Free Essay on the Life in the Colonial America

Colonialism involved taking of territories by the countries from Europe in the various parts of the world. The English were the dominant colonists of the region that currently hosts the United States. The conquest was made possible by the use charter companies that sought economic gains matters and also wanted to advance the national goals of England. The colonization between the year 1600 and the year 1800 had influenced the lives of people both economically, socially as well as politically as will be discussed in this essay.

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Political systems in the colonial United States were mixed with colonial systems and native political systems that were characterized by empires. The European imperialists conquered empires through the use of guns, leading to the collapse of empires that were in existence before their arrival (Hernandez, 2012).The people practiced traditions that were gradually destroyed the native culture of the individuals replacing it with the British culture. It made them adopt English as the primary language forgetting their native languages.

The people of America principally derived their religious nourishment from worshipping shrines and other traditional religious practices. Colonization of America made some of the natives to change their religion. Many Indians were drawn to Christianity. Havoc and the miserable life that was due to epidemics had made the natives be receptive to the teachings of the missionaries, more so as their shamans were so ineffectual. Most of Native Americans, however, did not wholly embrace the new religion, but they borrowed and practiced some aspects of Christianity ((Raum, 2012)

There was a change in international economics. Colonies of the southern part, in particular, Virginia and South of Carolina had an establishment of unique identities by the 18th century, as economies of the plantation that highly depended on labor from slaves. (In Berry & In Alford, 2012) .The economies were developed by engaging in small family farms that the residents were using in making them marginally fertile. The New Englanders, for instance, had a provision for mutual support and based their lives mostly in towns. Wealth was distributed more equitably in the New England than in the Colonies of the South. (Stefoff, 2003)

Colonization was linked with slave trade and suffering of many individuals. They had to absorb a lot of labor to have a proper exploitation of the land that was available to have a production of commodities that were much stapled (Morgan & Economic History Society, 2000).According to Morgan and Economic History Society, an attempt made to make the local Americans work in the plantations failed. The Indians also proved to be poor workers and thus they opted for the Africans. Many individuals were exposed to diseases and possibilities of mortality were always present. Many families suffered as their members were sold subjected to forced labor in the plantations.

Dressing styles were different among the residents of the Americas during the colonial period. While the colonists wore advanced pieces of clothing, American Indians were almost going naked. It was an easy task differentiating colonists from the clothes they used to wear (Raum, 2012). Laborers were used to wearing clothes that were very loose, made from cheap fiber. Styles in clothing varied from one colony to another (Stefoff, 2003)

Health facilities were rare in the colonial era. It was very rare to find a doctor in the colonial America, more so in the early years. When an individual was struck by a disease, most of them were forced to treat themselves. They highly depended on folk medicine as well as traditional remedies and the cures were passed on from one generation to another (Grigg, 2008).

There was no formal education system in the country during the colonial era. Colonial Americans had a great concern in courtesy as well as manners of children. Also, Colonial Americans had little interest in Education and regarded it as a responsibility of the family. These social characteristics were typical of the native families. Discipline was highly emphasized in children in the society. Some families, especially of British descent, sent their children to England to learn formal education ( Grigg, 2008).

For the rural population, people lived wretched lives as the majority of the residents were living in poverty (Stefoff, 2003). At the same time, resilience was featuring in both social as well as economic survivals. The legal imposition with all its formality of Whig accentuated the problems related to socio-economic that were already in existence (In Berry &In Alford 2012). The community resisted the rise in the prices of food in the markets through protests. Exploitation of lands using methods those were oppressive and deliberately targeted on the poor as the tenants made struggles for their survival. Profiteering from plantation farming was characterized by agricultural practices that were very sustainable. The agents that were involved in the tasks of getting to manage the tenants aggravated the conditions using violent methods in the collection of rents (In Berry &In Alford 2012)

In summary, there were many consequences of colonialism. It had an effect on the effect on the empires that existed before the colonization period. Also, people mainly slaves and natives lived in poor conditions. Moreover, conflicts over land and uses were common. Furthermore, the colonial era was characterized by extreme suffering a result of exposure to slavery and other inhumane treatment from the colonists.

References

Grigg, J. A. (2008). British colonial America: People and perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Hernandez, J. A. (2012). Mexican American colonization during the nineteenth century: A history of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

In Berry, D. R., & In Alford, D. A. (2012). Enslaved women in America: An encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.

Morgan, K., & Economic History Society. (2000). Slavery, Atlantic trade and the British economy, 1660-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Raum, E. (2012). The scoop on clothes, homes, and daily life in colonial America. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Stefoff, R. (2003). Colonial life. New York: Benchmark Books.