Motivations for English colonization
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the factors that prompted England to join the colonial race, eventually leading to the founding of the United States. After resolving internal religious conflicts and becoming a Protestant nation, England sought to compete with Catholic Spain and France for New World riches and souls. The invention of the Joint Stock Company allowed for the spread of both wealth and risk, enabling adventurers to seek fortune with multiple backers. The Virginia Company, under which John Smith explored Virginia, played a significant role. Additionally, England's economic depression and the Enclosure Movement, which dispossessed many poor, led to a push for colonization as a solution to poverty and overpopulation.
Takeaways
- đŹđ§ England's initial reluctance to colonize was due to internal conflict, focus on Ireland, and economic depression.
- đ The resolution of religious conflicts led England to become a Protestant nation, fueling competition with Catholic Spain and France for colonial wealth and influence.
- đ° England's desire to compete with Spain's gold and sugar riches and France's fur trade from North America drove its colonial ambitions.
- đ The invention of the Joint Stock Company allowed for the spread of both wealth and risk, enabling England to fund colonial ventures.
- đ Joint Stock Companies were early forms of modern corporations, allowing multiple investors to share in the profits and losses of colonial enterprises.
- đ England issued charters to companies like the East India Company and the Virginia Company to explore and exploit the New World.
- đł The Virginia Company, named after 'Virgin Queen' Elizabeth I, played a key role in the early colonization of North America.
- đ England faced an economic depression and poverty, with the wool market collapse and the Enclosure Movement displacing many poor people.
- đ« The Enclosure Movement led to a loss of common lands, exacerbating poverty and contributing to rising crime rates.
- đą The Virginia Company's voyage to Jamestown in 1607 marked a significant step in England's colonial expansion and the founding of what would become the United States.
Q & A
Why did it take England 100 years after Christopher Columbus to start colonizing the New World?
-England was preoccupied with internal conflicts, colonial projects closer to home like Ireland, and an economic depression that prevented them from looking outward to the broader world.
What religious change in England helped turn their focus outward to colonization?
-The internal religious conflict was resolved, turning England into a Protestant nation, which then led them to compete with Catholic nations like Spain for both riches and souls.
How did the competition with Spain and France influence England's colonial ambitions?
-Seeing the wealth Spain gained from the New World and the profits France made from trading with Native Americans, England felt the need to compete and not be left behind.
What was the significance of the Joint Stock Company in England's colonial endeavors?
-The Joint Stock Company was a precursor to the modern corporation, allowing for the spread of both wealth and risk among investors, which facilitated the funding of colonial ventures.
How did the Joint Stock Companies change the way England funded colonial expeditions?
-People could buy shares in these companies, spreading the risk among many investors, so that if a venture failed, it wouldn't ruin an individual investor.
Which Joint Stock Company played a significant role in the early founding of the United States?
-The Virginia Company played a significant role, with explorers like John Smith heading to Virginia under its charter.
Why was Virginia named after Queen Elizabeth I?
-Virginia was named for Elizabeth I, who was known as the 'Virgin Queen' because she never married, and the new land was named in her honor.
What economic factors contributed to England's decision to join the colonial race?
-England was experiencing a serious economic depression, with a collapse in the wool market and the Enclosure Movement depriving the poor of common lands, leading to increased poverty and crime.
How did the Enclosure Movement affect the poor in England?
-The Enclosure Movement involved the fencing off of common lands by English lords, which deprived the poor of places to graze livestock and hunt for food, exacerbating their poverty.
What was the attitude of the English Parliament towards the increase in crime and poverty during this period?
-The English Parliament viewed the increase in crime as a moral crisis and considered the poor as a surplus population, contemplating the idea of sending them to colonies to alleviate social and economic pressures.
What was the role of the Virginia Company in England's colonial expansion?
-The Virginia Company was issued a charter by England to establish colonies in the New World, leading to the founding of Jamestown in 1607.
Outlines
đ° England's Entry into Colonialism
This paragraph discusses the factors that led England to begin colonizing the New World, which was delayed for 100 years after Christopher Columbus' arrival in Hispaniola. England's internal religious conflicts, focus on Ireland, and economic depression were initial obstacles. However, with the resolution of these conflicts and the establishment of a Protestant nation, England redirected its ambitions outward, particularly towards competing with Catholic Spain and France for wealth and influence in the New World. The invention of the Joint Stock Company, which spread both wealth and risk among investors, facilitated England's colonial ventures. The East India Company and the Virginia Company were prominent examples, with the latter playing a significant role in the early colonization efforts, including the expedition led by John Smith to a land named Virginia in honor of the 'Virgin Queen,' Elizabeth I.
đł The Impact of Economic Hardship and Enclosure Movement
The second paragraph delves into the economic depression and poverty that gripped England in the 1500s and early 1600s, affecting a vast majority of the population outside the aristocracy and gentry. The collapse of the wool market and the Enclosure Movement, which privatized common lands, exacerbated the plight of the poor, leading to a rise in crime rates. The English Parliament viewed this as a 'surplus population' issue and considered colonization as a solution. The Virginia Company's journey to Jamestown in 1607 is highlighted as a pivotal moment in England's colonial expansion, which aimed to alleviate domestic issues by establishing new settlements and economic opportunities overseas.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄColonizing
đĄHispaniola
đĄProtestant Nation
đĄJoint Stock Company
đĄEast India Company
đĄVirginia Company
đĄEnclosure Movement
đĄEconomic Depression
đĄPuritans
đĄJamestown
Highlights
England took another 100 years to start colonizing the New World after Christopher Columbus due to internal conflicts, colonial projects in Ireland, and economic depression.
Religious conflicts within the United Kingdom were initially a hindrance to England's colonial ambitions.
The resolution of internal religious conflict led England to turn its attention outward, particularly towards Spain and France, to compete for riches and influence.
England's desire to compete with Spain's wealth from the New World, such as gold and sugar, was a catalyst for colonial expansion.
The English were also motivated to compete with France's profitable fur trade with Native Americans in regions like present-day New York and Canada.
The invention of the Joint Stock Company was a significant factor that enabled England to join the colonial race.
Joint Stock Companies allowed for the spreading of both wealth and risk, similar to the modern-day stock market.
These companies enabled adventurers to seek wealth in the New World with the backing of multiple investors, thus spreading the risk.
The East India Company and the Virginia Company were prominent Joint Stock Companies that played crucial roles in England's colonial endeavors.
The Virginia Company was instrumental in the early founding of the United States, with explorers like John Smith heading to Virginia under its charter.
The Virginia Company's expeditions were part of England's broader strategy to address economic depression and poverty at home.
The collapse of the wool market and the Enclosure Movement contributed to widespread poverty and social unrest in England.
The Enclosure Movement, which involved fencing off common lands, severely impacted the poor who relied on these lands for sustenance.
As a result of economic hardship, crime rates rose, and the English gentry considered the establishment of colonies as a solution to overpopulation and social issues.
The Virginia Company's journey to Jamestown in 1607 marked a turning point in England's colonial efforts and the beginning of what would become the United States.
Transcripts
- [Instructor] In the last video,
we discussed why it took England
another 100 years to start colonizing
the New World after Christopher Columbus
first set foot in Hispaniola.
Among those reasons was conflict within the United Kingdom,
colonial projects closer to home,
specifically Ireland,
and economic depression that prevented England
from taking much time to look outside its borders
to the broader world.
In this video, I'm gonna walk about
what led England to finally get in the colonial game.
So what changes that allows England
to become a premier colonial empire
and go on to found what will be
the United States of America,
today even an English speaking country?
Well, some of these factors kind of
turn to their advantage.
Once the internal religious conflict
has been sorted out,
turning England into a Protestant nation,
they turn some of that animus outward
to Spain, a Catholic nation,
and they feel that they have to compete with Spain
for riches
and for souls.
So certainly, the Protestant nation of England
doesn't wanna be left behind
anymore than it already has been by Spain,
which has clearly been reaping great riches
from the New World in the form of gold
down here in Mexico and Central America
and sugar, the Sugar Islands,
and they also don't wanna be one upped
by the Catholic nation of France,
which has been reaping some excellent profits
trading with Native Americans up in the region
which is today New York and Canada,
and they're getting furs.
So there's clearly a lot to be had
in the new world
and a lot of Catholics to triumph over in having it.
Another thing that allows England to join
the imperial game in the New World
is the invention of the Joint Stock Company.
Now, Joint Stock Companies were kind of the precursor,
I mean, more than kind of the precursor,
really the precursor to the modern day corporation,
and like modern day corporations,
what they did was kind of
spread both the riches and also the risk
of any kind of entrepreneurial undertaking.
And what I mean by this is that
people could buy shares
in a Joint Stock Company,
and those shares were kind of divested
from your personal wealth.
So you could invest in something that,
if it went belly up,
wouldn't necessarily ruin you
'cause you just had a few shares.
So it's, you know, similar to the stock market today,
a very early version of that.
So these Joint Stock Companies meant that
adventurers, people seeking wealth,
could go out to the New World, for example,
with many different backers,
the risk spread across all of them,
and try to make profit for their investors.
So many what we would call promoters
of the New World
tried to drum up interest in expeditions
to the New World.
Now, everybody knows that Spain is making a killing
from gold and sugar,
and so they're saying, "Well, maybe private individuals
"with the blessing, though not the sponsorship
"of the crown can go to the New World
"and start extracting some of these resources
"and start creating wealth for their investors."
And so England issues several charters
to Joint Stock Companies that are still
familiar names to us today.
For example, the East India Company,
which Americans know best as the company
that supplied the tea that Bostonians dumped
into Boston Harbor slightly before the American Revolution,
but the one that plays the most role
in the early founding of the United States
is the Virginia Company,
and it's under the auspices of the Virginia Company
that explorers like John Smith head to Virginia
and Virginia is named for Elizabeth the First,
Henry the Eighth's daughter,
who never married, and therefore was said to be
the Virgin Queen,
so a new land named after her was Virginia.
Now, we'll talk more about the Virginia Company
in the next video,
but the last thing I wanna say about what prompted
England to join the imperial game in the New World
was that England was having a serious economic depression
and some real poverty.
Now remember that England was a highly classed society
with aristocracy and gentry,
and these were inherited roles, right?
You couldn't rise
to be among these ranks, generally.
So, you know, about 95% of the population
didn't belong to either of these groups,
and a strong majority of those
were in dire poverty in the 1500s
and early 1600s,
and there were a number of reasons for this.
The market for wool, which England,
being a major textile producer, had collapsed,
so many people who had been
wool producers were in dire straits.
In fact, many of them were Puritans,
and we'll see more about what happens to the Puritans
who leave England in another video,
and there's a process going on in this time period
known as enclosure,
the Enclosure Movement.
And what enclosure meant is kind of what it sounds like,
which is that early English towns
and manor houses were kind of set up to have,
you know, the house.
That's the big manor house,
so just bear with me and imagine here,
and then they might have some forest
filled with a nice deer to hunt,
and then they might have some nice fields, just grass,
and these were kind of considered common lands.
So if you were a peasant, for example,
you might graze your cows
on these common lands.
You might go hunting in the forest.
Well, in this time period,
these great English lords started to close off,
enclose these common lands.
So they'd fence them off.
This kind of makes sense to our modern idea
of property holding, right?
It makes us understand who owns what thing
and how it gets deeded, et cetera,
but for very poor people,
this was a huge transition
because now they didn't have a place
to raise their livestock.
They didn't have a source of hunting, protein,
so it made people who were already on the edge
of poverty extremely poor.
It was a very difficult time
if you were already kind of living
in the foraging or small farming aspect
of English life.
And so, because of this Enclosure Movement and depression,
crime rates are going up in England,
and this is a time when theft is still a capital crime.
So if you're starving and you steal something to eat,
you could be hanged,
and so many of the English gentry,
the people in Parliament,
are looking around and saying,
"Alright, what's going on?
"Are we having a moral crisis?"
Because they don't think in terms
that say, "Alright, many people are poor.
"Maybe they're going to steal."
Instead, they're saying, "Why are people stealing?
"What's wrong with people?"
And so they think of this as surplus population,
say there are too many people in England.
Now this is patently untrue
because there are way more people
living in London today
than there were in all of England at that time period,
but the English Parliament,
sort of major thinkers in England,
start to think that there are too many people in England.
There are just too many people
for having enough stuff to go around,
and so they start wondering.
Maybe these people should go elsewhere.
Maybe they should go to colonies
where maybe they can buy more goods,
produce more raw materials,
and find a different place in the social structure
and economy of England,
and that starts to come true
when the Virginia Company sets off for Jamestown,
which they'll reach in 1607,
and we'll talk about that in the next video.
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