Colonies for decades existed with the purpose of driving the agendas of the Metropolitan State. In essence, a colony is regarded as a state or region under a political control of another state, whether partial or full, and is most often distant with settlers or citizens from the controlling state also being occupants (Datta-Ray, Asok and Satyabrata 40). Further, a colony is usually deprived the independence of various freedoms such as economic and political sovereignty while being governed to achieve a certain purpose or desire (Green and J R 38). In essence, colonies often occur with a given purpose or agenda in place such as the need to achieve economic mileage through benefiting from resources present in the colony. A debate has often arisen, however if the success of a colony is dependent on the purpose of a given colony. While this is so, it may be considered to highlight that the appearance of a colony to succeed or fail leaned more on strategies.
The types of colonies that appeared most apt to succeed are those that were handled with good strategies with purpose being constant seeing as negative strategies led to hostilities from locals. The hostilities eventually led to the collapse or failures of most colonies. Strategies such as helping locals in times of calamities like witnessed in the existence between the first pilgrims to reach England in the 1620s, and the locals helped galvanize a relationship that eventually saw the success of a colony (Axelrod and Charles 59). Similarly, forging alliances were a vital strategy for ensuring the likelihood of a colony’s success. For instance, while the English colonists arrived in America with the inadequate knowledge for farming and with fewer food supplies, it was their alliance and collaboration with the locals specifically the Mattaponi Society of Virginia that encouraged success (Purvis 111). On the other side, the types of colonies that were faced with failures were those handled with hostility and poor strategies. The emergence of hostilities due to poor planning meant lack of allies which in effect made survival, especially as an autonomous society difficult and strenuous thus leading to the likelihood of failures.
In conclusion, while purpose was a strong premise for colonies to succeed, it was strategies that assured the fate of a colony. For instance, while the English purposed to take advantage of the availability of land in America, it was their collaboration with their locals that ensured the success of their colonies. On the other side, poor planning led to the possibilities of a colony to fail to be high. It thus suffices to suggest that good planning was and is still vital to the success of a colony.
Works cited
Axelrod, Alan, and Charles Phillips. What Every American Should Know About American History: 225 Events That Shaped the Nation. Avon, Mass: Adams Media, 2008. Print.
Datta-Ray, B, Asok K. Ray, and Satyabrata Chakraborty. Society, Politics, and Development in North East India: Essays in Memory of Dr. Basudeb Datta Ray. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co, 2008. Print.
Greene, Jack P, and J R. Pole. A Companion to the American Revolution. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2008. Internet resource.
Purvis, Thomas L. Colonial America to 1763. New York: Facts on File, 1999. Internet resource.
