Brandon Duong
Mr. Ready
AP US History 11
12 October 2013
CCC
Britain, France, and Spain
The British, French, and Spanish imperial goals in North
America between 1580 and 1763 were similar in that all three nations needed to
establish colonial governments in the New World in order to legitimize their
claim to their territory and that all three were driven to colonize by economic
incentives; however, in contrast, Britain, France, and Spain were different in
their citizens' reasons for immigration. The economic incentives of Britain, France, and
Spain--meaning the competition between the three nations to gather more
wealth--was critical to the expansion of the three empires within the New World;
as colonists searched deeper into the interior of the continent to find bullion
and other resources, the colonists would claim the territory they traveled on
for their home country thereby directly causing conflict between the three
nations because inevitably, colonists of different nations would overlap and
claim a single territory for their respective countries. The reasons for
immigration--meaning the overpopulation in the home country and religious
expansion to new parts of the globe--were crucial for the survival and
permanent establishment of the colonies. As these three major nations were
quickly cementing themselves in the continent, other countries established
minor colonies that did not last long such as the Dutch establishment of
several trading posts in New Netherland and in its principal town of New
Amsterdam (later renamed to New York after it was captured by the British) in
1624. In addition, the introduction of different nations and the mixing of
cultures with the Indians and other countries allowed for the creation of
middle grounds--meaning the regions in which different people and cultures
coexisted and intermixed--and borderlands--where some conflict between nations
occurred, such as in Georgia. The economic incentive for the three imperial
nations was by far the most important because it allowed each of the three
nations to expand their territories, establish governments, and make a profit
that would later fuel future (and inevitable) wars amongst the Europeans and
with the Native Americans.
Britain, France, and Spain were similar in that all three
nations needed to form colonial governments in the New World in order to establish legitimate, permanent settlements; settlements that would eventually come into conflict
with one another over land and authority within the New World. Britain
established its first enduring settlement at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607;
similarly, France founded its first permanent settlement in America at Quebec
in 1608; in comparison, Spain founded the first permanent European settlement
at Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565. All
three nations' colonial settlements survived, persevered, and expanded as
Britain expanded its colonies to encompass most of the eastern seaboard
(including the territories east of the Appalachian Mountains); similarly, the
French expanded their territories to include Louisiana, parts of Canada, and
the Caribbean Islands; in comparison, the Spanish soon encompassed parts of
South and Central America, Mexico, and the southern parts of modern-day United
States (including Texas, New Mexico, and California). Thus, it was inevitable that
these three imperial empires sought warfare as means to protect their own
territories, acquire further territory, and weaken the supremacy of their
rivals because of the close proximity between the three colonial empires and
the lingering, bitter attitudes held by each of
the nations. Wars such as Queen Anne's War (also known as the War of the
Spanish Succession) between the British, Spanish, French, and Indian tribes in
1701, King William's War (1689-1697) between the English and the French in New
England, King George's War (1744-1748) between the British and the French, and
the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War which ended in
1763) which was a climatic event in the Anglo-French struggle, all exemplified
the continued conflicts between the three world leaders. In fact, through the
Peace of Paris (1763), France was forced to cede some of its West India
Islands, parts of India, Canada, and all territory east of the Mississippi
except for New Orleans, which was ceded to the Spanish along with all French
territory west of the Mississippi; through these actions, the authority of
France in the New World was weakened significantly, and the influence of both
Britain and Spain in North America increased dramatically as a result of their
large land acquisitions.
The imperialistic goals of Britain, France, and Spain
were also driven by economic incentives. All three nations between 1580 and
1763 were driven by mercantilism--the belief that the world's wealth was finite
and that only one nation could accumulate wealth at the expense of other
nations. As a result, the nations competed with each other to reach the New
World first and set up colonies which for the French and the Spanish were set
up mainly for economic and mercantile means. Once established, the colonies of
the three states began to search for and send to Europe raw materials for the
growing industries in England, France, and Spain. The British learned from the
Indians on how to grow and cultivate crops in the new, foreign region and soon, the British set up their own
farms that grew crops like corn and plantations that grew cash crops like tobacco; similarly, France
established a thriving fur trade with Indian tribes through their coureurs de
bois, or fur traders, and soon created
seigneuries, or agricultural estates, along the Saint Lawrence River that aided
in agricultural production; in comparison, the Spanish established the
encomienda system which allowed the Spanish to collect taxes, goods, and
bullion from natives without working and searching for it themselves. Through
all of these methods, the European colonies were able to accumulate wealth and
send it back to their mother countries thereby increasing their prestige and
standing in world politics.
However, in contrast, Britain, France, and Spain were
different in their reasons for immigration. In all three nations' colonies,
pious men and women immigrated to the New World, although for different
motives. Many men and women fled to the British colonies seeking religious
freedom and asylum such as William Penn and the Quakers in Pennsylvania--some pious
men and women even found a high amount of religious toleration in Rhode Island;
whereas the French colonies usually only permitted French Catholics and Jesuits
to immigrate to the colonies--who would seek to spread their faith to those in
the New World--while they chose to restrict French Huguenots from leaving the
country; however, in contrast, the Spanish sent mainly Catholics to their
colonies for the main purpose of the conversion of natives and other Europeans.
Another motive that was different between the three nations regarding the
motives for immigration was the issue of population. During the 16th and 17th
centuries, Britain experienced both overpopulation and a decreased amount of land as a result of the Enclosure Acts--which took open land,
enclosed it, and placed sheep and other wool-bearing animals for their
marketable and profitable byproducts (wool)--therefore , it forced the British government
to find other solutions to solve their overpopulation problem--the solution
being the sometimes forced migration of British people to the New World which
resulted in a stabilization of the population in Great Britain for subsequent
centuries; however, in contrast, both France and Spain did not experience any
such population problems and allowed their people to immigrate freely to the
New World colonies.
Ultimately, the British, French, and Spanish imperial
goals between 1580 and 1763 were similar in their near-identical opinions that
they would need vast colonies and territories in order to compete with one
another and that all followed one core economic belief that drove colonization
during this time period; however, in contrast, all three nations' populations
were motivated in different ways to emigrate and leave Europe.
