What Did England Expect from Its New World Colonies?

English Colonial Expectations (16th–18th Centuries)

Economic (Mercantilism)

• Raw materials (timber, tobacco, cotton, furs, naval stores) not available in England.
• Markets for English manufactured goods.
• Bullion accumulation; favorable balance of trade.
• Navigation Acts enforced shipping through English ports.

Strategic & Geopolitical

• Territorial claims against Spain, France, Netherlands.
• Naval bases, coaling stations, trade route control.
• Buffer zones against rival empires.

Social & Religious

• Outlet for surplus population (poverty, enclosure displacement).
• Haven for religious dissenters (Puritans, Quakers, Catholics) – though conformity often enforced locally.
• Spread of Protestant Christianity.

Political

• Colonies owed allegiance to Crown; governed by charters, royal governors, assemblies.
• Degree of self-government (local assemblies) but ultimate authority in London.

Over time, colonists' interpretation of "rights of Englishmen" clashed with imperial demands, culminating in the American Revolution.