Reasons For Colonialism In Colonial America

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There are many reasons why the colonist came to the new world in the 16th 17th century. One of the reasons was freedom to practice religion without having to fear the government. Back in England, poverty grew and the economy was unstable. From what we learned back in high school was that Columbus was first to set foot on the new world back in 1492, but what we learned in class was that there was evidence found that Vikings were the first on the new world, with the leader being Leif Ericson. Another reason colonist came to the new world was to presented people with an opportunity to earn a decent living and perhaps even to become wealthy. Another reason that people traveled to the New World was to acquire land. Most settlers were given free …show more content…
Other everyday items were required leading to other household industries. Colonial work also included making furniture and also producing timber used to build houses. Other household industries included making alcohol such as beer, whiskey and rum. These household industries emerged as mills and distilleries were built and the alcohol and textile industries were developed. All of these provided more colonial work and jobs requiring even more labor in the colonies. Colonial America women helped with the planting and harvesting of the crops which added to the colonial work and jobs undertaken by the women who lived on the farms. (Notes) (Everyday Life in Early America by David Freeman …show more content…
Most attempted to enforce strict religious observance. One of the laws was that everyone had to attend to a house of worship and pay taxes that funded the salaries of ministers. Eight of the thirteen British colonies had established churches. Religion played a huge role for the colonist but soon changed. Religion changed when laws and rules changed. Punishment was either very harsh or put to death if one law was broken. They even banished people from the colony. Men tend to have more serious punishments than women when it came to breaking the law. “A general corruption hath overgrown the virtues of this latter times.” (Everyday Life in Early America by David Freeman Hawke, page 105) Crime was taken very serious; there was a case about a teenage boy that got killed because he stole animals. How they handled it was that they killed the animals in front of him first and then he was