English Revolution in The Colonies

English Revolution In The Colonies

At the beginning of the English Revolution (1642–1660), fifty thousand Englishmen inhabited some twenty colonies in the Americas. Most of the colonies were founded in the decade prior to the English Civil War with the oldest existing being the Colony of Virginia (1607). The vast majority of the adult population were first generation settlers and thousands returned to the British Isles to fight or involve themselves in the politics of the Commonwealth of England (1649–1660).

Six colonies recognized Charles II after the regicide in 1649: Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Virginia, Maryland, and Newfoundland. The Parliamentarians were busy subduing Royalists in Scotland, Ireland, the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands but on 3 October 1650, the Rump Parliament restricted trade to Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, and Virginia and assembled a fleet to take control of them. By 1652, all were brought into line by the Commonwealth.

The new government introduced mercantilism with the first of the Navigation Acts in 1651. Soon the colonies became embroiled First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660). By the English Restoration, new colonies were added and the population quadrupled to over two hundred thousand due to exiles, refugees, prisoners, and the Atlantic slave trade. In all the colonies, which later became part of the United States, population growth throughout this period was vigorous, growing from a population of about 25,000 in 1640 to around 75,000 in 1660. The colonies also became more ethnically and religiously diverse. Another effect was the establishment of colonial assemblies in most of the colonies.