Features of Cultural Self-Determination of the Population of New England and the British West Indies in 1620‒1689

The article analyzes the process of evolution, as well as the specific features of cultural and ethnic self-determination of the inhabitants of New England and the British West Indies in the 17th century, the reasons for the success of the process of “ideological integration” in New England (due to which the perception of their own community as part of English civilization remained in the official documentation and daily practice of the colo-nists of this region) and the lack of self-identification the population of a colony with a metropolis in the British West Indies. The analysis of this example of the formation of self-awareness of residents of colonial territories with similar initial socio-cultural attitudes due to their common ethnic origin and the almost simultaneous be-ginning of colonization of the New World allows us to identify some universal patterns of the genesis of cultural and ethnic identity of social communities. The article concludes with the conclusions of the conducted research in the context of these patterns.