-Estrada

American History to 1877

HIST101

Professor Deborah L. Bauer

December 23, 2012
British ColoniesDeveloping a Separate Identity From Great Britain

The British Crown in the XVIII century possessed a number of colonies in North America and Canada that had been consolidated from the XVI andXVII. The American colonies, located on the Atlantic coast, were the most beneficial to the Crown, since settlers mostly Irish, Scottish and English had occupied them. They were still loyal to Englandand had immigrated to search for a better life. They were enterprising people who contributed to the metropolis raw materials and a good market for British goods. Trade with these colonies was easybecause of its relative proximity to England; having only to cross the Atlantic to reach them. That is why the Crown choose to colonize these territories. In total, there were thirteen colonies limitedto the east of the Atlantic, and west by the great range of the Appalachians, passable only by some difficult unforgiving terrain and wild rivers. The difficulty with penetrating deeper into thecontinent was complicated by the great danger posed by the Indians, who were very intolerant to white men and any intruder who decided to trespass on their territory. On the other hand the Spanish andFrench had colonized neighboring territories also causing numerous wars and skirmishes between the English, French and Spanish. For these reasons, the British did not try attempt to expand westward untilwell into the nineteenth century. New techniques of the Industrial Revolution would permit faster production, transportation, and distribution of weapons and a variety of goods via railway andsteamships. Remaining French and Spanish colonies were more debilitated or had been defeated.

It is claimed that there were strong reasons for the Thirteen Colonies to unite and fight for their...