The Spanish arrived on the American continent in 1492, and in the territory of the current US, they were the first Europeans to settle.
The colonization of the US was carried out by the English in what became known as the Thirteen Colonies:
• Virginia, founded by the London Company, in 1607.
• New Hampshire, founded by the London Company, in 1623.
• Massachusetts, founded by John Mason and other Puritan separatists, between 1620-1630.
• Maryland, founded by Lord Baltimore, in 1634.
• Connecticut, founded by emigrants from Mass., in 1635.
• Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams, in 1636.
• North Carolina, founded by emigrants from Virginia, in 1653.
• New York, founded by Holland, in 1613.
• New Jersey, founded by Berkeley Carteret, in 1664.
• South Carolina, founded by English nobles, in 1670.
• Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn, 1681.
• Delaware, founded by Sweden, in 1638.
• Georgia, founded by James Oglethorpe, in 1733.
“The first Spaniards arrived in Florida at the beginning of the 16th century, but the colonization of the United States was carried out by the English. The first attempts at colonization in North America took place during the reign of Elizabeth I, who allowed Sir Walter Raleigh to begin the conquest of the region.
This initial attempt at occupation failed, and the symbol of this failure is the case of the colony established on Roanoke Island. In 1590, an English expedition arrived at Roanoke, but the colony previously established there was deserted. It is believed that natives attacked it.
At the beginning of the 17th century, new attempts at occupation were made, and the founding of the Virginia colony in 1607 is considered the starting point of English colonization. The English granted colonization and exploration rights to two private companies, which quickly went bankrupt (London Co. and Plymouth Co.).
An important milestone for Americans is the arrival of the pilgrims aboard a ship called Mayflower, which, according to them, brought the ‘founding fathers.’ One of the main US holidays — Thanksgiving Day — celebrates this event carried out by the pilgrim fathers for the first time in Massachusetts, in 1621.
The growth of the colony was rapid, and a symbol of this is the great population growth of the Thirteen Colonies. Thus, if in 1620 the population was 2,500 people, a century later it had exceeded three million inhabitants, according to historian Leandro Karnal.
The Thirteen Colonies developed each with their own characteristics, since English colonization was less controlling than the Spanish and Portuguese varieties.
With this greater autonomy, the Colonies were able to promote their development in the way they saw fit.
These were grouped into two categories, depending on their characteristics. These groups were the Southern colonies and Northern colonies.
We briefly explain the characteristics of each below:
• Northern Colonies: settlement colonization predominated, with European families, some of them Puritans fleeing religious persecution on their continent of origin. Due to its temperate climate, similar to that in England, agriculture was not very profitable. Agricultural production was based on polyculture and aimed at meeting internal consumption needs. The predominant labor in this region was free and family work; other prominent economic activities were manufacturing, shipbuilding, and fishing, and the triangular trade was important for the local economy.
• Southern Colonies: their climate and soil allowed agriculture to be conducted on a large scale and oriented toward export. The most prominent products were tobacco and cotton, produced on large estates known as plantations. The predominant form of labor was slave work performed by Africans.
By the Treaty of Tordesilhas, North America was considered Spanish property, but Spain concentrated its colonization in Central America and South America. At the beginning of the 17th century, the French began colonizing Quebec, in present-day Canada.
In 1756, the Seven Years’ War broke out, fought between France and England and caused by territorial disputes in America between the two nations. The settlers of the Thirteen Colonies fought alongside the English, providing troops, supplies, and shelter.
The Seven Years’ War ended with an English victory.
Causes of the Independence of the United States
England, although victorious in the Seven Years’ War, emerged from the conflict with empty coffers. As a solution to the crisis, England began increasing control and taxes over the Thirteen Colonies. In the mid-1760s, the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Currency Act, and Quartering Act were enacted, all generating protests among the American colonists. Tax collectors and other public officials were attacked; often their clothes were torn off and their bodies tarred and feathered.
In 1773, the English Parliament approved the Tea Act, granting a monopoly on the product’s trade to the British East India Company, which raised the price for colonists. On December 16, colonists staged the Boston Tea Party, boarding English company ships and dumping their precious cargo into the sea.
In retaliation for the Tea Party, the English Parliament passed a set of laws requiring colonists to compensate the British, closing Boston harbor, among other impositions that outraged the inhabitants of the 13 colonies. These laws were dubbed by them the ‘Intolerable Acts.’
Representatives of the Thirteen Colonies met in 1774 at the First Philadelphia Congress, or First Continental Congress. There, colonists made various demands to King George III and the English Parliament, most of which went unheeded. The next year, British troops were sent to the US to disarm the colonists, who chose to fight the English.
In 1776, the Second Continental Congress was held; there the Thirteen Colonies declared independence and signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The war against the English only ended in 1783, with a colonial victory.
Declaration of Independence of the US
The US Declaration of Independence is considered one of the most important documents in human history for being the first by which a colony declared itself independent, for creating a nation, and for guaranteeing its population’s fundamental rights. Inspired by the Enlightenment, the Declaration established freedom of expression, press, belief, and political opinion.
The Continental Congress appointed a committee of five members tasked with drafting the declaration. The committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson wrote the first version of the Declaration and presented it to the committee, which made changes to the text.
The Continental Congress approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776, and the next day the original version was sent to John Dunlap, the Congress’s official printer. He produced 13 copies of the original, known as the ‘Essex Broadside,’ and sent one to each of the Thirteen Colonies.
Ten of these prints exist today; the original Declaration is currently at the National Archives Building in Washington.
Consequences of US Independence
The immediate consequence of US independence was the founding of the first independent republic in the Americas in 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
Originally formed by the Thirteen Colonies, the US expanded westward to the Pacific, conquering indigenous and Mexican lands. With the annexation of Hawaii and the purchase of Alaska, the country now has its current 50 states, making it the world’s third-largest country. The US also became the world’s leading military and economic power.
Another consequence of US independence was its political impact in Europe and the Americas, inspiring numerous emancipation and liberal movements in the 18th and 19th centuries, including Latin American independence movements and the French Revolution. In Brazil, American independence inspired events like the Inconfidência Mineira and the Confederação do Equador.
Slavery was another consequence of US independence, remaining unabolished after emancipation. Economic differences between the northern and southern colonies persisted, with the North becoming industrialized in the 19th century while the South remained agrarian and slaveholding.
Sources: Wikipedia, mundoeducacao.uol.com.br, historiadomundo.com.br & brasilescola.uol.com.br