British Colonization of The Americas

British colonization of the Americas (including colonization by both the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland before the Acts of Union which created the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707) began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas. The English, and later the British, were among the most important colonizers of the Americas, and their American empire came to rival the Spanish American colonies in military and economic might.

This English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish colonization caused dramatic upheaval among the indigenous civilizations in the Americas, both directly through the use of imported military force and indirectly through cultural disruption and introduced diseases. Relations between the colonists and natives varied from constructive trade to armed conflict. Many of the indigenous societies had developed a warrior class and had a long history of warfare. The rapidity, silence, and ferocity of their war parties proved devastating against the colonial style of waging war, but the colonials generally emerged successful in the long term. Like the French, trade with the natives was an important part of English and British colonial policy, but they also heavily promoted settlement and development.

Three types of colonies existed in the British Empire in America during the height of its power in the eighteenth century. These were charter colonies, proprietary colonies and royal colonies. After the American Revolutionary War, British territories in the Americas were slowly granted more responsible government. In 1838 the ] recommended full responsible government but this did not get fully implemented for another decade. Eventually with Confederation of Canada, the Canadian colonies were granted a significant amount of autonomy and became a self-governing Dominion in 1867. Other colonies in the rest of the Americas followed at a much slower pace. In this way, two countries in North America, ten in the Caribbean, and one in South America have received their independence from the United Kingdom. Today, the United Kingdom retains eight overseas territories in the Americas, which it grants varying degrees of self-government. In addition, nine former British possessions in the Americas, which are now independent of the United Kingdom, are Commonwealth Realms.