What were the major factors in the establishment of the American Research Paper - 1

What were the major factors in the establishment of the American colonies - Research Paper Example World history has seen a lot of timelines. The prominence of some of the timelines made it extremely difficult for anyone to believe that such moments in world history would ever pass away but eventually, these moments of great history passed. The same phenomenon about world history makes the future of the social world quite unpredictable. For instance it is quite difficult to predict whether technology would eventually fade off to give room for a new kind of world and social history. One prominent moment in history is undeniably the formation of colonies. According to People Hofstra (2001), an 18th century definition of a colony has been given as â€Å"a settlement in a new territory under the political and economic control of its parent country. Usually the settlers conquered and either dominated or replaced local peoples.†1 Most commonly, colonies were established as a means of expanding the territorial powers of kingdoms and nations. It was not surprising therefore that ma jor nations of the world would in the 1700s go every extent and to every length of the world to capture weaker components of the world and lord themselves over as colonial masters. One of such prominent colonization was the colonization of America by the English2. Events leading to this all important moment in world history have left historians with a lot of studies into what the probable factors that accounted for the establishment of the American colonies were. Historians also discuss the relevance of these factors and how they eventually imparted on the eventual colonies that came into existence.3 The essence of this essay therefore is to review such factors that led to the establishment or formation of the American colonies. Background to the American Colonies At the beginning of the 17th century, several countries and nations made attempts to colonize North America. These different colonies came with different mission statements and at different times. Primarily however, they w ere present in North America to have an opportunity to possess the land and colonize it. Some of the early countries that made progress in settling in North America include Spain, France, Sweden, Holland, and England. According to Horvath (1972, 45-57), â€Å"the literature on colonization would appear to have no end; and understandably for colonization has been one of man’s preoccupations.†4 Although colonization ranks with the most influential processes in man’s history, western scholars have not fully come to grips with the phenomenon. This assertion of uncertainty on the definition of colonization is being made because of the seemingly different forms that colonization takes. This is indeed not different with what happened in the instance of the establishment of the American colonies. The first nations namely Spain, France, Sweden and Holland landed in North America in different fashions but all left the scene in no time. Basically, these nations could not s tay because the North American settlers were hostile to their dreams. Unlike these attempted colonial masters perceived, they were not going to pick gold from the ground but were supposed to go through very hard times to have their aspirations of making wealth fulfilled. England however took a bolder step apart from the first four nations. Though Britain went through ostensibly difficult times even at the beginning, they persevered and eventually became the only nation that remained. By the year 1607, England had established herself as the colonial master of North America. It took England one hundred and six more years to complete establishing what came to be known as the thirteen colonies of America5. This means that the formation or establishment of the thirteen colonies of America spanned from the period of 1607 to 1733; by which time Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Car olina, and Rhode Island and