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Charter Colony

Charter colony

A charter colony was one of the three types of colonies that existed in the British Empire during its height of power. The others were proprietary colonies and royal colonies. Charter colonies in North America included Connecticut and Rhode Island. They were established by groups of settlers who were granted charters by the king and had more control over their own affairs than did the other types of colonies, which were ruled more directly by the British.

Colony

In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distant state (or city, in ancient times). Some colonies were historically separate countries, while others were territories without definite statehood at the moment of colonization. The metropolitan state is the state that owns the colony. In Ancient Greece, the city that owned a colony was called the metropolis within its political organization. Mother country is the term used to refer to the metropolitan state by its citizens that live in a colony. Today, the terms overseas territory or dependent territory are preferred. See also the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. People who migrated to settle permanently in colonies controlled by their country of origin were called colonists or settlers. A colony differs from a puppet state or satellite state in that a colony has no independent international representation and the top-level administration of a colony is under direct control of the metropolitan state. The term "informal colony" is used by some historians to describe a country which is under the de facto control of another state, although this description is often contentious.

Definitions

In the modern usage, colony is generally distinguished from oversea possession. In the former case, the local population, or at least the part of it not coming from the "metropolitan" (controlling) country, does not enjoy full citizenship rights. The political process is generally restricted, especially excluding questions of independence. In this case, there are settlers from a dominating foreign country, or countries, and often the property of indigenous peoples is seized, to provide the settlers with land. Foreign mores, religions and/or legal systems are imposed. In some cases, the local population is held for unfree labour, is submitted to brutal force, or even to policies of genocide. By contrast, in the case of overseas possessions, citizens are formally equal, regardless of origin and it is possible for legal independence movements to form; should they gain a majority in the oversea possession, the question of independence may be brought, for instance, to referendum. However, in some cases, settlers have come to outnumber indigenous people in overseas possessions, and it is possible for colonies to become overseas possessions, against the wishes of indigenous peoples. This often results in ongoing and long-lasting independence struggles by the descendants of the original inhabitants. Colony may also be used for countries that, while independent or considering themselves independent of a former colonizing power, still have a political and social structure where the rulers are a minority originating from the colonizing power. Such was the case with Rhodesia after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence. The term informal colony has also been used in relation to countries which, while they have never been conquered by force or officially ruled by a foreign power, have a clearly subordinate social or economic relationship to that power.

History

informal colony Originally, as with the ancient (Hellenic) Greek apoikia, the term colonization referred to the foundation of a new city or settlement, more often than not with nonviolent means (but see for instance the Athenian re-colonisation of Melos after wiping out the earlier settlement). The term colony is derived from the Latin colonia, which indicated a place meant for agricultural activities; these Roman colonies and others like them were in fact usually either conquered so as to be inhabited by these workers, or else established as a cheap way of securing conquests made for other reasons. The name of the German city Cologne also derives from colonia. In the modern era, communities founded by colonists or settlers became known as settler colonies. The "age of imperialism" began in the 15th century with the initiation of the vast Portuguese Empire and also the Spanish Empire in the Americas and lasted until the mid-20th century with the dismantling of the British Empire. During these centuries European states, the United States and others took political control of much of the world's population and landmass. The term "colony" came to mean an overseas district with a majority indigenous population, administered by a distant colonial government. (Exceptions occurred: Russian colonies in Central Asia and Siberia, American settlements in the American West, and German colonies in Eastern Europe were not "overseas"; British colonies (or "overseas territories") like the Falkland Islands and Tristan da Cunha lacked a native population.) Most non-European countries were colonies of Europe at one time or another, or were handled in a quasi-colonial manner. The European colonies and former colonies in America made extensive use of slave labor, initially using the native population, then through the importation of slaves from black Africa. The Spanish colonial empire once encompassed all of South and Central America except for Brazil, with few exceptions; it crumbled starting in the early 19th century. After the Spanish and the Portuguese, the Dutch East India Company (VOC-1602) and later the Dutch West India Company (WIC) took over a lot of Portuguese possessions and expanded their large trade empire (See; Dutch colonial empire). In the 19th century, the largest European colonial empire was the British Empire under Queen Victoria, including India. France once held much of Western and Central Africa, along with Indochina. There existed various statuses and modes of operation for foreign countries, direct control by the colonizing country being the most obvious. Some colonies were operated through corporations (the British East India Company for India; the Congo Free State under the very brutal rule of Léopold II of Belgium); some were run as protectorates. Quasi-colonies were run through proxy or puppet governments, generally kingdoms or dictatorships. For instance, it may be argued that Cuba before the Revolution was a quasi-colony of the United States, with an enormous influence of US economic and political interests; see banana republic. The United Kingdom used Australia as a penal colony: British convicts would be sent to forced labor there, with the added benefit that the freed convicts would settle in the colony and thus augment the European population there. Similarly, France once deported prostitutes and various "undesirables" to populate its colonies in North America, and until the 20th century operated a penitenciary on Devil's Island in French Guiana. The independence of these colonies began with that of 13 colonies of Britain that formed the United States, finalised in 1783 with the conclusion of a war begun in 1776, and has continued until about the present time, with for example Algeria and East Timor being relinquished by European powers only in 1962 and 1975 respectively (although the latter was forcibly made an Indonesian possession instead of becoming fully independent). This process is called decolonization, though the use of a single term obscures an important distinction between the process of the settler population breaking its links with the mother country while maintaining local political supremacy and that of the indigenous population reasserting themselves (possibly through the expulsion of the settler population). The movement towards decolonization was not uniform, with more newer powers, sometimes themselves ex-colonies or once threatened by colonial power, trying to carve a colonial empire. The United States, itself a former colony, expanded westwards by waging brutal wars against the Native American population, including whole massacres of civilians, so as to make it possible for settlers to colonize the American West. It also colonized Hawaii, and waged various wars and conduct armed expeditions so as to assert power over local governments (in Japan, with Commodore Perry and in Cuba, for example). European countries and the United States, exploiting the weakness of China's waning imperial regime, also maintained so-called international concessions in that country, a sort of colonial enclave; the coastal towns of Macau and Hong Kong were held on long-term leases by Portugal and the United Kingdom. During the first half of the 20th century, until its defeat the Second World War, Japan, once afraid of becoming a European or American colony, built itself a colonial empire in China, Korea and the Western Pacific, using brutal military force. Under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, it is a war crime to transfer, directly or indirectly, the civilian population of a country power onto land under that country's military occupation. The reasoning for this crime is apparently to emphasise that it is now a violation of international law to annex territory through military force. This phrase describes many of acts of colonisation in the past, and arguably outlaws colonisation. See also: British Empire, Portuguese Empire, Spanish Empire, French colonial empire, Dutch colonial empire, Colonialism, Colonial mentality,Colonization, British Nationality Law, Slavery, Imperialism, New Imperialism, settler. Compare protectorate, Crown colony, dominion, Proprietary colony. The Latin name colonia also became the name of several towns, the most famous of which is Cologne.

Colonies in ancient civilizations (examples)

- Assyria was originally a colony of Babylonia
- Carthage was a Phoenician colony
- Cyrene was a colony of the Greeks of Thera
- Naples formed as a Greek colony See also Colonies in antiquity

Recent colonies (examples)

- West Papua has been a colonial possession of Indonesia since 1969.
- India was a Dominion in the British Empire until 1947. See also Crown colony.
- Rhodesia was formally a colony in the British Empire until 1980.
- Korea was a colony of Japan
- The Philippines were a colony of the United States until 1946 Today, none of the colonizing European and North American powers hold colonies in the traditional sense of the term. Some of their former colonies have been integrated as dependent areas or have closer integration with the country. Category:Colonialism zh-min-nan:Si̍t-bîn-tē ja:植民地

British Empire

The British Empire was the world's first global power and the largest empire in history. It was a product of the European Age of Discovery that began with the global maritime empires of Portugal and Spain in the late 15th century. By 1921 the British Empire held sway over a population of about 470–570 million people—roughly a quarter of the world's population—and covered about 14.3 million square miles (more than 37 million km²), almost a third of the world's total land area. Though it has since almost completely disappeared, there remains a strong influence across the world, such as in economic practice, legal and government systems, the spread of many traditionally British sports (such as cricket) and also the spread of the English language.

Background: The English and Scottish Empires

The Anglo-Norman Kingdom

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England and made asserted his right to be king, giving England its first overseas territory (Normandy). The new rulers had dual roles. First, as kings of England they were sovereign lords. Second, as dukes of Normandy, they were vassals of the kings of France. This led to centuries of conflicts which ended with their loss of French holdings in 1558. In the meantime, the annexation of Ireland began in 1172 and Wales was conquered in 1282.

Growth of the overseas empire

1282, site of England's first overseas colony.]] The overseas British Empire — in the sense of British oceanic exploration and settlement outside of Europe and the British Isles — was rooted in the pioneering maritime policies of King Henry VII, who reigned 1485–1509. Building on commercial links in the wool trade promoted during the reign of his predecessor King Richard III, Henry established the modern English merchant marine system, which greatly expanded English shipbuilding and seafaring. The merchant marine also supplied the basis for the mercantile institutions that would play such a crucial role in later British imperial ventures, such as the Massachusetts Bay Company and the British East India Company. Henry's financial reforms made the English Exchequer solvent, which helped to underwrite the development of the Merchant Marine. Henry also ordered construction of the first English dry dock, at Portsmouth, and made improvements to England's small navy. Additionally, Henry sponsored the voyages of the Italian mariner John Cabot in 1496 and 1497 that established England's first overseas colony - a fishing settlement - in Newfoundland, which Cabot claimed on behalf of Henry.

Henry VIII and the rise of the Royal Navy

The foundations of sea power, having been laid during Henry VII's reign, were gradually expanded to protect English trade and open up new routes. King Henry VIII founded the modern English navy (though the plans to do so were put into motion during his father's reign), more than tripling the number of warships and constructing the first large vessels with heavy, long-range guns. He initiated the Navy's formal, centralised administrative apparatus, built new docks, and constructed the network of beacons and lighthouses that greatly facilitated coastal navigation for English and foreign merchant sailors. Henry thus established the munitions-based Royal Navy that was able to repulse the Spanish Armada in 1588, and his innovations provided the seed for the imperial navy of later centuries.

The Elizabethan era

Elizabethan era.]] During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in the years 1577 to 1580, only the second to accomplish this feat after Ferdinand Magellan's expedition. In 1579, Drake landed somewhere in northern California and claimed for the Crown what he named Nova Albion ("New Albion", Albion being an ancient name for Britain), though the claim was not followed by settlement. Subsequent maps spell out Nova Albion to the north of all New Spain. Thereafter, England's interests outside Europe grew steadily, promoted by John Dee, who coined the phrase "British Empire". An expert in navigation, many of the early English explorers visited him before and after their expeditions. His conception was derived from Dante's book Monarchia. A Welshman himself, his use of the term British fitted with the Welsh origins of Elizabeth's Tudor family. Humphrey Gilbert followed on Cabot's original claim when he sailed to Newfoundland in 1583 and declared it an English colony on August 5 at St John's. Sir Walter Raleigh organised the first colony in Virginia in 1587 at Roanoke Island. Both Gilbert's Newfoundland settlement and the Roanoke colony were short-lived, however, and had to be abandoned due to food shortages, severe weather, shipwrecks, and hostile encounters with indigenous tribes on the American continent. The Elizabethan era built on the past century's imperial foundations by expanding Henry VIII's navy, promoting Atlantic exploration by English sailors, and further encouraging maritime trade especially with the Netherlands and the Hanseatic League. However, the Elizabethan navy suffered severe defeats against the Spanish fleets in the Anglo-Spanish War following the Spanish Armada campaign, which weakened the Royal Navy and allowed Spain to retain effective control of Atlantic sea lanes until the 1630s, when decisive victories by the Dutch made the Netherlands the dominant seafaring nation in the Atlantic.

The Stuart era

The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) helped to strengthen England's advance toward becoming a major naval power, but this naval advantage was lost in the attack upon Spain by the disastrous Drake-Norris Expedition of 1589, and subsequent naval and land defeats at the hands of Spain in the 1590s thwarted attempts to settle North America, and helped damage the English Exchequer. However it did give English sailors and shipbuilders vital experience. Finally in 1604, King James I of England negotiated the Treaty of London which ceased hostilities with Spain, and the first permanent English settlement followed in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. During the next three centuries, England extended its influence overseas and consolidated its political development at home. In 1707, the parliaments of England and Scotland were united in London as the parliament of Great Britain.

Scottish Empire

There were several pre-union attempts at creating a Scottish Overseas Empire, with various Scottish settlements in North and South America. The most famous of these was the disastrous Darién scheme which attempted to establish a settlement colony and trading post in Panama to foster trade between Scotland and the Far East. After union many Scots, especially in Canada and Australia, took up posts as doctors, lawyers and teachers. Progressions in Scotland itself during the Scottish enlightenment led to advancements throughout the empire. Scots settled across the Empire as it developed and built up their own communities such as Dunedin in New Zealand.

Colonisation

In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the island of Newfoundland as England's for Elizabeth I, reinforcing John Cabot's prior claim to the island in 1497, for Henry VII, as England's first overseas colony. Gilbert's shipwreck prevented ensuing settlement in Newfoundland, other than the seasonal cod fishermen who had frequented the island since 1497. However, the Jamestown colonists, led by Captain John Smith, overcame the severe privations of the winter in 1607 to found England's first permanent overseas settlement. The empire thus took shape during the early 17th century, with the English settlement of the eastern colonies of North America, which would later become the original United States as well as Canada's Atlantic provinces, and the colonisation of the smaller islands of the Caribbean such as Jamaica and Barbados. The sugar-producing colonies of the Caribbean, where slavery became the basis of the economy, were at first England's most important and lucrative colonies. The American colonies providing tobacco, cotton, and rice in the south and naval materiel and furs in the north were less financially successful, but had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted far larger numbers of English emigrants. materiel.]] England's American empire was slowly expanded by war and colonisation, England gaining control of New Amsterdam (later New York) via negotiations following the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The growing American colonies pressed ever westward in search of new agricultural lands. During the Seven Years War the British defeated the French at the Plains of Abraham and captured all of New France in 1760, giving Britain control over the greater part of North America. Later, settlement of Australia (starting with penal colonies from 1788) and New Zealand (under the crown from 1840) created a major zone of British migration. The entire Australian continent was claimed for Britain when Matthew Flinders proved New Holland and New South Wales to be a single land mass by completing a circumnavigation of it in 1803. The colonies later became self-governing colonies and became profitable exporters of wool and gold. See also British colonisation of the Americas, Colonial history of America

Free trade and "informal empire"

Main article: Pax Britannica. Pax Britannica The old British colonial system began to decline in the 18th century. During the long period of unbroken Whig dominance of domestic political life (1714–62), the Empire became less important and less well-regarded, until an ill-fated attempt (largely involving taxes, monopolies, and zoning) to reverse the resulting "salutary neglect" (or "benign neglect") provoked the American War of Independence (1775–83), depriving Britain of her most populous colonies. The period is sometimes referred to as the end of the "first British Empire", indicating the shift of British expansion from the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries to the "second British Empire" in Asia and later also Africa from the 18th century. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies showed that colonies were not necessarily particularly beneficial in economic terms, since Britain could still dominate trade with the ex-colonies without having to pay for their defence and administration. Mercantilism, the economic doctrine of competition between nations for a finite amount of wealth which had characterised the first period of colonial expansion, now gave way in Britain and elsewhere to the laissez-faire economic liberalism of Adam Smith and successors like Richard Cobden. The lesson of Britain's North American loss — that trade might continue to bring prosperity even in the absence of colonial rule — contributed to the extension in the 1840s and 1850s of self-governing colony status to white settler colonies in Canada and Australasia whose British or European inhabitants were seen as outposts of the "mother country". Ireland was treated differently because of its geographic proximity, and incorporated into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801; due largely to the impact of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against English rule. During this period, Britain also outlawed the slave trade (1807) and soon began enforcing this principle on other nations. By the mid-19th century Britain had largely eradicated the world slave trade. Slavery itself was abolished in the British colonies in 1834, though the phenomenon of indentured labour retained much of its oppressive character until 1920. The end of the old colonial and slave systems was accompanied by the adoption of free trade, culminating in the repeal of the Corn Laws and Navigation Acts in the 1840s. Free trade opened the British market to unfettered competition, stimulating reciprocal action by other countries during the middle quarters of the 19th century. 1840s and the beginning of the Pax Britannica.]] Some argue that the rise of free trade merely reflected Britain's economic position and was unconnected with any true philosophical conviction. Despite the earlier loss of 13 of Britain's North American colonies, the final defeat in Europe of Napoleonic France in 1815 left Britain the most successful international power. While the Industrial Revolution at home gave her an unrivalled economic leadership, the Royal Navy dominated the seas. The distraction of rival powers by European matters enabled Britain to pursue a phase of expansion of her economic and political influence through "informal empire" underpinned by free trade and strategic pre-eminence. Between the Congress of Vienna of 1815 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Britain was the world's sole industrialised power, with over 30% of the global industrial output in 1870. As the "workshop of the world", Britain could produce finished manufactures so efficiently and cheaply that they could undersell comparable locally produced goods in foreign markets. Given stable political conditions in particular overseas markets, Britain could prosper through free trade alone without having to resort to formal rule. The Americas in particular (especially in Argentina and the United States) were seen as being well under the informal British trade empire due to Britain's enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine keeping other European nations from establishing formal rule in the area.

British East India Company

Main article: British East India Company The British East India Company was probably the most successful chapter in the British Empire's history as it was responsible for the colonisation of the Indian subcontinent, which would become the British Empire's largest source of revenue, along with the conquest of Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon, Malaya (which was also one of the largest sources of revenue) and other surrounding Asian countries, and were thus responsible for establishing Britian's Asian empire, the most important component of the British Empire. The British East India Company originally began as a joint-stock company of traders and investors based in Leadenhall Street, East London, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I in 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. The Royal Charter effectively gave the newly created Honourable East India Company a monopoly on all trade with the East Indies. The Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to one which virtually ruled India as it acquired auxiliary governmental and military functions, along with a very large private army consisting of local Indian sepoys, who were loyal to their British commanders and were probably the most important factor in Britain's Asian conquest. The British East India Company eventually became the world's first multinational corporation and Britain's largest source of income until its collapse in 1857. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4718_133/ai_n8694155] The Company also had interests along the routes to India from Great Britain. As early as 1620, the company attempted to lay claim to the Table Mountain region in South Africa, later it occupied and ruled St Helena. The Company also established Hong Kong and Singapore; employed Captain Kidd to combat piracy; and cultivated the production of tea in India. Other notable events in the Company's history were that it held Napoleon captive on Saint Helena, and made the fortune of Elihu Yale. Its products were the basis of the Boston Tea Party in Colonial America. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe was instructed by James I to visit the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (who ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent at the time, along with parts of Afghanistan). The purpose of this mission was to arrange for a commercial treaty which would give the Company exclusive rights to reside and build factories in Surat and other areas. In return, the Company offered to provide to the emperor goods and rarities from the European market. This mission was highly successful and Jahangir sent a letter to the King through Sir Thomas. The British East India Company found itself completely dominant over the French, Dutch and Portuguese trading companies in the Indian subcontinent as a result. In 1634, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan extended his hospitality to the English traders to the region of Bengal, which had the world's largest textile industry at the time. In 1717, the Mughal Emperor at the time completely waived customs duties for the trade, giving the Company a decided commercial advantage in the Indian trade. With the Company's large revenues, it raised its own armed forces from the 1680s, mainly drawn from the indigenous local population, who were Indian sepoys under the command of British officers.

Expansion

sepoys established the Company as a military as well as a commercial power.]] The decline of the Mughal Empire, which had separated into many smaller states controlled by local rulers who were often in conflict with one another, allowed the Company to expand its territories, which began in 1757, when the Company came into conflict with the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah. Under the leadership of Robert Clive, the Company troops and their local allies defeated the Nawab on 23 June 1757 at the Battle of Plassey, mostly due to the treachery of the Nawab's former army chief Mir Jafar. This victory, which resulted in the conquest of Bengal, established the British East India Company as a military as well as a commercial power, and marked the beginning of British rule in India. The wealth gained from the Bengal treasury allowed the Company to significantly strengthen its military might and as a result, extend its territories, conquering most parts of India with the massive Indian army it has acquired. They fought many wars with local Indian rulers during their conquest of India, the most difficult probably being the four Anglo-Mysore Wars (between 1766 and 1799) against the South Indian Kingdom of Mysore ruled by Hyder Ali, and later his son Tipu Sultan. Mysore was only defeated in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War by the combined forces of Britain and of Mysore's neighbours, for which Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali are remembered in India as legendary rulers. There was a number of other states which the Company couldn't conquer through military might, mostly in the North, where the Company's presence was ever increasing amidst the internal conflict and dubious offers of protection against one another. Coercive action, threats and diplomacy aided the Company in preventing the local rulers from putting up a united struggle against it. By the 1850s, the Company ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent and as a result, the Company began to function more as a nation and less as a trading concern. They were also responsible for the illegal Opium trade with China against the Qing Emperor's will, which later led to the two Opium Wars (between 1834 and 1860). As a result of the Company's victory in the First Opium War, it established Hong Kong. The Company also had a number of wars with other surrounding Asian countries, the most difficult probably being the three Anglo-Afghan Wars (between 1839 and 1919) against Afghanistan, which were mostly unsuccessful.

Collapse

The Company's rule effectively came to an end 100 years after its conquest since 1757, when the 1857 Indian Mutiny took place, known to many Indians as the First War of Independence, which saw many of the Company's Indian sepoys begin an armed uprising against their British commanders, after a period of political unrest triggered by a number of political events. One of the major factors was the Company's introduction of the Lee-Enfield rifle, where its cartridges, which were covered by greased cow fat and pig fat, were supposed to be cut by the teeth before the cartridges were loaded into the rifles. Cow fat was forbidden for the Hindu soldiers, while pig fat was forbidden for the Muslim soldiers, so they had to either "bite the bullet" or resist their commanders. Another factor was the execution of the Indian sepoy Mangal Pandey who was hanged for attacking and injuring his British superiors, possibly out of insult for the introduction of the Lee Enfield rifle or a number of other reasons. These factors combined with a number of other reasons resulted in the Mutiny, which eventually brought about the end of the British East India Company's regime in India, and instead led to 90 years of direct rule of the Indian subcontinent by Britain, after the British East India Company was dissolved. The period of direct British rule in India is known as the British Raj, when the regions of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would collectively be known as British India. The former British East India Company headquarters in Leadenhall Street, East London was taken over by Lloyds Bank in 1873. Leadenhall Street is now resided by a large Bengali community, around where the former headquarters were.

Breakdown of Pax Britannica

As the first country to industrialise, Britain had been able to draw on most of the accessible world for raw materials and markets. But this situation gradually deteriorated during the 19th century as other powers began to industrialise and sought to use the state to guarantee their markets and sources of supply. By the 1870s, British manufactures in the staple industries of the Industrial Revolution were beginning to experience real competition abroad. Industrialisation progressed rapidly in Germany and the United States, allowing them to take over the "old" British and French capitalisms as world leader in some areas. The German textile and metal industries, for example, had by 1870, surpassed those of Britain in organisation and technical efficiency and usurped British manufactures in the domestic market. By the turn of the century, the German metals and engineering industries would even be producing for the free trade market of the former "workshop of the world". While invisible exports (banking, insurance and shipping services) kept Britain "out of the red," her share of world trade fell from a quarter in 1880 to a sixth in 1913. Britain was losing out not only in the markets of newly industrialising countries, but also against third-party competition in less-developed countries. Britain was even losing her former overwhelming dominance in trade with India, China, Latin America, or the coasts of Africa. Britain's commercial difficulties deepened with the onset of the "Long Depression" of 1873–96, a prolonged period of price deflation punctuated by severe business downturns which added to pressure on governments to promote home industry, leading to the widespread abandonment of free trade among Europe's powers (in Germany from 1879 and in France from 1881). The resulting limitation of both domestic markets and export opportunities led government and business leaders in Europe and later the US to see the solution in sheltered overseas markets united to the home country behind imperial tariff barriers: new overseas subjects would provide export markets free of foreign competition, while supplying cheap raw materials. Although she continued to adhere to free trade until 1932, Britain joined the renewed scramble for formal empire rather than allow areas under her influence to be seized by rivals.

Britain and the New Imperialism

Main article: New Imperialism. New Imperialism.]] The policy and ideology of European colonial expansion between the 1870s and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 are often characterised as the "New Imperialism". The period is distinguished by an unprecedented pursuit of what has been termed "empire for empire's sake", aggressive competition for overseas territorial acquisitions and the emergence in colonising countries of doctrines of racial superiority which denied the fitness of subjugated peoples for self-government. During this period, Europe's powers added nearly 8,880,000 sq mi (23,000,000 km²) to their overseas colonial possessions. As it was mostly unoccupied by the Western powers as late as the 1880s, Africa became the primary target of the "new" imperialist expansion, although conquest took place also in other areas — notably south-east Asia and the East Asian seaboard, where the United States and Japan joined the European powers' scramble for territory. Britain's entry into the new imperial age is often dated to 1875, when the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli bought the indebted Egyptian ruler Ismail's shareholding in the Suez Canal to secure control of this strategic waterway, a channel for shipping between Britain and India since its opening six years earlier under Emperor Napoleon III. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British occupation in 1882. Fear of Russia's centuries-old southward expansion was a further factor in British policy: in 1878 Britain took control of Cyprus as a base for action against a Russian attack on the Ottoman Empire, after having taken part in the Crimean War 1854–56 and invading Afghanistan to forestall an increase in Russian influence there. Britain waged three bloody and unsuccessful wars in Afghanistan, as ferocious popular rebellions, invocations of jihad and inscrutable terrain frustrated British objectives. The First Anglo-Afghan War led to one of the most disastrous defeats of the Victorian military when an entire British army was wiped out by Russian-supplied Afghan Pashtun tribesmen during the 1842 retreat from Kabul. The Second Anglo-Afghan War led to the British debacle at Maiwand in 1880, the siege of Kabul and British withdrawal into India. The Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 stoked a tribal uprising against the exhausted British military on the heels of World War I and expelled the British permanently from the new Afghan state. The "Great Game" in Inner Asia ended with a bloody and wholly unnecessary British expedition against Tibet in 1903–04. At the same time, some powerful industrial lobbies and government leaders in Britain, later exemplified by Joseph Chamberlain, came to view formal empire as necessary to arrest Britain's relative decline in world markets. During the 1890s Britain adopted the new policy wholeheartedly, quickly emerging as the front-runner in the scramble for tropical African territories. Britain's adoption of the New Imperialism may be seen as a quest for captive markets or fields for investment of surplus capital, or as a primarily strategic or pre-emptive attempt to protect existing trade links and to prevent the absorption of overseas markets into the increasingly closed imperial trading blocs of rival powers. The failure in the 1900s of Chamberlain's Tariff Reform campaign for Imperial protection illustrates the strength of free trade feeling even in the face of loss of international market share. Historians have argued that Britain's adoption of the "New imperialism" was an effect of her relative decline in the world, rather than of strength. The evolution of colonialism in India should dissuade people from sweeping generalisations and over-simplifications regarding the roles of inter-capitalist competition and accumulated surplus in precipitating the era of the New Imperialism. Formal empire in India, beginning with the Government of India Act of 1858, was a means of consolidation, reacting to the abortive Indian Mutiny, which was in itself a conservative reaction among Indian traditionalists to British policy in the subcontinent.

Britain and the Scramble for Africa

Main article: Scramble for Africa. Scramble for Africa In 1875 the two most important European holdings in Africa were Algeria and the Cape Colony. By 1914 only Ethiopia and the republic of Liberia remained outside formal European control. The transition from an "informal empire" of control through economic dominance to direct control took the form of a "scramble" for territory by the nations of Europe. Britain tried not to play a part in this early scramble, being more of a trading empire rather then a colonial empire; however, it soon became clear it had to gain its own African empire to maintain the balance of power. As French, Belgian and Portuguese activity in the lower Congo River region threatened to undermine orderly penetration of tropical Africa, the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 sought to regulate the competition between the powers by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims, a formulation which necessitated routine recourse to armed force against indigenous states and peoples. Britain's 1882 military occupation of Egypt (itself triggered by concern over the Suez Canal) contributed to a preoccupation over securing control of the Nile valley, leading to the conquest of the neighbouring Sudan in 1896–98 and confrontation with a French military expedition at Fashoda (September 1898). In 1899 Britain completed her takeover of what is today South Africa. This had begun with the annexation of the Cape in 1795 and continued with the conquest of the Boer Republics in the late 19th century, following the Boer Wars. Cecil Rhodes was the pioneer of British expansion north into Africa with his privately owned British South Africa Company. Rhodes expanded into the land north of South Africa and established Rhodesia. Rhodes' dream of a railway connecting Cape Town to Alexandria passing through a British Africa covering the continent is what led to his company's pressure on the government for further expansion into Africa. British gains in southern and East Africa prompted Rhodes and Alfred Milner, Britain's High Commissioner in South Africa, to urge a "Cape-to-Cairo" empire linking by rail the strategically important Canal to the mineral-rich South, though German occupation of Tanganyika prevented its realisation until the end of World War I. In 1903, the All Red Line telegraph system communicated with the major parts of the Empire. Paradoxically Britain, the staunch advocate of free trade, emerged in 1914 with not only the largest overseas empire thanks to her long-standing presence in India, but also the greatest gains in the "scramble for Africa", reflecting her advantageous position at its inception. Between 1885 and 1914 Britain took nearly 30% of Africa's population under her control, compared to 15 per cent for France, 9 per cent for Germany, 7 per cent for Belgium and 1 per cent for Italy: Nigeria alone contributed 15 million subjects, more than in the whole of French West Africa or the entire German colonial empire.

Home Rule in white-settler colonies

Britain's empire had already begun its transformation into the modern Commonwealth with the extension of Dominion status to the already self-governing colonies of Canada (1867), Australia (1901), New Zealand (1907), Newfoundland (1907), and the newly-created Union of South Africa (1910). Leaders of the new states joined with British statesmen in periodic Colonial (from 1907, Imperial) Conferences, the first of which was held in London in 1887. The foreign relations of the Dominions were still conducted through the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom: Canada created a Department of External Affairs in 1909, but diplomatic relations with other governments continued to be channelled through the Governors-General, Dominion High Commissioners in London (first appointed by Canada in 1880 and by Australia in 1910) and British legations abroad. Britain's declaration of war in World War I applied to all the Dominions. But the Dominions did enjoy a substantial freedom in their adoption of foreign policy where this did not explicitly conflict with British interests: Canada's Liberal government negotiated a bilateral free-trade Reciprocity Agreement with the United States in 1911, but went down to defeat by the Conservative opposition. In defence, the Dominions' original treatment as part of a single Empire military and naval structure proved unsustainable as Britain faced new commitments in Europe and the challenge of an emerging German High Seas Fleet after 1900. In 1909 it was decided that the Dominions should have their own navies, reversing an 1887 agreement that the then Australasian colonies should contribute to the Royal Navy in return for the permanent stationing of a squadron in the region.

The impact of the First World War

Royal Navy The aftermath of World War I saw the last major extension of British rule, with Britain gaining control through League of Nations Mandates in Palestine and Iraq (British League of Nations Trust Territory of Iraq) after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, as well as in the former German colonies of Tanganyika, South-West Africa (now Namibia) and New Guinea (the last two actually under South African and Australian rule respectively). The British zones of occupation in the German Rhineland after World War I and West Germany after World War II were not considered part of the Empire. But although Britain emerged among the war's victors, and her rule expanded into new areas, the heavy costs of the war undermined her capacity to maintain the vast empire. The British had suffered millions of casualties and liquidated assets at an alarming rate, which led to debt accumulation, upending of capital markets and manpower deficiencies in the staffing of far-flung imperial posts in Asia and the African colonies. Nationalist sentiment grew in both old and new Imperial territories, fuelled by pride at Empire troops' participation in the war and the grievance felt by many non-white ex-servicemen at the racial discrimination they had encountered during their service to the Empire. The 1920s saw a rapid transformation of Dominion status. Although the Dominions had had no formal voice in declaring war in 1914, each was included separately among the signatories of the 1919 peace Treaty of Versailles, which had been negotiated by a British-led united Empire delegation. In 1922 Dominion reluctance to support British military action against Turkey influenced Britain's decision to seek a compromise settlement. Full Dominion independence was formalised in the 1926 Balfour Declaration and the 1931 Statute of Westminster: each Dominion was henceforth to be equal in status to Britain herself, free of British legislative interference and autonomous in international relations. The Dominions section created within the Colonial Office in 1907 was upgraded in 1925 to a separate Dominions Office and given its own Secretary of State in 1930. Canada led the way, becoming the first Dominion to conclude an international treaty entirely independently (1923) and obtaining the appointment (1928) of a British High Commissioner in Ottawa, thereby separating the administrative and diplomatic functions of the Governor-General and ending the latter's anomalous role as the representative of the head of state and of the British Government. Canada's first permanent diplomatic mission to a foreign country opened in Washington, DC in 1927: Australia followed in 1940. Egypt, formally independent from 1922 but bound to Britain by treaty until 1936 (and under partial occupation until 1956) similarly severed all constitutional links with Britain. Iraq, which became a British Protectorate in 1922, also gained complete independence ten years later in 1932. The last colonial expansion of the British Empire was the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme, begun in 1938 and abandoned in 1963. The last territorial expansion of the British Empire was the annexation of Rockall to the west of the Outer Hebrides in 1955. The Royal Navy landed a party of seamen on the isle and officially claimed the rock in the name of the Queen. The action was prompted by the imminent intention of the Ministry of Defence to test launch a nuclear missile from the Outer Hebrides. It was feared that the heretofore unclaimed island might be used by the Soviet Union as a site for surveillance equipment. In 1972 the Isle of Rockall Act formally incorporated the island into the United Kingdom, although this was not accepted by Ireland.

The end of British rule in Ireland

Ireland.]] In 1919 Irish guerrillas, known as the Irish Republican Army under the leadership of General Michael Collins began a military campaign against British rule called the Anglo-Irish War. The war ended in 1921 with a stalemate that resulted in the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The treaty divided Ireland into two states, most of the island (26 counties) became the Irish Free State an independent dominion nation within the British Commonwealth; while the six counties in the north with a largely loyalist, Protestant community remained a part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. In 1948 Ireland became a republic, fully independent from the United Kingdom. Ireland's Constitution claimed the six counties of Northern Ireland as a part of the Republic of Ireland until 1998. The issue over whether Northern Ireland should remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland has divided Northern Ireland's people and led to a long and bloody conflict known as the Troubles. However the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 brought about a ceasefire between most of the major organisations on both sides, creating hope for a peaceful resolution.

Decolonisation and Decline

1998 ]] The rise of anti-colonial nationalist movements in the subject territories and the changing economic situation of the world in the first half of the 20th century challenged an imperial power now increasingly preoccupied with issues nearer home. The Empire's end began with the onset of the Second World War, when a deal was reached between the British government and the Indian independence movement, whereby the Indians would co-operate and remain loyal during the war, after which they would be granted independence. Following India's lead, nearly all of Britain's other colonies would become independent over the next two decades. The end of Empire gathered pace after Britain's efforts during World War II left the country all but exhausted and found its former allies disinclined to support the colonial status quo. Economic crisis in 1947 made many realise that the Labour government of Clement Attlee should abandon Britain's attempt to remain a first-rank power. Britain's declaration of hostilities against Germany in September 1939 did not commit the Dominions. All the Dominions except Australia and Ireland issued their own declarations of war. The Irish Free State had negotiated the removal of the Royal Navy from the Treaty Ports the year before, and chose to remain legally neutral throughout the war. Australia went to war under the British declaration. World War II fatally undermined Britain's already weakened commercial and financial leadership and h

Proprietary colony

A proprietary colony is a colony in which the king gave land to one or more people called proprietors. The type was most common during the early colonization of the Americas by Great Britain. Most are run under a charter agreement which is reviewed by the ruling royalty. An example is the Province of Pennsylvania, which was run by William Penn, granted to him by King Charles II of England. This type of ruling structure eventually fell out of favor as the English monarchs sought to concentrate their power and authority, and the colonies were converted to crown colonies. Crown colonies were governed by someone appointed by the king.

List of Proprietary Colonies

- Virginia Colony
- Province of Georgia
- Province of North Carolina
- Province of South Carolina
- Province of Pennsylvania
- Province of Maryland
- Province of New York
- Province of New Jersey
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
- Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Rupert's Land

Connecticut

Connecticut (pronounced ) is a state of the United States, part of the New England region, as well as the southernmost state in New England and the wealthiest state in the country. Connecticut was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. USS Connecticut was named in honor of this state.

History

Main article: History of Connecticut The name "Connecticut" comes from an Algonquin Indian word meaning "on the long tidal river." Connecticut is one of the original 13 states. The first Europeans to settle permanently in Connecticut were English Puritans from Massachusetts in 1633. Its first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," was adopted on January 14, 1639, while its current constitution, the third for Connecticut, was adopted in 1965. The traditional abbreviation of the state's name is "Conn." Connecticut is nicknamed the "nutmeg state," and a resident of Connecticut is a "Nutmegger." The western boundaries of Connecticut have been subject to dramatic changes over time. According to a 1650 agreement with the Dutch, the western boundary of Connecticut ran north from the west side of Greenwich Bay "provided the said line come not within 10 miles of Hudson River." On the other hand, Connecticut's original Charter in 1662 granted it all the land to the "South Sea," i.e. the Pacific Ocean. Agreements with New York, the "Pennamite Wars" with Pennsylvania over Westmoreland County, followed by Congressional intervention, and the relinquishment and sale of the Western Reserve lands brought the state to its present boundaries.

Law & Government

Hartford has been the sole capital of Connecticut since 1875. Prior to that, New Haven and Hartford alternated as capital. Unlike most other states, Connecticut does not have county governments or county seats; rather, there is only the state government and the governments of the local municipalities. The associated state marshal system, however, is still divided by county, the judicial system being divided, at the trial court level, into judicial districts, and, within those, geographical areas, and the eight counties are still widely used for purely geographical purposes, e.g. in weather reports. There are 169 incorporated cities and towns across the state. Most cities are coterminous with their namesake towns and have a merged city-town government. The two exception are the City of Groton, which is a subsection of the Town of Groton and the City of Milford, which is most, but not all, of the Town of Milford. There are also nine incorporated boroughs, eight of which provide additional services to a section of town. One, Naugatuck, is a consolidated town and borough. The two U.S. senators representing Connecticut are Christopher J. Dodd (Democrat) and Joseph I. Lieberman (Democrat). Connecticut currently has five representatives in the U.S. House. Once considered one of the most conservative states in the Northeast, the state now tends to vote Democratic for presidential and congressional elections. Connecticut has given its electoral votes to Democratic presidential candidates in the past four presidential elections. In 2004 election, John Kerry had a comfortable margin of 10 percentage points with 54.3% of Connecticut's popular vote. George W. Bush had only won Litchfield County at a small margin. Connecticut Republicans tend to be more liberal than their counterparts in many other states. The majority of Republican senators voted in favor of the civil unions bill, which passed the General Assembly, and was signed into law in 2005. Christopher Shays, a Republican representing Connecticut in the U.S. House of Representatives, has sided with the Democrats on a range of issues including gun control, abortion, and the environment. Governor Jodi Rell and former governors John Rowland and Lowell Weicker have all been considered more liberal than most Republicans. Conversely, some state Democrats tend to be conservative or moderate, Senators Joe Lieberman and Christopher Dodd being the most notable cases. The supreme executive power is vested in the Governor, who heads the executive branch. The current Governor of Connecticut is Her Excellency, M. Jodi Rell (Republican). There are several executive departments responsible for administering the laws of Connecticut, they are: Administrative Services, Agriculture, Children and Families, Correction, Education, Environmental Protection, Higher Education, Information Technology, Insurance, Labor, Military, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, Public Utility, Revenue Services, Social Services, Transportation, Veterans Affairs. In addition to these departments, there are many other independent bureaus, offices and commissions [http://www.ct.gov/ctportal/cwp/view.asp?a=843&q=246450]. Historically, from 1639 until the adoption of the 1818 constitution, the Governor presided over the General Assembly. The legislature, referred to as the General Assembly, is a bicameral body consisting of an upper body, the Senate (36 senators); and a lower body, the House of Representatives (151 representatives). Before a bill can be signed into law, it must be passed by a vote of at least two thirds of each house. The Governor can veto the bill, but this veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in each house. Senators and Representatives, all of whom must be at least eighteen years of age, are elected to two-year terms in November on even-numbered years. The Lieutenant Governor presides over the senate, except when absent from the chamber, when the President Pro Tempore presides. The Speaker of the House presides over the House; James A. Amann is the current Speaker of the House of Connecticut. The Democrats currently hold the majority in both houses of the General Assembly. The highest court of Connecticut's judicial branch is the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of Connecticut. The Supreme Court is responsible for deciding on the constitutionality of the law or cases as they relate to the law. Its proceedings are similar to that of the United States Supreme Court, i.e., no testimony can be given by witnesses, and the lawyers of the two sides each present an oral argument no longer than thirty minutes. Following a court proceeding, the court may take several months to arrive at a judgment. The current Chief Justice is William J. Sullivan. Historically, the highest court in Connecticut was the General Assembly, and later, the Upper House, with the Governor having the title "Chief Judge". In 1818, the court became a separate entity, independent of the legislative and executive branches. Below the Supreme Court, are the Appellate Court, the Superior Courts, and the Probate Courts.

Politics

Republicans are the minority in the state legislature, but oddly enough they currently hold three of the five congressional seats. Connecicut's last Republican to serve in the US Senate was Lowell P. Weicker Jr, who was a Senator from 1971-1989 when he was defeated by Joe Lieberman. Weickler ws known as a liberal Republican, who served as Governor of Connecticut from 1991-1995 as a member of the indepedent A Connecticut Party. Weickler later supported Howard Dean in 2004 Presidential Election. Before Weickler, the last Republican to represent Connceticut in the Senate was Prescott Bush from 1953-1963. Bush is the father of former president George H.W. Bush and thus the grandfather of President George W. Bush. The state's main Republican strongholds are Litchfield County and parts of Fairfield County near the New York State border. The suburban towns of New Canaan and Darien in Fairfield County are considered the most Republican areas in the state, the former being the hometown of conservative activist Ann Coulter. Democrats are the majority almost everywhere else, especially in the cities of Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport. The once Republican strongholds of Stamford and Waterbury have been trending more Democratic over the years, increasing their mandate in the state. President George W. Bush was actually born in New Haven, Connecticut and lived there for a short time before moving to Texas. See also : U.S. presidential election, 2004, in Connecticut

Geography

Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York State, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital is Hartford, and the other major cities include New Haven, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Waterbury, Torrington and Bridgeport. In all, there are a total of 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. There is an ongoing civic pride and economic competition between Hartford and New Haven, which stems back to the days when the two cities shared the state's capital, and even back to when New Haven and Hartford were two separate colonies. incorporated town incorporated town The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state. Once the location of a stone tower, currently a stone plaque alongside the Appalachian Trail identifies the point as as "the highest ground in Connecticut, 2354 feet above the sea"; however, this is wrong on both counts. The current estimate of the height of the summit is only 2,316 feet; and although it is the highest peak in Connecticut, it is not actually the highest point in the state. That distinction belongs to an anonymous location a mile to the northwest and a quarter-mile east of the point where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet (42° 3' N; 73° 29' W), on the southern slope of 2,453 foot high Mount Frissell whose peak lies 740 feet north in Massachusetts. Only a green metal stake set into a rock ledge marks this, the 2,372 foot (723 meters) high top of Connecticut. According to [http://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=7083 Peakbagger.com,] this makes Connecticut the only state whose highest point is not also its highest peak. The Connecticut River cuts through the center of the state, flowing into Long Island Sound, Connecticut's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. See: List of Connecticut rivers List of Connecticut rivers The state, although small, has regional variations in its landscape and culture from the wealthy estates of Fairfield County's "Gold Coast" to the rolling mountains and farms of the Litchfield Hills and the casinos of Southeastern Connecticut. Connecticut's rural areas and small towns in the northeast and northwest corners of the state contrast sharply with its industrial cities, located along the coastal highways from the New York border to New Haven, then northwards to Hartford, as well as further up the coast near New London. Many towns center around a small park, known as a "green," e.g. New Haven Green. Near the green may stand a small white church, a town meeting hall, a tavern and several colonial houses. Forests, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and a sandy shore add to the state's beauty. The northern boundary of the state with Massachusetts is marked by the distinctive Southwick Jog, an approximately 2.5 mile square detour into Connecticut slightly west of the center of the border. Somewhat surprisingly, the actual origin of this anomaly is not absolutely certain, with stories ranging from surveyors who were drunk, attempting to avoid hostile Native Americans, or taking a shortcut up the Connecticut River; Massachusetts residents attempting to avoid Massachusetts' (even then) high taxes for the (even then) low taxes of Connecticut; Massachusetts' interest in the resources represented by the Congamond Lakes which lie on the border of the jog; and the need to compensate Massachusetts for an amount of land given to Connecticut due to inaccurate survey work.[http://www.southwickma.org/Public_Documents/F000102F9/S00476B50-00476B5B.0/The%20Southwick%20Jog.pdf] [http://www.cslib.org/jog.htm] [http://strsd.southwick.ma.us/woodland/teachers/bwhalley/childshistory/jog.htm] Perhaps the only suggested reason which can be safely ruled out is that the jog is necessary to prevent Massachusetts from sliding out into the Atlantic Ocean. In any event, the dispute over the border retarded the development of the region, since neither state would invest in even such basic amenities as schools for the area until the dispute had been settled. The southwestern border of Connecticut, where it abuts New York State, is marked by a panhandle in Fairfield County, containing Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien, housing some of the wealthiest residents in the world. This irregularity in the boundary is the result of territorial disputes in the late 1600s, culminating with New York giving up its claim to this area, whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut, in exchange for an equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield, Connecticut to the Massachusetts border as well as undisputed claim to Rye, New York.[http://www.cslib.org/panhandle.htm] See also: Geology of Connecticut

Regions of Connecticut

Geology of Connecticut The state of Connecticut can be said to be sub-divided into eight general regions which generally correspond with the eight counties of the state, though there are differences in the boundaries. Each region boasts varied qualities which distinguish it within the state, and at times there are minor cultural frictions between the regions and their major cultural centers as each competes for tourists, new residents, and internal state pride. Fairfield County's "Gold Coast" and towns west of Waterbury and New Haven, for example, are often derided by residents of the rest of the state as being more similar to New York than to New England, and many of the residents go for years or even decades without ever traveling to other regions of the state, considering themselves more attached to New York City and its suburbs in eastern New York State. The eight regions of Connecticut are:
- Gold Coast
- Litchfield Hills
- Naugatuck River Valley
- Greater New Haven
- Greater Hartford
- Lower Connecticut River Valley
- The Quiet Corner
- Southeastern Connecticut

Transportation

Transportation in Connecticut is predominantly via highway. Bradley International Airport (BDL) is located in the central part of the state (15 miles North of Hartford). Another large airport mostly used by corporate executives is the Oxford Airport in western Connecticut. The airport is located 15 miles east of Danbury and 12 miles south of Waterbury. There is railway service along the coastline from New York City to Boston, including commuter rail service between New Haven and New York and a new commuter service along the river north of New Haven, with spur service running northwards to cities such as Hartford. (In an episode of the American television show Miracles, the protagonist took a train from Boston directly to Hartford, causing Connecticut residents to joke that that would really have been a miracle.) Bus service is supplied by Connecticut Transit, owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. In practice, most Connecticut residents find public transportation not fully adequate for all their needs and either own a private vehicle or have access to one. The glaciers carved valleys in Connecticut running north to south; as a result, many more roadways in the state run north to south than do east to west, mimicking the previous use of the many north-south rivers as transportation. The Interstate highways in the state are I-95 (the Connecticut Turnpike) running southwest to northeast along the coast, I-84 running southwest to northeast in the center of the state, I-91 running north to south in the center of the state, and I-395 running north to south near the eastern border of the state. The other major interstate traffic arteries in Connecticut are the Merritt Parkway and Wilbur Cross Parkway, which together form Connecticut State Route 15, running from the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York State parallel to I-95 before turning north of New Haven and running parallel to I-91, finally becoming a surface road in Berlin, Connecticut. This road and I-95 were originally toll roads; they relied on a system of toll plazas at which all traffic would stop and pay an incremental fare, rather than the alternative system of providing drivers a ticket where they entered the highway and charging them when they exited. A series of terrible crashes at these plazas eventually led to abandonment of the whole toll system in 1988. Other major arteries in the state include [http://www.nycroads.com/roads/CT-8/ State Routes 8 and 25] and U.S. Highway 7. I-95 from south of New Haven to the New York border is one of the most congested highways in the United States due to increasing population density, increasing business in the New York area, and a general increase in American driving, and the congestion spills over to clog the parallel Merritt Parkway. At rush hours, multiple backups tens of miles long are common, and the daily radio broadcasts of where crashes have completely blocked traffic are a fact of life for commuters in this area. As a result, commuter rail is also heavily crowded, along with parking facilities and traffic at the stations. Funds to relieve the situation, either by enhancing commuter rail, increasing highway capacity, or both, are lacking, and the problem is noted as one hindering further economic development for the state. See [http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/index.html] for a very complete and in-depth discussion of Connecticut roadways, current, past, and future.

Economy

The total gross state product for 2004 was $187 billion. The per capita income for 2004 was $55,398, ranking 1^st among the states [http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/statelocal.htm]. There is, however, a great disparity in incomes through the state; although New Canaan has the highest per capita income in America, Hartford, is one of the ten cities with the lowest per capita incomes in America. This is due to Fairfield County having become a bedroom community for higher paid New York City workers seeking a less urban lifestyle, as well as the spread of businesses outwards from New York City having reached into southwestern Connecticut, most notably to Stamford. The state did not have an income tax until 1991, making it an attractive haven for high earners fleeing the heavy taxes of New York State, but putting an enormous burden on Connecticut property tax payers, particularly in the cities with their more extensive municipal services. As a result, the middle class largely fled the urban areas for the suburbs, taking stores and other tax-paying businesses with them, and leaving only the urban poor in the now impoverished Connecticut cities. As evident from the dichotomy in income figures described above, this problem has yet to be successfully solved. Exacerbating this problem, the state has a very high cost of living, due to a combination of expensive real estate, expensive heating for the winters, the need to import much food from warmer states, and the dependence on private automobiles for mobility. While Connecticut is home to four poor cities (Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury), the state in general is extremely wealthy. Surrounding these four cities are some of the wealthiest areas on the globe, and many visitors of the state note the lack of middle class. This is due to the exodus of the middle class, as homes in the suburbs start around $450,000, and the further south in the state, the more expensive. In southern Connecticut, a three bedroom home on 1/4 acre will run about $1 million. Connecticut has the highest amount of million-dollar plus homes than any other state in the country. Connecticut is an important center of the insurance and financial industries, largely in Hartford and in Fairfield county. The recent establishment of two very large and lucrative Indian casinos in the southeastern region of the state has led to a large influx of money in that area, as well as statewide in general. The agricultural output for the state is nursery stock, eggs, dairy products, cattle, and tobacco. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment (especially helicopters, aircraft parts, and nuclear submarines), heavy industrial machinery and electrical equipment, fabricated metal products, chemical and pharmaceutical products, and scientific instruments.

History of Connecticut industry

Connecticut began, as most communities at the time, as a farming economy. It rapidly developed trade and manufacturing as the farmers, and then the merchants and manufacturers themselves, became affluent enough to start buying things. Manufacturing was aided by a plenitude of resources, including water power, wood for fires and building material, and iron ore, while transportation benefited from several excellent natural harbors, and navigable rivers leading all the way to Massachusetts. As in most of New England, the residents believed that industry, in all senses of the word, not only strengthened individual moral fiber, but also served to make the colony independent and free to pursue its own religious and philosophical beliefs. While manual labor was valued, learning and study was also prized and many schools were founded, with Yale the most significant. The development by Eli Whitney of the system of precision manufacturing of interchangeable parts and the assembly line in the late 1700s, however made Connecticut into a major center of manufacturing. This development changed "made in the United States" from a phrase connoting shoddy workmanship and expensive maintenance, into a world standard for high quality, and the entire system became known as the American system of manufacturing. Between 1800 and 1860, Connecticut manufacturers applied the system to the manufacture of economically priced high quality firearms, leading to Connecticut's nickname "the arsenal of democracy." Middletown, Connecticut was the major supplier of pistols to the United States government during the War of 1812, with numerous gun manufacturers in the area. In 1810, Oliver Bidwell built the first pistol factory in the United States on the Pameacha River in Middletown, winning a contract with the United States war department for handmade pistols. Also in 1810, Colonel Simeon North built a pistol factory in Middletown on the West River, now the Coginchaug River, also winning a contract from the secretary of war, which led to enlarging his factory to 8,500 square feet (790 m²); he built about 10,000 pistols a year, up until just before the Civil War, designing America's first milling machine. Even more successful was Colonel Nathan Starr Jr., whose factory (built of stone quarried from the river) was about the same size as North's, and located across the river half a mile northeast. Starr initially manufactured swords, about 5,000 a year; including presentation swords for the state of Tennessee and War of 1812 heroes, colonel Richard M. Johnson, General Edmond P. Gaines, and General Andrew Jackson. The factory later manufactured muskets and rifles until 1845, after which the United States government started government armories in Massachusetts and West Virginia partially modeled after Starr's. In 1812, John R. Johnson and J. D. Johnson built a factory, also on the Pameacha River, which was to sell rifles to the government until 1825. After this period, firearm manufacturing declined in Middletown, but briefly revived during the Civil War. The Savage Revolving Fire Arm Company manufactured pistols between 1859 and 1866, and the Sage Ammunition Works manufactured ammunition between 1864 and 1867. In 1836, Samuel Colt invented the revolver design which continues to be used to this day. Colt's Manufacturing Company hired Elisha K. Root to modernize production, making Colt weapons the first in the world with truly interchangeable parts. Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson designed the first repeating rifle in Norwich in the early 1850s, which went into production by the New Haven Arms Company (which later became the Winchester Repeating Arms Company), and, just across the border in Massachusetts, the Springfield Armory. Smith also patented a metallic rifle cartridge in 1854. Christian Sharps designed the Sharps breech-loading rifle which in 1854 began to be manufactured in Hartford by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. Christopher Spencer designed the Spencer repeating rifle which played an important role for Union troops at the Battle of Gettysburg. Another area where precision manufacture led to industrial dominance for Connecticut was in the manufacture of clocks, watches, and other