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2.21.2008

Who were Provincial Americans? Why here?

There were many reasons that English colonist came to America. The most common seemed to be to make a profit from the new land. Embedded in that desire, was the opportunity to create a better life and future. Some of the economic reasons were searching for gold and precious metals, growing crops like cotton and tobacco, and land for farming and raising livestock. Religion was also a common reason for leaving England. England was governed with a state religion to which all must belong. Groups such as the Puritans were looking for a place to carry out their ideals of a righteous society. Many people came as laborers to work the plantations as either indentured servants or slaves. Others came to teach Christianity to the Indians. All were staking out territory for their sovereigns in whatever country held that piece of land. Many colonies were founded to increase the trade with England. The English outlawed trade with other nations so they needed somewhere to expand in order to get the products they needed.
All of the descendants of these original English transplants were living in colonies with distinct cultures and characteristics. They were the provincial Americans who would create a foundation for the American Revolution. Many of these families were doing the huge job of settling new communities and colonies without the basic tools that Europeans and British people took for granted. Plows, guns, pots and kettles, and even sometimes candles were very hard to get. They learned to survive without them. They did a marvelously difficult job at it too. They learned to be self-sufficient and enterprising in getting the hard work done. Laborers were more valuable in America because there were so few. Women were also in short supply for a long time. Families began to develop slowly since the mortality rate suffered from the hardships. Many settlers bartered since there was no established currency. The British crown officially ruled the settlers, but the colonies had their own governments established as well. They became accustomed to the self rule and lack of meddling in their affairs which led to problems later when the Crown tried to assert itself, resulting in the American Revolution.
To be sure there were many lessons learned from mistakes made along the way. Relations with the Indians were a major obstacle to the settlers. I have ancestors from the early American colonies and I am so proud of them. I am in awe of all they did.
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