A colony is a country that is politically controlled and administered by another country. During the 19th century, many European countries had colonies throughout the world where they exerted political control and economic exploitation. America was colonized by Great Britain. This is despite the fact that majority of the white people in Northern America were European immigrants. Others were native Indians and African Americans, who were slaves bought from Africa to work in European plantation farms.
Life in the British colonial America was hard for the colonized. They lived under the supervision of the British. Their economy was mercantile, implying that their existence was to enrich the motherland, Great Britain. Therefore, the colonial masters regulated trade by levying extremely harsh taxes which were shipped to Britain. This encouraged smuggling to avoid taxes.
There were also numerous revolts against her majesty’s government. This was based on the notion of ‘taxation without representation’. The colonies were also asked to pay for any cost incurred by the British during their wars with Indians and the French. This made life unbearable as people were burdened with taxes. There was also a deep sense of resentment towards colonizers due to their oppressive regimes and armies. This led to a lot of tension and instability. The arrest of smugglers who brought cheaper goods to people brought anger within the colonies. Agitation started building up leading to the revolution. The different state colonies had a lot of diversity in religion. This is especially those of the Christian faith.
In essence, the whole colonial experience assimilated the entire British mode of government, religion and the economy. The cardinal difference is that the colonies were subjected to a subordinate relationship with regards to Britons
Reference
Grigg, J. A., & Mancall, P. C. (2008). British Colonial America: People and Perspectives. New York: ABC-CLIO.
