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Spanish colonization of Latin America
Spanish colonization of Latin America
Spanish and New England colonization
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Making a profit was the main reason for colonizing the Americas. During this time Spain, England, and France did set up colonies in different regions of the new country. They all had different reason for being there, but they shared many similarities too. The Spanish took control of South and Central America, with their first settlement being St. Augustine. The can looking for gold, silver and other wealth, they also brought soldier to protect cargo and force the Native people to work for them. At the same time they also have priests trying to convert them to Catholicism. Then there were the French who set up in Canada and instead of looking for gold they were in the fur trade. Like the Spanish, the French also tried to convert the Native Americans.
After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the powerful Old World scrambled to colonize it. The three major nations involved in this were Spain, France, and England. Spain took more to the south in the Central American and Mexico areas while France went north in the Canada region. The English came to America and settled in both the New England and Chesapeake area. Although the people in these regions originated from the same area, the regions as a whole evolved into different societies because of the settlers’ purpose for coming to America and the obstacles faced in both nature and with the natives.
Their main goal was to come to the New World and spread Christianity, and they were determined to do so. Document 1 explains that from the minute they arrived in the Americas, the Europeans were instilling their religion into the Native people through friendship and gifts. Not to mention, Document 6 states, “missions were built to help spread Christianity.” It also says, “missions and settlements helped spread European languages.” By looking at Latin America today we can see how much the Spanish and Portuguese have helped mold what it is today.
The discovery of the Americas lead to many explorations of the New World. Spain, New England and Portugal all began their individual goals. Starting in the early 1500s France started to send ships to the New world. The early French colonies were heavily concentrated in the northern region of North America such as modern day Quebec and Maine. Unlike the Spanish colonies, French colonies were created mainly to extend trade and get revenue for France. French colonies were not self governing and ruled by the king unlike the self governing colonies English settlements.
In the 17th century, Europeans were eager to colonize in the newly discovered world. Europe was willing to invest time, resources and money into expanding their power. Powerful nations such as Spain, France and Britain settled there by this time and subtly encouraged Europe to do the same. Europe sent people overseas to two sections, The Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Chesapeake Colony. At the beginning, every aspect influenced their colonies success such as social, political, economic, and geographic.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europeans began their colonization and settling into America. France and Spain both began exploring the New World to find gold and to spread Catholicism. What differed between them were their priorities in colonization. During the 16th century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther posted the Ninety Five Theses, accusing the Church of corruption. Because of that, he ended up dividing the Catholic Church, which led to the rise of Protestant Churches in Europe. Spain, as a representative of Orthodox Catholicism, wanted to spread Catholicism further. They then established colonies in America, to convert the Indians to Catholicism and to stop Protestantism. France had entered the New World in search
There were various reasons why the American Colonies were established. The three most important themes of English colonization of America were religion, economics, and government. The most important reasons for colonization were to seek refuge, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. To a lesser degree, the colonists sought to establish a stable and progressive government.
Spain wanted to expand. Expanding Spanish territory had many positive aspects. They got natural resources. The Americas had lots of fresh water, vegetation, and wildlife spread out all over the continent, making it a desired home for any civilization. This also makes it a way to spread out the population. One recurring problem for all Europeans is overpopulation. By gaining all of this new land, they could settle it and bring Spaniards over to create more room in Spain. They also get fame. By consistently claiming new land all over the world, Spain and all of Europe has made themselves a strong, sturdy reputation overseas. Their power to conquer the natives gives them an advantage above all local tribes in the area, and other places (as far as we know) aren’t as advanced...except for Portugal. They also want to get gold. Money and wealth have always been a huge part of Spanish life. Money is equal to happiness in their eyes. Which is why all of this new found riches keep the Spanish coming back to the Americas to collect more. Ponce De Leon also had some goals for his explorations. He wanted to get rich. Finding new land for Spain gave him a profitable amount of wealth which is the main reason people set out to become explorers. He also wants fame. He wants to be in the books, known by all, admired even. By achieving this he also gets power. As you will read later, Ponce De Leon becomes the governor of
After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, European Nations competed in a race against one another to claim pieces of the new land. Before Columbus found this land, the sea separating the New World from Europe seemed endless, and mundane. The Europeans were only interested in the land to the East. But with the New World as a new hat thrown into the ring, the Europeans tossed aside their old toy to go play with a new one. This time period of conquest over the New World was known as the Age of Exploration, and by the 1700s, they kept their pickings. A New World meant more land to build homes and plant crops, and more money to be earned by buying out new houses and selling new crops grown in foreign soil. Spain claimed Mexico, and the Southwest portions of what would be known as America. France got their hands on most of present-day Canada, as well as Louisiana. The Dutch set foot on land they called New Amsterdam, however, The English, who had settled their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, drove the Dutch out and claimed New Amsterdam for themselves, later renaming it New York. The English claimed more land as time passed, and eventually they had formed 13 different colonies in the Eastern part of America. The English Colonies were separated into 3 different regions. The New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire), the Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware), and the Southern Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia). The New England Colonies were the earliest of the 3 regions, founded by English Settlers seeking religious freedom. The Middle Colonies were also founded by settlers seeking religious freedom. The Southern Colonies,...
The Spaniards arrived at the Americas prior to the English. The Spanish mainly wanted to explore in the first place because after the Black Death, the population increased, and thus, so did the frequency of commerce. There was a sudden new interest in new products and the new strong monarchs who sponsored the journeys wanted to be more affluent. Therefore, explorers such as Christopher Columbus attempted to go west to target Asia. However, he ended up on Cuba and called the natives Indians. The Spanish soon started to consider the Americas less of a blockage and could now see it as a source of resources. In 1518, Cortes arrived into Mexico with his group of conquistadors, or conquerors, which is a proper name because the men after gold exterminated native areas using their military skills, brutality and greed to turn the Southern America into a vast Spanish empire. The smallpox the Spanish unknowingly carried also helped wipe many people out. When they saw the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs that produced many skulls, they thought of these people as savages and not entirely human. This of coarse was quite hypocritical because the Spanish have killed before during the Inquisition for their faith. It was this contempt that made them think it was all right to slaughter the natives. Spanish colonies were established when conquistadors had gotten a license to finance the expedition from the crown to fixture encomiendas. These encomiendas were basically Indian villages that became a source of labor. The Spanish dreamed of becoming wealthier from South America, but they also wanted a profitable agricultural economy and to spread their Catholic religion (the Pueblo Indians converted to Christianity), which became very important in the 1540s.
3. The French and Spanish colonies were both established for different reasons. The French colonies were established as trading posts. Most of the population of the French colonies were merchants, fur traders, and missionaries. Later French colonies followed in the path of trading posts as well. The Spanish colonies were established because of the conquests Spain underwent. They would go out and claim and take over land on their conquests, and that would expand their empire. Most of the southwest and southern regions were claimed by Spain. Spain's population was mostly missionaries, conquistadors, and soldiers.
Colonization in Latin America had a major effect on the Americas because the Aztecs died of the disease that the Europeans brought over though the Columbian Exchange. Since the Aztecs could not do much about the diseases that were spreading a lot of them began to die. The evidence from the pictures show that the Columbian Exchange took place during the 16th century. (doc 1). A lot of the Aztecs got sick and died. People could not do much about the diseases because they did not know what kind of disease it was. The Aztecs were also not immune to any of the disease that were spreading. Those are some reasons why the colonization in Latin America had a major effect on the Natives.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans began to make contact and colonize the Americas. Both American and European settlements were majorly affected by the Colombian Exchange through this time period. The hardships that were brought upon by the European colonists to the Native Americans had, in my opinion, more of a positive affect than a negative one. Colonization lead to trade between Europe and America, the mixing of cultures and people, and changes to the government and civilizations in America. The blending of civilizations lead to many technological and agricultural advances.
Economic concerns of the British caused the colonization of British North America. Such economic concerns included the opportunity to acquire gold, silver, a North American waterway that would lead directly to China and the Indies, and the prospect of countering Spain's dominance in North America (Boorstin et al. 34). In addition to these economic reasons for colonization, the English were also seeking to obtain the essential "raw materials" in America that they had been previously buying from other European countries for exorbitant amounts of money and gold (Boorstin et al. 34). Great Britain also sought to solve other economic problems through American colonization. For example, England needed to replenish some of its diminishing materials and assets, generate another "market" to export its cargo and merchandise, maintain its powerful navy and "merchant marine" through business with new American colonies, and to provide a new place for the unemployed to settle rather than escalating populace/crime and the economic burden in its own cities (Boorstin et al. 34).
France was not the only European nations that had the idea to expand and gain wealth. Many European nations had the objective to be the most superior, dominant and powerful country of all. They were going to master the objective through a process known as colonization. The idea of Colonization became the key to open the lock to become a powerful nation. As stated in Colonialism: a Primary Source Analysis, “colonialism comes from the word colony. A colony is usually a group of peo...
One of the most important events in the history of the last half millennium is the European "discovery" of the Americas. The traditional story of the contact explains the Europeans' eventual success by crediting the superior technology and military prowess of the Europeans. If the traditional story mentions luck at all, it is in explaining the Europeans' good fortune at finding such a sparsely populated "pristine" continent. While it is true that European ship technology was more sophisticated than that of the native peoples of the Americas, European conquering and exploration of the Americas was as much the result of three non-technological factors as of the sophistication of European ship technology. The first was Europe's relative backwardness in comparison to the Middle and Far East, the second was macro-evolutionary factors such as geography and relative lack of natural resources, and the third was plain dumb luck.