English Dominance in North America

English Colonization

Early English attempts at colonization were unsuccessful and expensive, but soon colonists did manage to establish themselves in the wilderness of North America and England solidified its control of the region.

Managing the Costs of Colonization

The risks involved in colonization became so enormously expensive that no single individual could fund expeditions.  Instead English entrepreneurs formed joint-stock companies, in which stockholders shared the risks and profits of colonization. Companies acquired enough money to organize voyages by stockholders purchasing shares of ownership in the company. These stockholders expected to get a return on their investment from gold and other minerals, products like wine, citrus fruits, and olive oil, and trade with the natives for pitch, tar, and potash.

Joint-stock companies paid out divisions to their shareholders by dividing up the profits of the colony. These divisions were most often in cash, but when cash was scarce, divisions were paid in goods that could be sold.  The formation of joint-stock companies was a good way to raise large amounts of money quickly with few risks.  Some of the larger companies acquired patents from the monarchy, holding monopolies on large territories of land.

Virginia Company

The Virginia Company was a joint-stock company chartered by the newly-crowned King James I in 1606. The London group, part of the Virginia Company, settled Jamestown, in Virginia, the first permanent English colony in the New World. The Virginia Company had the power to set up the Council of Virginia (whose ultimate authority was the king) and the governor, but also had the responsibility of providing settlers, supplies, and ships for the venture. The colonists were foremost employees of the Virginia Company and had to follow the company’s instructions.  They soon discovered that living up to their financial responsibilities was difficult.  The colonists struggled to survive in the new environment, much less make a profit for the company.

To help encourage more settlement, the Virginia Company offered transportation and fifty acres of land to tenants who would be granted ownership of the land after working it for seven years.  Men who settled the land could also be granted an extra fifty acres, called a “headright,” for each additional household member that they brought with them.  The company went out of its way to secure rights and freedoms for its colonists, such as the right to a trial by jury.  These incentives were in the best interest of the company, which made more money if it attracted larger numbers of colonists.  More colonists meant more products to return to the investors who made the venture possible.

Joint-stock companies sometimes enjoyed success and high profits but there were lean periods, too.  When colonists died or failed to produce goods, the company could find itself unable to pay out dividends to its shareholders.  Joint-stock companies that were experiencing difficulty paying debts tried many tactics to promote even more investment and colonization.  

When times were hard, the Virginia Company launched a large-scale advertising campaign, encouraging the British to be good citizens by strengthening England’s colonies through settlement.  The Virginia Company published more than twenty-seven books and pamphlets promoting colonization, and even convinced clergymen to endorse American settlement in their sermons.