How did the Enlightenment influence the American Revolution?
The period of enlightenment was a period when people started to reason and question the order of things. everything was questioned even down right to religion. one of the most important Philosophes whose writing influenced the American revolution was John Locke. one of the ideas of John Locke- the idea of Natural rights (life, liberty and property) was fundamental to the American declaration of independence, which stated that “…all men… are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;…”. Hence when king George III started imposing taxes on them and punishing those who went against the various Acts , they saw it as an attack on their human rights.Also Locke and Rousseau’s ideas on social contract helped shape the minds of the leaders of the American revolution thereby affecting the revolution itself. in Rousseau’s social contract he argued that the only good government was the one freely formed by the people and guided by the “general will” of the society. John Locke in the Two treatises of government also argued that government should rule based on the consent of the governed. These ideas of John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau formed the basis for the American revolutionary movement of popular sovereignty.Locke furthermore said in the two treatises of government that the citizens had a right to revolt against whatever government failed to protect their rights. It could be said that Thomas Paine an American who wrote the pamphlet titled “Common Sense” in 1776 drew his idea from Locke. He attacked the monarchy in his pamphlet and insisted that common Americans had the ability to be their own kings and were far more deserving of leadership posts than those who had worn English crowns. this idea was also reflected in the declaration of independence document wrote by Thomas Jefferson “…that whenever any form of government becomes destructive … it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it…” Hence the Americans felt the need for a revolution to “abolish” the government that had become “destructive”.
What motivated England to colonize the New world?
There were many reasons why people colonized North America. One of the main reasons is that the New World presented people with an opportunity to earn a decent living and perhaps even to become wealthy. During the time of colonization, profitable jobs were scarce in England, and land was very difficult to obtain because it was expensive. By moving to one of the colonies, an individual had a better chance to earn a living than if they remained in England. Once in the New World many settlers earned a living by becoming farmers, hunters, and businessmen. Some of these settlers became indentured servants as well. Another reason that people traveled to the New World was to acquire land. Most settlers were given free land or land at low cost. Land not only gave settlers feelings of independence, it also provided them with status and allowed them certain rights in the community, including voting. Religion was another reason that people came to the New World. Some settlers wished to have the chance to worship freely while others came to America to escape religious persecutions. Some of these groups were the Puritans, Quakers, Roman Catholics, Huguenots, and Jews. In the bigger picture, kings and queens were interested in creating colonies because colonies contributed to the political, economic and military superiority of a country. As the English, Dutch, Spanish, and French strove for economic and political superiority, their quest took them into newly discovered lands. The equation Land = Power = Money was at play in this quest, and these lands became important staging areas for the military might of these European powers. Mostly it was for money and religious freedoms.
How did the British colonize India?
Britain came in the 1600s (with Sir Thomas Roe) when India was under the rule of Jehangir. India was a stronger nation back then. So, the British were contended to be traders. However, Nadir Shah's (of Iran) invasion of India in 1738, changed the picture (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nad...). The Mughal rulers were badly defeated and that signalled to the world that India was very weak. The East India Company immediately latched on and made use of the weakness. The timing was key. India had plenty of infighting. For instance, Tipu Sultan, who offered ferocious resistance against the Brits was undermined by our own rulers (Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas) who surrounded the Mysore kingdom when British attacked him. The Marathas duly paid the price for the friendship with the devil with the Anglo-Maratha war in which they were badly defeated. British troops were well organized and used superior tactical & strategic skills on the warfield. French revolution and later the defeat of Napolean in 1815, distract the French from expanding their control in India. The British used this opportunity to kick out the other colonial powers from India.By the 18th century, India was under a crisis. The Aurangzeb's rule was quite bitter for non-Muslims and the Hindus were tired of Islamic rule. This gave rise to many Hindu kings (such as the Marathas). The East India Company rightly used this period to increase the divisions with their divide and rule policy. India had a very weak navy. Unlike islands like Britain or Japan, we didn't have enough incentives to build a strong navy. Naval superiority helped the British to gain and build the critical ports of India (Bombay, Madras, Calcutta) and build the empire from there. Britian was entering the age of industrial revolution at around the same time (1750) when Indian empires were weakened. The economic strength from industrial revolution gave the Brits an upper hand.