Changes before the revolution
Changes before the revolutionBetween the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the extension of British ideals far beyond the practice in England itself. Changes in religion, economics, politics and social structures illustrate this Americanization of the transplanted Europeans.
In a similar economic revolution, the colonies outgrew their mercantile relationship with the mother country and developed an expanding capitalist system of their own. England would grant each colony a specific charter, granting them special privileges. To earn a charter, colonies had to follow Parliament�s order. After the colonial government removed controls on the production of tobacco, there was a major expansion in the economy. Plantations developed, for one owner and his servants. Indentured servants were brought over, at this time, they would work seven years and then would be set free, to start a new life (they would start their own plantation). The death rate was declining, causing more plantations to be settled. African slaves emerged as the dominant agricultural labor force in the southern colonies. Slaves were also used in the northern colonies, but in far fewer numbers. The survival rates as well as birthrates tended to be high for slaves brought to the North American colonies. Also, the British colonies grew rapidly in population and wealth. Trade and cities flourished.
Building on English foundations of political liberty, the colonists extended the concepts of liberty and self-government far beyond those envisioned in the mother country. By the mid eighteenth century, the colonies all had similar systems of government. Governors would run each colony (there were three ways of getting elected: appointment by the...
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