Foreign diplomacy is the main policy the British used to convince other European nations. In the 18th Century British was the most influential nation in Europe. The trade relationship they had in Europe played a significant role in the creation of colonies. The aims of colonization included creating a larger market for commodities, source of cheap raw materials, get cheap and affordable labor through slaves and increase territory of authority. The acquisition of colonies created self sufficiency in England because there was a more labor market for surplus, plenty labor and raw materials. The three meant prosperity in business for the British. The excess products after trading would be traded for raw materials and slaves in the British colonies, mostly in Africa. These benefits lead to cheaper production of commodities thus increasing the savings of the British government.
Around the same time, the British government pursued the policy of mercantilism. This policy established that in order to be successful in international trade a nation had to have a favorable balance of trade. A favorable balance of trade refers to a situation whereby the exports exceed the imports. To ensure a comparative advantage, the British put in place restrictions in the carriage act stating that only British ships were to carry cargo between ports and certain commodities would not be shipped to foreign countries except through Scotland. These navy laws strengthened the British authority in the seas. As a result, barring other nations from competing with her. The British economy depended on other nations for raw materials and markets, for it to be sufficient. According to Brinkley (1993), France's main aim was to take control of Northern America while the Britain was not ready to let go this rich source of ready raw materials. This created tension between the two which resulted in some form of conflict, they later shared the colony with Spain and Russia.
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Colonization brought significant changes in the geographical regions and unsettled land ownership. Formation of new boundaries had an impact on the original geographical outlook of the colonies. Indians who were natives of America held the belief of the caste system. The lower class did not have an option but to give away their land while the top and some middle class people retained title to their lands. The colonial government took the fertile lands and gave them to white settlers and took the natives to reserves. The rich land owners had to hire the poor ones in their lands for good incentives in a bid to maintain their status. However, for them to get the opportunity to sell their produce, they had to negotiate with the colonial masters. Before the settlers came into America, the custom was that after the death of a land owner, the first son had been privileged to inherit the land. This changed as the rich gave the middle class and high class Indians temporary land ownership. After the death of a land owner, the piece of land would be repossessed by the colonial government and allocated to the settlers. This altered the class status of the native Indians altogether as they were as they were all taken to reserves. One no longer had the option to sell a piece of land as this was illegal; to sell land one had to sell the whole of it. Southern America, which later formed part of the original British colony, had the natives grow tobacco, rice and indigo in plantations. The middle colony produced wheat in large qualities. The wheat benefited the flour making industries in Britain.
The Spaniards were part of the first people to explore America while looking for a fresh route to India. Others including Portuguese discovered America; this lead to massive movement of immigrants into the country. They soon began to replace the natives with African slaves. The cheap and highly reliable labor led to the prosperity of Spain. Thereafter, the British came in and formed a permanent settlement hoping to get as much production as the Spanish. The desire to prosper like those who had visited America earlier led to the colonization of America by the Scotts around 1500.
The main determinants of British colonial policy from 1660 to 1763 were agriculture and lands. This policy insisted that colonization was aiming at acquiring better markets for products and looking for new sources of labor. The main trade activity at the time was dependent on agriculture thus the need to create policies that touch on the two.
In conclusion, the British government benefited the most from colonization. They were able to access cheap labor and raw materials both which led to massive prosperity. The colonization of America increased their competitive advantage over their competitors as it was a good source of readymade raw materials.