 Between 1700 and 1775, the overwhelming majority of settlers in the colonies (around 75%) were Britons of varying ethnic backgrounds such as English, Welsh, Scottish and Scots-Irish, with initial settlements focused on the colonial hearths of Virginia, New England and Bermuda, under Elizabeth I of England, James VI and I and Charles I of England.Populations of Huguenots, Dutch, Swedes, and Germans arrived before 1776 mostly as fellow royal subjects, but the majority were from Great Britain and Northern Ireland (having been influenced by republicanism during the Commonwealth of England and the Protectorate).Until the late 20th century, Old Stock Americans dominated American culture and politics.