o I. England and the New World
A. Reasons for England's late entry
1. Protracted religious strife
Henry VII, who assumed the throne in 1485, had to unify the kingdom after
a long period of civil war. His son and successor, Henry VIII launched the
Reformation in England (establishment of the Church of England/Anglican
Church). Decades of religious strife followed. Queen Mary restored
Catholicism as the state religion and executed a number of protestants. Her
rule was so unpopular that reconciliation with Rome became impossible.
Mary’s successor. Elizabeth I restored the Anglican ascendancy and
executed more than 100 Catholic priests.
2. Continuing struggle to subdue Ireland
England’s long struggle to conquer and pacify Ireland, which lasted well
into the seventeenth century, absorbed money and energy that might have
been directed toward the New World. In subduing Ireland, whose Catholic
population was deemed a threat to the stability of Protestant rule in
England, the government employed a variety of approaches, including
military conquest, the slaughter of civilians, the seizure of land and
introduction of English economic practices, and the dispatch of large
numbers of settlers. Rather than seeking to absorb the Irish into English
society, the English excluded the native population from a territory of
settlement known as the Pale, where the colonists created their own social
order.
B. England and North America
Not until the reign of Elizabeth I did the English turn their attention to North
America.
1. Early ventures
The government granted charters (grants of exclusive rights and privileges)
to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh, authorizing them to
establish colonies in North America at their own expanse.
a. Humphrey Gilbert's failed Newfoundland colony
Established the settlement on Newfoundland in 1582. Failed
because little or no support from the crown.
b. Walter Raleigh's failed Roanoke colony
Established the settlement of around a 100 colonists on Roanoke
Island, off the North Carolina coast in 1585. But the colonists went
back to England in 1586. A second group of 100 settlers, composed
of families who hoped to establish a permanent colony, was
dispatched that year. Their fate remains a mystery. Raleigh, now
nearly bankrupt, lost his enthusiasm for colonization. To establish a
successful colony, it seemed clear, would require more planning and
economic resources than any individual could provide.
2. Impetus for North American colonization
a. National rivalry
i. Opposition to (Spanish) Catholicism
The Reformation heightened the English government’s
sense of Catholic Spain as its mortal enemy. Just as Spain
justified its empire in part by claiming to convert Indians to
Catholicism, England expressed its imperial ambitions in
terms of an obligation to liberate the New World from the
, tyranny of the pope. They wanted to liberate the Indians,
but repeated much of Spain’s behavior in the New World.
ii. Spain's attempted invasion of England
IN 1588 a Spanish naval armada unsuccessfully attempted
to invade the British Isles. The idea that Spain was the
mortal enemy was reinforced.
iii. Desire to match Spanish and French presence in
the New World
Through colonization England, a relatively minor power in
Europe at the end of the sixteenth century, could come to
rival the wealth and standing of great nations like Spain
and French.
b. Spreading Protestantism
i. Image of Spanish brutality in the New World
There was the idea that English settlements would strike a
blow against Spain’s empire and therefore form part of a
divine mission to rescue the New World and its inhabitants
from the influence of Catholicism and tyranny. Richard
Hakluyt listed twenty three reasons why Queen Elizabeth I
should support the establishment of colonies and this was
one of them. Hakluyt wrote that the Indians were crying
out to the English for help.
ii. England's self-conception as beacon of freedom
The English always believed they were different and would
bring library to the Indians and to the New World. In their
case empire and freedom would go hand in hand.
C. English social crisis of late sixteenth century
1. Roots of
a. Population explosion
Equally important, America could be a refuge for England’s “surplus”
population, benefiting mother county and emigrants alike. The
economic growth was unable to keep pace with the needs of the
growing population.
b. Rural displacement
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, landlords sought profits
by raising sheep for the expanding trade in wool and introducing
more modern farming practices such as crop rotation. They evicted
small farmers and fenced in “commons” previously open to all.
Thousands of persons were uprooted from the land. Many flooded
into England’s cities, where wages fell dramatically. The situation
grew worse as the prices throughout Europe rose. At the end of the
seventeenth century half of the population lived below the poverty
line.
2. Elements of
a. Urban overcrowding
Landlords sought profits by raising sheep for the expanding trade in
wool and introducing more modern farming practices such as crop
rotation. They evicted small farmers and fenced in “commons”
previously open to all. Thousands of persons were uprooted from
the land. Many flooded to England’s cities, were wages fall
dramatically.
A. Reasons for England's late entry
1. Protracted religious strife
Henry VII, who assumed the throne in 1485, had to unify the kingdom after
a long period of civil war. His son and successor, Henry VIII launched the
Reformation in England (establishment of the Church of England/Anglican
Church). Decades of religious strife followed. Queen Mary restored
Catholicism as the state religion and executed a number of protestants. Her
rule was so unpopular that reconciliation with Rome became impossible.
Mary’s successor. Elizabeth I restored the Anglican ascendancy and
executed more than 100 Catholic priests.
2. Continuing struggle to subdue Ireland
England’s long struggle to conquer and pacify Ireland, which lasted well
into the seventeenth century, absorbed money and energy that might have
been directed toward the New World. In subduing Ireland, whose Catholic
population was deemed a threat to the stability of Protestant rule in
England, the government employed a variety of approaches, including
military conquest, the slaughter of civilians, the seizure of land and
introduction of English economic practices, and the dispatch of large
numbers of settlers. Rather than seeking to absorb the Irish into English
society, the English excluded the native population from a territory of
settlement known as the Pale, where the colonists created their own social
order.
B. England and North America
Not until the reign of Elizabeth I did the English turn their attention to North
America.
1. Early ventures
The government granted charters (grants of exclusive rights and privileges)
to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh, authorizing them to
establish colonies in North America at their own expanse.
a. Humphrey Gilbert's failed Newfoundland colony
Established the settlement on Newfoundland in 1582. Failed
because little or no support from the crown.
b. Walter Raleigh's failed Roanoke colony
Established the settlement of around a 100 colonists on Roanoke
Island, off the North Carolina coast in 1585. But the colonists went
back to England in 1586. A second group of 100 settlers, composed
of families who hoped to establish a permanent colony, was
dispatched that year. Their fate remains a mystery. Raleigh, now
nearly bankrupt, lost his enthusiasm for colonization. To establish a
successful colony, it seemed clear, would require more planning and
economic resources than any individual could provide.
2. Impetus for North American colonization
a. National rivalry
i. Opposition to (Spanish) Catholicism
The Reformation heightened the English government’s
sense of Catholic Spain as its mortal enemy. Just as Spain
justified its empire in part by claiming to convert Indians to
Catholicism, England expressed its imperial ambitions in
terms of an obligation to liberate the New World from the
, tyranny of the pope. They wanted to liberate the Indians,
but repeated much of Spain’s behavior in the New World.
ii. Spain's attempted invasion of England
IN 1588 a Spanish naval armada unsuccessfully attempted
to invade the British Isles. The idea that Spain was the
mortal enemy was reinforced.
iii. Desire to match Spanish and French presence in
the New World
Through colonization England, a relatively minor power in
Europe at the end of the sixteenth century, could come to
rival the wealth and standing of great nations like Spain
and French.
b. Spreading Protestantism
i. Image of Spanish brutality in the New World
There was the idea that English settlements would strike a
blow against Spain’s empire and therefore form part of a
divine mission to rescue the New World and its inhabitants
from the influence of Catholicism and tyranny. Richard
Hakluyt listed twenty three reasons why Queen Elizabeth I
should support the establishment of colonies and this was
one of them. Hakluyt wrote that the Indians were crying
out to the English for help.
ii. England's self-conception as beacon of freedom
The English always believed they were different and would
bring library to the Indians and to the New World. In their
case empire and freedom would go hand in hand.
C. English social crisis of late sixteenth century
1. Roots of
a. Population explosion
Equally important, America could be a refuge for England’s “surplus”
population, benefiting mother county and emigrants alike. The
economic growth was unable to keep pace with the needs of the
growing population.
b. Rural displacement
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, landlords sought profits
by raising sheep for the expanding trade in wool and introducing
more modern farming practices such as crop rotation. They evicted
small farmers and fenced in “commons” previously open to all.
Thousands of persons were uprooted from the land. Many flooded
into England’s cities, where wages fell dramatically. The situation
grew worse as the prices throughout Europe rose. At the end of the
seventeenth century half of the population lived below the poverty
line.
2. Elements of
a. Urban overcrowding
Landlords sought profits by raising sheep for the expanding trade in
wool and introducing more modern farming practices such as crop
rotation. They evicted small farmers and fenced in “commons”
previously open to all. Thousands of persons were uprooted from
the land. Many flooded to England’s cities, were wages fall
dramatically.
