Four Countries and a Continent

Between the 15th and 17th century four European powers made colonies in North America.  Spain, France, the Dutch Republic and England.  The goals of these colonies were different but related or in some cases the same.  The goals of the Spanish were to spread Catholicism and to make money off the natural resources. The second was France.  France had two main goals which were the same as the Spanish to spread Catholicism and to make money off the natural resources.  The third was the Dutch, who had one goal which was to (economic gain) make money from the natural resources.  England was the last of the four, but their impact on the new world was the biggest.  Their goals were to make money from farming and to escape religious persecution back in Europe.  It should be noted that each colony had different resources that they specialized in.  All colonies had their differences with the natives and exploited them.  Most if not all the colonies were “proto-capitalist systems.”

SPAIN

Spain was the first main country to explore the new land.  The Spanish (Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand) during the last phases of the Reconquista which was the attempt to remove Islam from the European Continent, sought their eyes on a new project.  They began searching for someone to find an alternative trade route to Southeast Asia.  They found their man by the name of Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506).  He was an Italian sea captain and was proposed and funded by the Spanish throne to find an alternative trade route.  His maiden voyage was in October of 1492.  Spain’s main objective was to develop the land from the new world so goods could be produced and taken back to Europe to be sold.  Natives were put to work for this new project.  Eventually due to disease and revolts like Bacons Rebellion, the project started to use African slaves instead of natives.  Rape and beatings were common.  The end result being the near extinction of the native population.  The population went from 40 million to 3 million.  Demographic change began to take place, culturally and ethnically.  The main ones were the Peninculares, Criollies and the Mestizos.  Catholic missions became labor camps and forced conversion to the Catholic faith was very common.

FRANCE           

France was the second European nation to come to the new world and establish colonies.  They had two main goals, to spread Catholicism and for economic gain.  Primarily by setting up trade routes with the native people.  In 1530, Jacques Cardiel explored the Saint Lawrence river.  He made way to claim lands in the new world that would become Canada. Although it should be noted that the natives were dependent on the French Colonies.  They introduced diseases which killed off most native tribes.

DUTCH REPUBLIC       

The third country to establish colonies were the Dutch Republic.  In 1581 the Dutch gained independence from Spain.  The Dutch attempted to take routes through the east coast of North America to make fur trapping settlements.  The Dutch had one main goal to make money.  Henty Hutssien was tasked with this.  He made new Netherland which became New Amsterdam, which later became New York when ruled by the English.  The Dutch built a good relationship with the native Americans.  The Natives became reliant on the Dutch and when the trade turned sour it led to many wars.  There were two main government funded companies at work here.  The East India Company and the west India company.  The east and west India company controlled most trade for the Netherlands.  Much like modern corporations, the east India company was established in 1609 and the west India company in 1621.  They both were main traders and responsible for the economic growth of modern-day New York.    It was dissolved in 1800 after almost 190 years of business.   Becoming a main leader among the colonies due to its strong navy.  They had one colonial goal which was to make money.  The Dutch attempted to take routes on the east coast of North America making cities like New Amsterdam (New York) which became a main area of trade and commerce.

ENGLAND        

The last European country to make colonies in the new world was England.  England had two main colonial goals, the first to make money and the second was to escape religious persecution.  Early attempts go back as early as 1509.  Although these were unsuccessful.  They were attempting to make a colony called New Finland off the coast of Quebec where it was too cold to survive the end result.

             Being the extension of the colony but then in 1559 sir Walter Raleigh established a colony in South Carolina.  But when word had gotten out about the colony and people returned there was no trace of the colony.  After many failed attempts they gained success making Jamestown located in present day Virginia.  Jamestown was the molded creation of the Virginia company of London.  They attempted to find gold, to develop new crops and establish a heathy trading system with the local natives which was unsuccessful.  They had many difficulties with the native tribes. John Rolfe successfully created tobacco near Jamestown.  Colonies began to prosper.  They latter created the house of Burgises becoming a democratic form of local government.  They quickly became a dominate power in North America.

CONCLUSION

There were four main countries who explored the new world.  They all had common goals which was to spread Catholicism and to expand their economies. The only country with a different goal was England which had the goal of escaping religious persecution in Europe.  England was the most successful reaching its goals coming to the new world, and they had the longest, most influential legacy on the United States.