The English Legacy & Colonial Settlement Patterns

1. From Roman Law to Common Law :

Two highly centralized institutions forged the development of central governments in Europe. The Roman experience and the Catholic traditions were more entrenched in southern Europe than in the north or in England. Consequently, England developed a unique approach to regulate its society: Common Law (customs and traditions of the locality/township will be used to regulate society). Over time, this resulted in the rise of decentralizing institutions, in short, policies that “checked” the power of central authority (the monarchs.)

a. Magna Charta 1215: Institution limiting the king’s power to tax

b. Parliament 1300s: quasi-representative institution that “consulted” with king over policies.

c. English Civil War 1640s: military power struggle that pitted Catholic/centralistic kings against Protestant/regionalist/parliamentarians.

d. English Bill of Rights 1689: After the victory of Parliament over the king, this document limits the overall authority of the king.

2. Reformation to Protestants:

The rise of England’s decentralist/regionalist/common law tradition stems from a religious power struggle between Protestant and Catholics. At first, the struggle was a mere attempt to reform the Catholic faith. The final analysis, a full fledge “protest” moment resulted in England severing ties with the Vatican.

a. Martin Luther: German Catholic priest challenging the Catholic Church and sparking the Reformation Movement

b. Henry VIII: English monarch who breaks away from the Catholic Church and establishes the Church of England when the Vatican fail to provide him with a divorce from his Spanish wife Catherine of Aragon—1533 ad.

c. Charles V: Most powerful monarch in Europe, King of Spain, and uncle to Catherine of Aragon; Lobbied the Vatican not to grant Henry VIII’s a divorce.

d. Church of England: Reformed Catholic Church in England established by Henry VIII.

e. Puritans: Religious group that wanted all vestiges of Catholicism erased from the Church of England. Persecuted by the establishment and they sought refuge in the New World.

f. Separatist: Religious group who sought separation of church and state in the New World

3. Economy:

a. Mercantile: State protected economy. Objective is to accumulate as much bullion (precious medals) as possible. Most European state embraced this system. State with more to protect became more centralistic.

b. neo-capitalism (capitellum/cuerpos/corp/body): economic system where the individual became paramount in securing/fomenting wealth. England relied on individual privateers (pirates) to secure wealth for the state.

4. Settlement Patterns

a. Proprietorships: Outright “ownership” of a colony by an individual or family. One example is the Colony of Maryland. Owned and “operated” by the Calvert family, they were free to run the colony at will. This differed from a “joint-stock company” which was a “for-profit” venture in the New World. Individuals “pooled” their resources together to finance a colonial in the New World.

b. Royal Colony: At first the State limited its risk in financing colonies in the New World, however, after a colony failed or in order to provide for the defensive of viable colonies, the State took over fledgling colonies or fully founded independent colonies.

c. Religious: Colonies founded by religious organizations. The New England area (northeast) is a product of Puritan groups attempting to establish colonies that would conform to their interpretation of God’s will. Massachusetts, Rhode Island are two examples.

5. A tradition of “Vested Interest:” Seeds for Democracy and Government by Consent

A “vested interest” suggests that individuals possess a “stake” in society. If one possesses a “stake” in society, the she or he will participate in society. A participating citizenry is necessary for the growth of democracy and consensual government. Thomas Jefferson would later envision an “Agrarian American.” He argued that democracy only flourishes when its citizenry owns and toils the land beneath them. “Vested interests” can take different forms other than land. The English cultural tradition is rich in elements that give rise to “vested interests,” and, in turn, give rise to democracy.

a. Joint-Stock Companies: Private business venture whose pooled resources need to be regulated and protected in the New World. Those who purchased “stocks” in the company ultimately decided how to run the colony.

b. Boards: Representative body of individuals chosen by stockholders to regulate policy in the New World; these selected individuals went to the New World and adhered to policy in order to materialize a profit.

c. "freemen”: individuals who had the “freedom of the company” to participate in regulatory policies. They may or may not be landowners but more than likely they were white males.

d. Charters: Document authorized by the king establishing a colony and stipulating where and how the colony would be administered.

e. Congregations: Members of a religious organization. Eventually, temporal (earthly) needs were address by the group resulting in secular assemblies. One aspect of a religious institution giving rise to participatory citizenry.

f. Assemblies: secular groups forming to address needs of the colony.

h. Mayflower Compact: Agreement between Puritan group to run their colony based on consensus. They

erroneously landed on Plymouth Rock and away from jurisdiction of the company in Chesapeake area.

i. Headright: title given to landowner.

j. indentured servitude: contractual relationship where one individual rendered service in the form of labor

to another, usually to repay for the passage across the Atlantic. Once the individual completed his

service, he usually received approximately 50 acres.

6. Colonial Society & the “Habit for Self-government”

a. Democracy: Orienting society towards the “common” will

b. Republic: all the people (aristocrats vs. democrats)

c. Federal: Acceptance of republican principles and equitable distribution of power (usually between central and regional authority)

d. Assimilation:

Process by which one group is completely absorbed by the predominant group. No vestiges of the former group are readily identifiable---the “melting pot” theory.

e. Acculturation

A “selective” process where the incoming group identifies cultural elements from the predominant in order to survive within society.

f. Pluralism (Multiculturalism)

Pockets of diverse racial and ethnic groups that congregate in regions in order to survive within the predominant group. No assimilation and some acculturation may take place. The thrust here is that some immigrants can live with their racial/ethnic confines without learning the predominant groups’ language or values system. Racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and class diversity exist since the development of the colonies.

g. Internal Colonialism

Institutions (educational, political, religious, etc) developed by the predominant group to control people. Slavery and voting requirements {property ownership, gender, religious affiliation, literacy test, etc} are two examples of Internal Colonialism.