How was land gained and lost in Early Modern Times? Flashcards
What is the Age of Exploration?
The powerful European nations such as England, Spain, France and Portugal began to compete for land around the globe.
When was the first British colony established?
by Walter Raleigh in 1584.
1607
The Jamestown colony was established.
By 1773
There were 13 colonies established in the Americas.
Reasons for British colonization of America
Economic reasons→ The Americas were ideal for growing ‘cash crops’ such as tobacco, cotton, sugar and potatoes.
War→ The indigenous population occasionally helped the settlers but, in most cases, there was conflict between the two groups. In 1500 there were 560,000 indigenous people and by 1700 there were fewer than 280,000 due to war and disease.
Religion →There was conflict in England between groups such as the puritans, the Quakers, the Catholics and the protestants. They felt America would give them freedom to follow their own religion. An example of this was the Pilgrim Fathers colony set up in 1620 by the puritans.
The Consequences of the War of independence
Short term-Cost of war→10,000 British soldiers died from disease and battle wounds and around 20,000 soldiers. Economically→the war cost around $80 million for Britain which in the short term did increase their debts.Pride→Britain’spride was damaged as they had been defeated by a much smaller enemyLong term-Economically →Britain recovered relatively quickly because of their strong rapid industrialisation. They also renewed trading with America by 1785. After the loss of America, Britain could now use their wealth to focus on their other overseas colonies in Canada, Africa and India. The vast lands gained by Britain between 1700 and 1920 meant that Britain controlled around a quarter of the World.Land in Empire→Britain retained control of lands in North of Americas now known as Canada, Central America (West Indies, Cayman islands) and Australia.
