Similarities Between French And English Colonies

One might think that all of the British colonies in the new world were all the same. This is not the case though. The colonies, although they were all British they had some similarities but mainly they had differences. The Southern, New England and Middle colonies clearly show theses similarities and differences, particularly in terms of land, labor, religion, and native relations.

The imperial goals of the British, French, and Spanish in North America between 1580 and 1763 were similar in that all three European states sought to capture the wealth and commerce offered by the New World and in that they all used imperialism as a means of increasing the authority, territory, and influence of their state; however, the British, French, and Spanish imperialistic goals differed in that Britain's religious goals were those regarding asylum, while the French and Spanish sought to gain converts; moreover, the relationships the British, French, and Spanish wanted to form with the natives differed drastically. These goals continued to be a main focus of the British, French, and Spanish imperial efforts from 1580 to 1763. All three European powers sought to capture the wealth and commerce of the New World--namely, they sought to take advantage of the abundance of raw materials and the market for trade offered by North America--which caused economic and political tensions between the three states; therefore, the goal of capturing the wealth offered by the New World was the most significant goal and forged the relationships and tensions between the British, French, and Spanish in both North America and Europe.

The three colonies all had comparable similarities, as they were all democratic. But they ran their democratic government differently. For instance the New England Colonies was a Theocracy, which meant that the church controlled the government. The Middle Colonies had their church and government separate. The Southern Colonies were the most inequitable as they were an Oligarchy. This meant

Have you ever wondered where why the many different countries in Europe came to America to explore and colonize? There were two main concepts that drew the Europeans to America: the excitement and profit of the "New World", and the past histories of their countries. The English, French, and Spanish each came to the Americas in search of a new beginning; a fresh start in which they could escape past torment and capture new wealth. However, each motive defined the character of each settlement.

The Spanish, French, and English all established major settlements in North America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In each colony, settlement revolved around different types of trade: plantations and mining in New Spain, the fur trade in New France, and tobacco and the family farm in British North America. There were many similarities among these countries’ approaches to settling, but also enormous differences.

During the European age of expansion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, various European nations were colonizing the newly discovered Americas. Spain and France would become prominent players in the Western Hemisphere, both conquering and colonizing new territories. However, each country had different methods of developing their colonies in the New World. Spanish and French settlements contrasted greatly with one another in terms of economic development and Native American relations.

3. What important differences were there between Spanish, English, and French patterns of colonization? Spain was ahead in the conquest for territory while Britain and France were having a war that prevented investment in expansion overseas. Spain for a long time was in the front because of its technological advances, but after the two other European powers recovered from their internal crises,France and England fought up to conquer much of the territory that was once of Spain.

In the 17th century England and Spain were both in a race to settle the New World. After Christopher Columbus had reached this New World Spain almost immediately sent people over to explore and colonize. After the Treaty of Tordesillas secured their land, Spain’s empire quickly expanded across The Americas. England had a bit of a late start when it came to colonization. Even though their first few attempts such as Jamestown, and Roanoke were not very successful England kept at it. Eventually, England and Spain became the two most powerful nations in the Americas. Even though both nations had the same goal, their political, religious, and economic development were very different.

The three colonial empires of Portugal, Spain, and England were the most dominate in the fight for land in the Americas. While the motivations for these three colonial empires were similar and all of the Native Americans and/or Africans saw the Spanish Portuguese and English as one brutally similar people, economic differences between the three of them would ensure that their colonies would develop in dramatically unique ways.

European nations vigorously began to take over the newly discovered Americas throughout most of the 16th century leading into the 17th century. England was very forceful in pushing out multiple groups of people to the eastern coast of what is now known as North America. At that time there were only two prominent regions in North America, they were known then as the New England and the Chesapeake colonies. These two colonies would eventually band together to stand as one nation, but that was toward the end of the 17th century. The beginning tells a completely different story, both colonies had very different beliefs on what the exact reason may have been for the settlers to come to the New World. They lived very different lives because of this. A lot of these differences affected them politically in who they followed, socially in who they spoke with, and economically in who they would do business with.

The history of North America centers around the struggle of England, France, and Spain to gain control of the continent. Settlers and their governments used different approaches on their efforts to colonization. These differences lead to advantages and disadvantages that resulted in the New World’s fate. France and Spain were governed by sovereigns whose rule was absolute. The English colonists were able to govern themselves and had plenty of freedom as long as they followed English law and were loyal to the king. England strengthened immigration from other nations, unlike France and Spain. By 1763, the English have defeated France and Spain in the French and Indian War establishing dominance over North America.

The British Parliament took a hands-off approach in the maintenance of its colonies; it allowed colonists set up whichever governments and policies they felt were most beneficial to them. The Spanish monarchy, in contrast, maintained rigid control over its colonies by appointing their governors and creating their laws without allowing colonists to have a voice in their policies. The approaches of their respective governments caused vast differences in the economies of the British and Spanish colonies. British colonies relied on a variety of activities for survival, including farming and trading; the governments and the locations of each colony determined how it could best support itself. The economic activity of Spanish colonies was, again, much more rigid. Spanish colonies had a near-universal trading economy, and trade was strictly controlled by the Spanish monarchy and enforced by its military.

The economy of the two regions also greatly differed because of the terrain that they landed on. Because the land in the south was much more fertile than in the north, the southern colonies thrived in rice and tobacco, profiting greatly. In New England the settlers could not grow anything in the rocky terrain and were forced into fishing, building, and farming. However, not much farming went on because of the infertile soil. In the Chesapeake slaves were also a main part of their economy. The slave trade made them very wealthy because of their closeness to the West Indies. They would be shipped many slaves and then use them to harvest their crops and plant their land. Soon, the slaves outnumbered white settlers by about four to one.

The thirteen colonies each governed themselves differently, with positives and negatives attributes to each form. The three different types of government in colonial America were royal, proprietary, and self-governing. The English colonies drove to create new forms of government that worked best for them, and generated some of the foundations of our democratic country now.

Exploratory expeditions to the New World quickly led to colonial settlements, as the major European countries vied with each other for a portion of the western hemisphere’s riches. »full text