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Introduction
The colonization of the American by the Europeans clearly describes the settlement history and the establishment of full control of the American continents by most of the naval powers of Western Europe. Western colonialism is a political-economic phenomenon whereby most European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. Following the events of the European discoveries of a sea route around Africa’s southern coast and of America, sea power shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and the emerging nation of Spain, France, and England. By discovery, conquest, and settlement, these nations expanded, extended, and colonized throughout the world, spreading their institutions and culture. The royal charter established English colonies. The earliest settlements of most English colonies were in Virginia and Massachusetts. However, they later spread all along the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Georgia, and into the continent’s interior as far as the Mississippi River. First French colonies were trading posts in Newfoundland. Others followed in the wake of exploration of the St. Lawrence valley, parts of Canada, and the Mississippi River Settlements.
In 1492 when a Spanish expedition which was headed by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sailed towards the west to look for a new trade route to the Far East, is when Systematic European colonization began but inadvertently landed in what came to be known to Europeans as the New World. On a North American continent controlled by American Indians, contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa created a new world. The Spaniards started building their empire of the Americas in the Caribbean, using islands like Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola as their bases. In the 15th century, Spain built a colonial empire in the Americas consisting of New Spain and other vice-royalties. The North and South American mainland fell in the hands of conquistadors, precipitating a large number of deaths of indigenous populations primarily due to the spread of Afro-Eurasian diseases. Colonization of the Americas by the British began with the unsuccessful attempts to settle in Roanoke and Newfoundland. The English eventually managed to control much of North Eastern America, the Caribbean, and some parts of South America. The British also gained Florida and Quebec in the French and Indian War. Other powers like France also founded colonies in the Americas, in eastern North America, several Caribbean islands, and small coastal parts of South America. Eventually, most of the Western Hemisphere came under the control of Western European governments, and this leads to changes in its landscape, population, plant, and animal life.
The history of colonization of the western hemisphere centers on the struggle of England, France, and Spain to take control of the continent. Settlers crossed the Atlantic for different reasons, and their governments took different approaches to their colonizing efforts. These differences impacted the New World’s fate, both positively and negatively. France and Spain were governed by autocratic sovereigns whose rule was absolute. Their colonists went to America as servants of the Crown.
On the other hand, the English colonists enjoyed far more freedom, and they were able to govern themselves as long as they followed English law and were loyal to the king. In addition to that, unlike France and Spain, England encouraged immigration from other nations, and these boosted its colonial population (John Chester Miller 1966). By 1763 the English defeated France and Spain in the French and Indian War and established dominance in North America. However, those regions that had been colonized by the French or Spanish would retain national characteristics that always linger.
However, there are some differences in the Economy, Government, and population sources that lead to the difference in the governance of the colonized nations. On the economy, the English colonies had diverse economic activities, which included fishing, farming, and trading. Exports included rice, fish, tobacco, and timber. The primary source of revenue was tobacco in Virginia and North Carolina colonies. In the French colonies, fur trade proved to be more lucrative, although the French government encouraged farming. Plantations established in the Mississippi valley failed promptly. Spanish colonies practiced a trading economy and some farming in the West. The Spanish board of trade controlled commerce, with regulations being enforced by the Spanish military. In governance, distance from England and a frugal Parliament allowed the English colonists to set up local governments and representative assemblies and to tax themselves, as long as they did not take up arms against the Crown. French Colonies were entirely subjected to the French king. There were no political rights or representative government, and public meetings could not be held without permission. Crown-appointed viceroys or governors governed Spanish Colonies. Settlers had to obey the king’s laws and could not make their own. On population sources, some middle-class farmers, artisans, and tradesmen were recruited in English Colonists. Indentured servants, specialists in specific areas such as sawmill workers, lumbermen, and convicted criminals were also brought over (John Chester Miller 1966). Immigrants from other countries were also welcomed. French colonies, who were initially fur traders, merchants, and missionaries, allowed neither Protestants nor peasant farmers to emigrate. In 1665 some 1100 French soldiers arrived and were given land. In Spanish Colonies, Conquistadores, soldiers, and missionaries were the primary Spanish colonizers, farmers, and traders who came later.
However, Spain, England, and French governments had some similarities in how they treated their colonies. The English, Spanish, and French colonialist believed in Christianity. They all believed in freedom from sin, but they did not encourage freedom of religion. They worshiped the Catholic religion (Elliott 2007). Their primary missionary mission was to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. The colonies’ interest was to control the new World and impose their authority. They thought the colonies lacked authority and imposed their systems of government. The Native Americans were considered necessary by the colonies. They introduced new goods to the colonies. The primary function of the colonial government systems was to curb aggression, establish a local governance system, and top-down royal governance.
Conclusion
The economic models of the colonizing nations affected the reversed levels of development in most of the non-European nations. Spain tended to colonize the most extensively precolonial regions that were populous and highly developed. The English colonies colonized regions that were sparsely populated and underdeveloped. The colonies reversed the fortunes of different regions in different ways. The Spanish attracted the France colonies and the English colonies in the Europeans.
Works Cited
La catastrophe démographique. The Demographic Catastrophe in L’Histoiren°322, July–August 2007, p. 17
John Chester Miller. (1966). The First Frontier: Life in Colonial America. University Press of America. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-8191-4977-0.
Elliott, John Huxtable. Empires of the Atlantic world: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830. Yale University Press, 2007.