BRITISH MERCANTILE POLICY AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Historians have debated the influence of Britain’s mercantile policy in the coming of the American Revolution. In my opinion, I think it was not a causal factor in the causing the war. Far from causing harm, the Navigation Acts brought enormous benefits to Americans, who did not object to mercantilist policies As we all know, mercantilism was formed in West Europe during the 15th and 16th century. The early mercantilists pursued the increase of the precious metals as currency in their own country. The requirement was to buy fewer foreign products but sell more of their own goods in order to achieve the purpose of maximizing the accumulation of precious metals.
It started off by forbidding the import of all goods, unless they were imported in English ships. This meant that other colonies or countries would have to buy ships off the English, meaning they gained more wealth, thus helping the growth of the British Empire. This provoked shit building which thus boosted the economy of the English. The English continues to
All the facts point straight towards imperialism, such as building a naval base on Pearl Harbor and granting favored-nation status to control the economy of Hawaii. The United States wanted control of Hawaii because of its strategic location in the Pacific and Hawaii is in fact very militarized for this reason. Another reason why the U.S. wanted to annex Hawaii is because of the economic benefits of having more land to grow various crops on, most notably
The discovery and exploration of the Americas led to an initially slow but exponentially increasing westward migration by European countries. Among all the countries were England and Spain who colonized the majority of what is now the United States Eastern Coast. Both intrigued by the rumors and stories of gold and riches that beset the new lands they each did their part in western colonization; and not without reciprocal influence. Initial English colonies were established not only with cliché intentions of religious freedom but also with hopes of new economic expansion through agriculture as well as tactical, advantageous military purposes in the ever-present conflict with Spain. Mainly all original westward exploration was due to desires for gold and riches and in the case of the English this was no exception.
As a lot of Americans call it, the Spanish-American war was a splendid little war. The war caused America to gain a lot and lose very little. Even though there has been a few negative effects as the result of the war, the United States changed history by acquiring more ports, territories and by building bigger navies. American imperialism was what Americans wanted the most. They wanted to extend their political, military and economic control all over the world.
By the time the British colonies incited rebellion between them and the British in the 1770’s, they had grown to be powerful and economically independent, the population growing by a factor of eight from 1700 to 1770. British economic policy, is largely to blame for this, driving people to the new world and providing a framework for the economy of the Colonies to grow. The British would also commonly turn a blind eye to those who breached their rules and laws, and this too helped develop and diversify the American Economy. Furthermore, the adoption of a comparatively aggressive mercantilism by England led the colonies to grow much more than those of France and Spain, further pushing them out of the equation. Altogether, British Economic policy was a perfect mix of both salutary neglect and enforced protocol to spur a large amount of growth in British North America, doing so not only through just the Navigation Acts and Salutary neglect, but also the order in which they introduced new laws and regulations.
American Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century As a growing nation, the United States felt the need to continue expansion for the benefit of all citizens. Territorial development allows for growth in population and natural resources to produce goods and supply services for prosperity. To acquire or control territories, forcible means would sometimes be used, otherwise known as imperialism. This paper will describe imperialism more intently. Advantages of imperialism will be discussed, as well as some of the disadvantages.
Hakluyt also pointed that the overflow of people, both in need of religious freedom and in want of more business opportunities, within England needed a place to go. America is not only perfect for dumping those excess peoples into, but also exceeds that by also bringing profit from those living in those colonies. One of the major points that Hakluyt drives home is the comeuppance to Spain by creating demand for goods and shipping, and thereby creating profit for England and away from the plundering Spanish. From the profits of the taxes and duties of the new shipping industry, Hakluyt believes a powerful navy can be built for the protection and preservation of the growing British Empire. In 1584, when Hakluyt wrote his Discourse, he says that England at the time was swarming with unemployed youths, men, soldiers, prisoners, and beggars.
Numerous factors triggered America’s climb into both economic and social expansion. For example, high tariffs were placed on America-made products, which then gave the US a stable and protected trade interest. In addition the Spanish – American war of 1898 was a major turning point in USA expansion. The war was based on the grounds that Cuba (a colony of both America and Spain) had been declaring independence from Spain, and the USA having created the Monroe Doctrine, which supported the Cubans fight for independence from Spain in The USA, was to be involved for what can only be described as for their own best interest, due to Cuba having a oil supply. And on February 15, 1898, the USS Maine sank in Havana, in which an explosion caused 266 deaths.
They also dressed the Hawaiians and basically taught them how to act, dress, and talk like Americans. This meaning that, because we have so much power in our hands by this time, we simply annexed the island of Hawaii without having to go to war and making it complicated. The establishment of the sugar trade with the Hawaiian islands created a sitiuation of economic independence. In order to counter any sort of native assistance, the Bayonet Constitution was established, stripping the Hawaiian king of his powers and effectively diminishing democracy in the Hawaiian Islands and the indigeneous community. Waves of Japan came to the islands increasing numbers to work in the sugar trade.