In contrast to the latter’s long tradition of expansionism and territorialism, the Dutch Republic came into existence in the late 16th century, a loose federation of provinces that had escaped from Spanish domination. What drove the Dutch into overseas ventures was not the prospect of expanding their land holdings and claiming sovereignty in other lands, but the promise of lucrative trade that would allow the Dutch to hold onto their precarious autonomy. With England, trade with the natives was less important than the establishment of territorial claims. This required the subjugation of the natives which was justified by the superior civil-inferior savage belief. In comparison, Dutch economic policy did not require the large-scale conquest of territory; in fact, it may have mollified their claims to superiority so long as a commercial relationship was being…
1. “Why was the French empire ultimately so much less successful than either the Spanish or the British empires?”…
The Spaniards, when they arrived and had heard of the nearby gold, they began to go to extremes to be able to get to and find the gold, even if that meant killing off the natives. Not to mention, they began going to extremes (including killing) to have their empire, the glory, that they wanted so badly to have. “The story of the Spanish warriors…is also a story of remarkable brutality and greed. The conquistadores subjugated and, in some areas (through a combination of warfare and disease), almost exterminate the native populations. In this horrible way, they made possible the creation of a vast Spanish empire in the New World.” (17). The English were motivated to go to the New World in order to find a new life and to have the freedom to practice whichever religion they please. “In addition to these economic motives for colonization, there were also religious ones, rooted in the events of European and English Reformations.” (27). They were also going in hopes of finding gold. “Perhaps most important, colonial commerce would allow England to acquire products from its own new territories for which the nation had previously been dependent on foreign rivals-products such as lumber, naval stares, and, above all, silver and gold.” (27). As for the French, one of the main reasons they went to the Americas was to do missionary work. “French Jesuit missionaries were among the first to penetrate…
The English and Spanish strategies at colonization in the late 1600’s were very different, resulting in very different outcomes. The English methods of displacement and extermination of the native populations led to wholesale destruction of the cultures targeted. On the other hand, the Spanish attempted to peacefully associate with the local populations. This lead to the creation of a hybrid culture of Spanish and Indian peoples. The birth of this new culture demonstrated the success the Spaniards had in the waning days of the century (Otermin, 2007).…
The Spanish, French, Dutch, and English are the European countries that settled in the Americas by colonizing the area. The Spanish colonized the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas, some parts of the South America and Southwest of North America, the French colonized Canada, the Dutch colonized New Netherland, and the English colonized Virginia and Plymouth among the others.…
Within fifty years of Christopher Columbus discovering the New World, the Spanish empire had gained almost complete control of Central America and the majority of South America. Furthermore, the Spanish controlled large portions of southern Europe, including much of Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands. The success of the Spanish empire began its gradual decline in the seventeenth century. Many factors contributed to the ultimate demise of the Spanish empire, but the main cause of the fall of the empire was Spain’s poor economic decisions. The Spanish government delegitimized their currency, overextended their empire, and created an army that they could not financially maintain all within the seventeenth century. Additionally, they continued to get involved in…
In the early history of the 1600's, North America had been discovered and establishment of the New World had begun. Although Spain and England both focused on the colonization and exploration of the Americas, their ambitions and goals were very different. The most important reasons for English colonization were religious freedom, to seek refuge, and new economic opportunities. The Spanish, on the other hand, exploited the New World in search of gold and silver, greed navigated their search. Although both the English and the Spanish experienced mild success, the English tactics for daily survival were much more organized and peaceful.…
Thinking back to Ferdinand and Isabella’s choice to colonize the New World, I believe they made the right decision. Even though I now know the terrible consequences that their decision inflicted on the native people, my position remains that colonization was worth the cost. Columbus’ letter described the New World; Hispana like it was a place for the gods. Perhaps, in the eyes of Europeans it was a paradise. Europe was suffering from a lack of resources, polluted rivers, and overpopulated landscapes, which led to a major crisis.…
_Myths of the Spanish Conquest_ is broken into seven chapters, each dedicated to a different myth or mis-conception regarding the Spanish conquest. In debunking these myths, Matthew Restall works with three themes regarding the conquest. First, that the European discovery of the Americas was one of the greatest events in human history. Second, that the conquest was the achievement of "a few great men," which he subsequently describes as "a handful of adventurers." These two themes lead to a third theme, or question. "If history's greatest event - the European discovery and conquest of the Americas - was achieved by a mere "handful of adventurers," how did they do it?"…
Different motives throughout the time of exploration leading to the New World affected Spanish attitudes against natives by not only focusing on gold, glory, and God, but by strength and power as well. The age of exploration to the new world was dominated by the Spanish conquistadors. Their success in new discoveries brought great power and strength to Spain. In most circumstances, a country would do anything to become successful in the economy and government. With that being said, Spain every intention based on becoming powerful, which left no thought toward the people living in the New World.…
The colonies that Britain and Spain founded were shaped by the Old World ways. To survive the colonies had to master new situations and learn new techniques. The colonies also had raw resources that the Old World lacked. Though different, the colonies had one purpose, to make their countries rich. All the colonies were different but their goals remained the same.…
1. Three arguments’ that Juan Gines de Sepulveda used to justify enslaving the Native Americans were for gold, ore deposits, and for God’s sake and man’s faith in him. 2. Three arguments that Bartolome de las Casas gave in attacking Spanish clonial policies in the New World were the Indians eating human flesh, worshiping false gods, and also, he believed that the Indians were cowardly and timid. 3. For comparisons that Sepulveda used, in lines 1-7, to express the inferiority of the Indians was their prudence, skill virtues, and humanity were inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or even apes to men. Comparisons he used to dismiss the significance of the Indians “Ingenuity for various works of artisanship” were the animals, birds, and spiders that could make things humans could not replicate. In either situation, there was no appropriateness. 4. Las Casas may have weekened his case by requiring that the Spanish must restore what had been taken unjustly from the Indians because the Spanish ultimately modernized them and if they were given back what had been taken, they would again become ‘retro’. If the Indians had been given back their bow and arrows, then they would have no use for them because they have guns. 5. The bias that Las Casas expressed in the last paragraph in his book was that Muslims are savages.…
History is the study of past events. It tells us about what happened in the past and why it happened, as well as an outlook on human affairs. People usually study history to learn about past events and to build upon them. These events could be either negative or positive and play a significant role in peoples’ lives. Colonization of North America played an important role in shaping lives of indigenous people. The colonizers were Euro-Americans such as, Britain, France, Spain and Portugal. The history of colonization of North America is rich with events that played out upon the indigenous lives and political landscape; the Euro-Americans did not like the indigenous people and did not want them around. Thus, Euro-Americans used different methods…
A notable aspect of history during the 15th century was the emergence of two of the greatest European empires: Spain and Portugal. Their curiosity for what lay beyond the vast seas of the Atlantic is responsible for the world in which we live today. As these empires embarked on their journey overseas, their accidental discovery of the New World yielded many profitable resources. European colonization of the American began with the Spanish landing in the islands of the Caribbean and the Portuguese landing on the coast of Brazil. Upon setting foot in the new world, the Spanish and Portuguese empires displayed similarities and differences in goals of colonization, colonial policies toward the Native Americans, and economic gains.…
Religious and cultural difference were part of the landscape of America as European settlers trickled in. The Colonization projects of all the European settlers, though similar, also varied in different aspects. When looking at the French and Spanish settlers we can compare and contrast motivation for exploration, roles of religion, and trade during the development. All of these things shaped the path for the land we live in today. Specifically I will address, Spain’s desire for power/money vs. France’s need to expand their fur economy, Spain’s surge for Catholic conversion vs. France’s hope for mutual benefits, and France’s fur trade focus vs. Spain’s Indian dependent natural resource trade industry.…