ANGLO-SAXON AMERICA: COLONIZERS, HISTORY, CULTURE, CLIMATE - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The Anglo - Saxon America is a concept that refers to the part of the American continent with English as an official or primary language. Historically, they would be those countries that were colonized by the British rather than by the Spanish. The two most important nations within this denomination are the United States and Canada.

The term, however, does not fully reflect the historical particularities of those territories. Thus, for example, the first explorers to establish settlements in Canada were French. Likewise, much of the United States was colonized by the Spanish and the French themselves.

Anglo-Saxon America - Source: TownDown

In addition to these two countries, Anglo-Saxon America also includes another series of territories. Most of them are located in the Caribbean, like Jamaica or Barbados. Besides, in South America there are some territories still in English hands and in dispute with other nations, such as the Malvinas or Falkland Islands.

The influence of the United States has caused that, generally, the experts only look at their characteristics to describe Anglo-Saxon America. For this reason, it is considered to be very economically developed, with a predominantly Protestant religion and politically stable.

Anglo-Saxon America: colonizers and history

Although Columbus had reached the Caribbean in 1492, it still took the other European powers a few years to travel to the newly discovered lands. When they did, he began a race to dominate the areas not controlled by the Spanish.

First explorers in Canada

The first to reach the territory of present-day Canada was the Italian Giovanni Caboto, although he did so under contract to the English Crown. Later, in 1534, it was the turn of the French, who sent Jacques Cartier to explore the Atlantic coast.

However, it was not until 1603 when the first stable settlements were built in the area. The person in charge was the Frenchman Samuel De Champlain, who founded Port Royal (1605) and Quebec (1608).

The explorer christened the region New France, and merchants and missionaries soon began to arrive. From there, expeditions went south, reaching what is now Louisiana.

For its part, England joined this race in 1610, when it built fishing ports in Newfoundland.

This ended up causing four colonial wars between both powers. As a result, Nova Scotia passed into British hands in 1713.

Another conflict, this time between France and the Indian tribes in the area, in 1763, ended with the Treaty of Paris by which the French ceded almost all of Canada to England.

British Canada

The territorial division agreed in 1763 left the province of Quebec in the hands of the French and annexed Cape Breton to Nova Scotia.

Years later, in 1774, the British enacted the Quebec Act in order to avoid conflicts. Thus, they expanded the province to reach the Great Lakes and the Ohio River Valley. As still happens today, French was declared as the language of the province and Catholicism as a religion. This caused the discontent of the Thirteen Colonies.

After the US declaration of independence, the new country assumed sovereignty over the southern Great Lakes. On the other hand, some of the old supporters of the English during the war of independence preferred to flee to Canada and created new settlements in that territory.

In order to assume coexistence between the inhabitants of the French-speaking Quebec and the Anglo-Saxon settlers, the government divided the territory into two parts, each with its own Legislative Assembly.

During the following years, several agreements were signed to try to stabilize the border limits between the different areas of Canada and this country with the United States. In addition, the Canadians organized several expeditions to the north, until they reached the Arctic.

Canadian Confederation

In 1867 the Constitutional Act was promulgated with which the Canadian Confederation was born. This country was made up of four provinces: Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Arrival in the current United States

The first explorers to reach the Atlantic coast of today's United States did so on the orders of King James. Until that time, the British had been more interested in preventing Spanish trade than in building settlements.

From the first decades of the seventeenth century, the British Crown, supported by merchants, promoted the colonization of several territories. For this, the London Company was created, which financed the shipment of three ships to the Chesapeake Bay. These early settlers, led by John Smith, were the founders of Jamestown.

First pilgrims

Another type of settlers who came to America were the pilgrims. They reached the shores of the continent in 1620, fleeing the religious persecutions that took place in Europe. Upon their arrival, they christened the territory they occupied with New England.

Eight years later they were joined by groups of English Puritans. Among the towns they founded are Boston or Salem.

Catholic settlers

Another wave of colonization began in 1632, when King Charles I granted Lord Baltimore all the territories between the Potomac and the 40th parallel. Those who traveled there were characterized by greater religious tolerance than previous pilgrims.

This attitude was reflected in the Act of Tolerance drawn up by Lord Baltimore's son in the mid-17th century.

In addition to the settlers led by this nobleman, the king gave permission to William Penn, whose father had conquered Jamaica, to establish new colonies south of New York. The name of the new colony was Pennsylvania and it was the first to recognize the rights of indigenous people.

The Thirteen Colonies

After all these expeditions, by the 18th century thirteen British colonies had been established on the American Atlantic coast. It would be these that led the war of independence and would make up the United States.

Later, as an independent country, the United States began a process of territorial expansion on two fronts. On the one hand, towards the western territories and, on the other, towards those of the south.

In order to annex the latter, the Americans had to confront (militarily and economically) the Spanish, the French and the Mexicans.

Caribbean

The other American region with an Anglo-Saxon presence is the Caribbean. The first towns were founded at the beginning of the seventeenth century, in the small Antilles.

The most important addition was Jamaica. As noted, it was William Penn Sr. who conquered the island during Cromwell's rule in England. In addition, the British settled in Belize and in some area of present-day Nicaragua.

General characteristics

The first characteristic characteristic of Anglo-Saxon America is the language. In contrast to the Spanish and Portuguese spoken in Latin America, the areas colonized by the British maintain English as their main language.

There are, however, some exceptions to this. Canada, for example, also considers French an official language, although its use is practically limited to Quebec. On the other hand, Spanish is widely spoken in areas of the United States.

Demographic origins

The demographics of Anglo-Saxon America are marked by several different factors. The first, the arrival of white European colonizers and the scarce interbreeding with the indigenous populations of Canada and the United States.

Slavery caused thousands of Africans to be transferred to America. For this reason, today the African American population has a great presence. In some countries, such as the Bahamas or Jamaica, they are even the majority.

On the other hand, Anglo-Saxon America, especially the United States, for decades welcomed a great multitude of emigrants. At first, non-Anglo-Saxon Europeans prevailed, such as Italians or Germans. Later, Hispanics from Latin America.

Religion

The origin of the colonists has led to Protestantism being the most followed religion in Anglo-Saxon America.

Catholicism, on the other hand, also shows significant strength. Irish immigration (eminently Catholic) caused 10% of the American population to profess this branch of Christianity. The arrival of the Hispanic population is increasing that percentage in recent years.

Economy

The economic situation of Anglo-Saxon America presents great inequality. On the one hand, the US and Canada are two of the richest countries on the planet, but the Caribbean nations suffer from serious problems of poverty.

Urbanization of Anglo-Saxon America

The vast majority of the population resides in large cities, indicating a highly unequal demographic distribution.

This concentration of population in large cities began in the 19th century. Immigrants, both indoors and outdoors, chose cities to settle. It was there where there was more possibility of finding work, which meant that the countryside was becoming depopulated.

Culture

It is not only the language that differentiates Anglo-Saxon America from Hispanic. The rest of the cultural manifestations are usually also very different.

In this regard, however, the power of the American cultural industry is causing the rest of the continent and the planet to adopt many of its customs.

Cultural differences in Anglo-Saxon America

As in other aspects, there is a great difference in the cultural sphere between the countries that make up Anglo-Saxon America. Even between the two largest, the United States and Canada, you can find conflicting views on many issues.

American society, except on the two coasts, is generally more conservative and religious than Canadian. This causes cultural manifestations to be seen differently in both countries. While in the US there are topics, such as sex or the human body, that are practically excluded, in Canada this is not so frequent.

According to some experts, Canadian society is more similar in this area to Europe than the United States.

The African-American contribution

African slaves began to arrive in Anglo-Saxon America to cultivate the plantations that were the economic base of some of the thirteen colonies. Despite their harsh living conditions, these slaves brought their cultural traditions with them and brought them into the country.

Music was one of the fields in which that culture had the most influence, to the point that several musical genres, today considered typically American, were generated by the African-American population. These genres include blues, gospel, jazz and rock and roll itself.

Relief

Leaving aside the Caribbean islands that are part of Anglo-Saxon America, which due to their smaller size have a more homogeneous relief, the great extension of Canada and the United States causes the variations to be enormous.

Main structures

Anglo-Saxon America made up of the United States and Canada is made up of four major structures: the Great Plains, the West Fold, the Appalachian Mountains and the Canadic Shield.

This last structure is located in central and eastern Canada. It is made up of very hard rocks, although they have a high degree of erosion. This was caused by glaciers that formed during the Pleistocene, which, when melting, gave rise to a large number of lakes. The most important are the so-called Great Lakes.

The highest mountains are located in the Plegado del Oeste system, which runs from Alaska to Mexico. The most important mountain ranges in this system are the Rockies and the Coastal Range.

Another characteristic of the Fold of the West are the deserts and plateaus located between the mountain ranges.

On the other hand, on the east coast are the Appalachian Mountains. The erosion they have suffered over millions of years has caused that their maximum altitude does not exceed 2040 meters that Mount Mitchell has.

Finally, the Great Sedimentary Plains stretch across the eastern Rockies, covering from central Canada to south-central USA.

Weather

As with the relief, the extension of Anglo-Saxon America causes that almost all types of climates appear in its territory.

Thus, in the north the climate is cold, especially in Alaska or in the northern part of Canada. In the south, however, the climate is quite hot and humid, as in Florida, or desert, as in the border with Mexico.

Not only the north-south axis influences the climatic differences, but from east to west you can also find very varied climates. The coasts tend to be more thermally stable, with less rainfall. In the center, however, the temperatures tend to have a wider range and the rain occurs less frequently.

Dividing the region by country, Canada is characterized by lower temperatures, especially during winter. In the north, large areas of tundra extend, with little vegetation. In the south, the taiga, made up of boreal forests, is the most common ecosystem.

For its part, in the United States (except in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coasts) the so-called continental temperate climate predominates. On the other hand, there are also desert areas (such as Nevada) or with a high degree of humidity (Florida).

References

Universal history. Anglo-Saxon colonization in America. Obtained from mihistoriauniversal.com
Icarito. Languages of Anglo-Saxon America. Obtained from icarito.cl
Santillana. United States and Canada. Obtained from lms.santillanacom learning.com
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Anglo-America. Retrieved from britannica.com
Swett Henson, Margaret. Anglo-American colonization. Retrieved from tshaonline.org
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Anglo – American Society. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com

ANGLO-SAXON AMERICA: COLONIZERS, HISTORY, CULTURE, CLIMATE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025