The Foundation of Independence
The English colonies sought independence because of self-rule and representation, yes. But the strength and nature of the colonial economy made independence seem like a better idea. And it made securing it possible.
After independence, the US economy changed dramatically. But the way it developed throughout the colonial period makes it hard to think of a timeline in which the colonies remained under English rule.
The Nature of the Colonial Economy
For the colonies to even think about becoming an independent nation, they had to have money. They first needed an economy that could support itself and exist on its own.
Fortunately for those settling in North America, there was tons of opportunity for economic growth.
Interestingly, though, the opportunities that emerged were much different from the ones people initially thought existed. For example, early settlers to Jamestown, Virginia actually hoped to find gold, much like the Spanish had done in Central and South America.
They quickly realized there wasn’t any, and it took some time for them to find new ways to make money. But once they did, things started to boom. From there, the colonial economy took shape.
A few key industries developed that helped make independence possible.
Self-Sufficiency Promotes Independence
The colonies had a strong economy. But this does not mean everyone was rich.
In fact, very few had enough money to be considered wealthy.
Instead, a big strength of the colonial economy was its self-sufficiency. Individual families were responsible for providing for themselves, and the resources existed for them to do it.
Good farmland was abundant, and the colonists had no problem taking it from Native Americans. However, a great many of them actually bought it.
Towns were super important in colonial America. When you arrived, the first thing you had to do was find a town that was still accepting new people. This would give you access to farmland and let you participate in the local economy. People in towns engaged in small-scale trade and supported one another as much as they could.
This emphasis on self sufficiency lent itself naturally to independence. SInce they could provide for themselves, who really needed England at all?
Turns out they didn’t.
So, when the English government started pressing the colonists’ buttons by raising taxes and sending troops, this didn’t go over too well. Eventually, they completely rejected this interference in favor of independence.
Raw Materials and Cash Crops Connect the Colonies to the World
The English colonies in North America were established under a system called mercantilism. This meant that the colonies existed entirely to help boost the profitability of the mother country. For the American colonies, this meant England.
As a result, their primary function was to provide raw materials to England. This allowed English craftsmen to make finished goods cheaper, which made them more competitive.
Under mercantilism, the colonies were also meant to be a market for goods from the mother country. This meant that the colonies could only buy stuff that had been made in England.
Due to this arrangement, there was a heavy emphasis in the colonial economy on the extraction of raw materials.
This included harvesting “wild”resources such as timber, fish, and furs. But it also meant cultivating materials such as tobacco, cotton, and indigo.
The success of these industries led to the formation of a colonial upper class. Plantation owners and merchants became extravagantly wealthy exporting raw materials to England. But they were denied the opportunity to sell to other countries. And they also had limited options when it came to spending their money, thanks to England’s regulations.
Over time, this wealthy class of individuals began to resent these regulations imposed by the British government. This, plus their educated background, made them perfect to lead a revolution.
People such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin all fell into this group.
These are the individuals who helped make revolution possible. Their economic success gave them the power to rebel.
Industry
Due to the mercantilist policies in the colonies, there wasn’t a ton of industry. Most industrial goods came from England.
However, there was some.
For example, due to the presence of dense old-growth forests, the northeast, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, became a hub for shipbuilding. These areas made things such as rope, sales, masts, hulls, and more.
The colonies also had a decently developed tanning industry, as well as fishing and whaling.
At the time of independence, the Industrial Revolution was just a whisper in England. But the limited growth of industry in the colonies helped lay the groundwork for the explosion that would take place throughout the 19th century.
In fact, Alexander Hamilton, one of the most prominent supporters of independence and the first US Secretary of the Treasury, saw industry as the future of the US. He promoted it above all else and saw it as essential for the survival of the newly formed USA.
After independence, industry grew in leaps and bounds. Hamilton was right, and this helped the United States establish staying power on the global scene.
Trade and Trade Restrictions: The Navigation Acts
The Europeans explored and settled North America as they sought a trade route to Asia. They hoped to connect Europe to India with a sea route to the west rather than a land route to the east.
These trade routes turned out to not exist. But a new type of trade emerged as a result: trade between the colonies and Europe.
Having access to the raw materials available in England, and then having no competition for their goods in colonial markets, English merchants loved the arrangement that existed between England and its North American colonies.
But the colonial landowners and merchants did not. Due to the Navigation Acts, passed in the mid 1650s, they were forbidden from selling their goods anywhere except England. However, the raw materials (wood, iron, cotton, indigo, sugar, etc.) were in demand everywhere, and when there was competition, colonists could charge better prices.
This gave rise to smuggling, or the act of illegal trade.
Smuggling was widespread in the colonies because it was so difficult for the English to police. There were too many ports spread across too much land. And there were not enough custom officials to actually do anything to stop it.
For those doing the smuggling, they didn’t feel like they were doing anything wrong. They were simply selling their goods to the highest bidders and meeting the global demand for what they had.
It was only smuggling because the English Crown said so. They wanted their piece.
Because of how difficult it was to stop, the Crown turned a blind eye to smuggling in the Americas for most of the Colonial Period. It tried at different moments to stop it but failed. And the harder it tried, the more the colonists resisted.
Smugglers of Colonial America Resist and then Rebel
After the French and Indian War, the Crown doubled down and tried everything it could to rein in smuggling. It imposed stricter restrictions on trade. And it tried to tax the goods moving in out of the colonies
This sparked an outrage and fueled the independence movement. And since the ones being most affected were the ones with lots of land and money, they had the resources and connections to finance an independence movement against their “oppressors.”
Many of the colony’s most prominent statesmen and champions of independence were considered “smugglers” in the eyes of the British government. Had they ever been caught, they could have been forced to pay tremendous fines or may have even been sent to jail. But instead of facing the music, they encouraged a wide scale revolution that ultimately led to colonial independence and the birth of the USA.
Written by Matthew Jones