The methods used by Great Britain to control the land and inhabitants of the United States and India differ vastly.

Essay by er1n726High School, 11th grade April 2004

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For centuries Great Britain was arguably the strongest nation in the world, an apparent paradox considering the size and isolation of the North Atlantic isle. From their tiny island, Britain's developed the world's most feared navy and thus controlled global trade. Great Britain accomplished through the acquisition of colonial lands, specifically the nations now known as the United States and India. Both lands had many resources, both human and natural, that enabled Britain to fuel its industries and fund its military. Although these countries were once the property of the same nation, and came under British rule during the 1600's, the methods use by Great Britain to control the land and inhabitants of these countries differ vastly.

The United States began to be colonized in the 1600's with the Jamestown settlement. At first the settlement got off to a slow start, and it wasn't until the discovery of tobacco that the American colonies became lucrative.

Thousands of Brits journeyed to America and eventually established 13 colonies, all of which benefited mother Britain. The southern colonies served as rice and tobacco plantations, and to a lesser extent, cotton. The use of slaves and lands confiscated from Native Americans gave plantation owners cheap labor and resources, resulting in great wealth for the new southern gentry. Northern colonies served as religious refuge's, such as Quaker Pennsylvania and Puritan New England, and later became the manufacturing sector of the colonies. For the most part, the land was governed by local officials appointed by the King, but as colonies of England they could only trade with England, at prices set by the British government. Then France and Britain fought a war over colonial land disputes, which the British eventually won, although the war took its toll on the British Treasury (The History Place - English...