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Colonial America

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There are historians may argue that, “While there might have been some bumps in the road, overall the colonial experience reflects the idea that the future United States represented the land of opportunity and freedom. In terms of economics, religion, and politics, the arrival of Europeans meant a better, freer life for most if not all people.” {Prompt} However, this theory is almost completely inaccurate. In all actuality, the statement should be reversed to read, “In terms of economics, religion, and politics, the arrival of Europeans meant a worse, more confined life for most if not all people.”
These “bumps in the road” were no minor incidents and heavily outweighed the benefits of the colonization of North America. Most notably, the European …show more content…
It wasn’t unusual for regions to demand migration from women as the total number of men heavily outnumbered the women and the Christian religion held strong values on family life. And, therefore, there was a plethora of women being traded between the European homeland and the colonies. More often than not, these women were seen as property and commonly used as “tobacco wives”. {Sending Women to Virginia, 1622} Families would arrange marriages to free and independent colonists. In return, the wives and family would be paid in tobacco. However, this was a rare commodity as a prevalent amount of women were contracted into emigration as indentured servants. “We send you in this ship one widow and eleven maids for wives for the people in Virginia. There hath been especial care….that at their first landing, they may be housed, lodged, and provided for of diet till they be married, for such the haste of sending them away, as that straitened with time we had no means to put provisions aboard, which defect shall be supplied by the magazine ship. And in case they cannot be presently marries, we desire they may be put to several householders that have wives till they can be provided of husbands.” {Sending Women to Virginia, …show more content…
Essentially, both roles were the same. Yet, one had hopes of being released from their debt and bondage to their master while the other did not. Both peoples were heavily mistreated and abused on a regular basis, because they were treated as property. A copious amount of times, they were not even seen as humans, merely objects. “Let it suffice that I am one of the unhappy number, am toiling almost day and night, and very often in the horse’s drudgery, with only this comfort that you bitch you do not half enough, and then tied up and whipped to that degree that you now serve an animal.” {Complaint of an Indentured Servant,

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