Britain and its Colonies

As the American colonies grew and prospered the relationship between the colonist and Great Britain formed into a close and warm bond.


Great Britain prized her colonies because of the demand that the colonist had for English goods and the raw materials provided by the wide expanse of forests and the virtually untouched rivers, steams and oceans in and around North America.


The Americans also enjoyed a freedon that only thousands of miles of ocean could bring to an isolated people. This isolation allowed the Americans the ability to govern themselves and the ability to dominate the continent.


Other factors that allowed the Americans to govern themselves was the English Civil War. Between 1640-1660, Great Britain was engulfed in a series of internal conflicts that further isolated the British Government from overseeing the colonies.

In spite of this isolation the Americans considered themselves loyal British subjects.

After the end of the English Civil War the British Government began to concentrate on building its economy and strengthening its position in Europe.

To accomplish this Britain like other European nations promoted the economic theory of Mercantilism, the idea was that the way to power was by obtaining as much gold and silver as possible. Since Great Britain did not possess the mines that Spain controlled. Its way to wealth was through overseas trade.

To the British its American colonies were the way to enrich themselves. They did this by not allowing the Americans to trade with other nations or allow the Americans to manufacture their own goods such as firearms, equipment for ships or shoes.

Because the Americans had an almost unlimited supply of raw materials they felt that they should be able to sell these resouces to anyone they wanted. Since this was against the interest of Britain, the English enacted more laws that forced the Americans to limit their trade to its colonial master.

Using the map on pg. 76 answer questions 1-3. Due at the end of class.

Remember your colonies map is due on Monday.