Compare and Contrast British, French, and Spanish Imperial Goals in North America Between 1580 and 1763

Convinced of the superiority of Catholicism to all other religions, Spain insisted that the primary goal of colonization was to save the Indians from heathenism and prevent them from falling under the sway of Protestantism. The aim was neither to exterminate nor to remove the Indians, but to transform them into obedient Christian subjects of the crown. To the Spanish colonizers, the large native populations of the Americas were not only souls to be saved but also a labor force to be organized to extract gold and silver that would enrich their mother country. Las Casas’ writings and the abuses they exposed contributed to the spread of the Black Legend-the image of Spain as a uniquely brutal and exploitative colonizer. This would provide of a potent justification for other European powers to challenge Spain’s predominance in the New World.

Prior to 1763, both Spanish and British colonization efforts expanded into various regions of North America. In less than a century, from 1625 to 1700, the movements of peoples and goods from Europe to North America transformed the continent. Native Americans either resisted or accommodated the newcomers depending on the region of the colony. Though the English colonies were by far the most populous, within the English colonies, four distinct regions emerged. While planters or merchants grew in power in each English colony, Spanish colonists, with far fewer colonists, depended more on friendly relations with Native Americans to secure their

Before the English ventured to Roanoke Europeans explored and settled the New World. The Spanish were the most successful in settling the New World. They conquered most of Central and South America. Their main objective was to convert all of the Indians to Christianity. “Spain’s claim to posses the Americas was based on discovery, conquest, and settlement, but even more important, it was founded on the sacred enterprise of extending the Catholic faith to (in Spanish eyes) “barbarous” native peoples” (Horn 12).

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 Spanish were the first European country to establish significant colonies in the Americas. By the 1570s, the Spanish had established roughly 200 cities and towns in the New World. They had also built many cathedrals, as well as the first universities in the Americas. New Spain refers to Spanish colonies in North and Central America and the Caribbean. At its height in 1795, New Spain included Mexico, Panama, several Caribbean islands, and most of the United States west of the Mississippi River. In these territories, the Spanish started large projects to get all available resources.

During the 15th through 17th centuries, advancements in technology and the desire for new resources spurred the exploration of the New World for both Spain and England. Spain's interest in exploration soon surpassed the rest of the countries in the Old World and the nation began to claim the majority of territory in Central and South America. Spain sent conquistadores to assert their dominance in the New World through violent conquest which resulted in difficult relations with native populations. Although the English did not settle in North America until the early 17th century, well past the period of the Spanish conquest, their methods of colonization were more successful in the long term. The English were able to find economic success

Slavery, like Portugal, was crucial for Spain. Unlike Portugal Spain used Native Americans as their slaves. (Mainly because of geography) Spain also believed in Encomienda. Which is basically there way of “giving back” to Native Americans, they would teach Native Americans their religious views and in return Native Americans would be forced to work to death. So it would appear that converting people (slaves) to Catholicism was an important reason why they went to the “new world”. Needless to say relations between Spain and the Native Americans spoiled just like the relationship between Portugal and Africans did. A lot of Native Americans believed that Spain gave them nothing. Most if not all of Spain’s economy was based on mining silver and gold and sugar plantations. At the time of this colonization and for the next 200 years Spain is extremely rich.

During the sixteenth century Spain had control over land in the Caribbeans and America that was ten times the size of Spain. One of the most famous conquerors was a man by the name of Cortes. His first target was the Aztec Empire one of the richest empires in America. After a very bloody battle Cortes successfully conquered the empire “converting” its people to Christianity and taking their gold. From this Cortes became on of the richest men in the world. This event inspired many others to do the same with many choosing the life of a conquistador to find their riches in the new world. The amount of conquistadors started to make Spain worry if they were to try and rule New Spain and that they were killing more Indians instead of converting

1). The Nations of Europe sought to expand their empire because they were on the verge of overpopulation.Between 1550 and 1600 the population grew from three million to four million people. Also, England and Spain were at a war for power. The Spanish attempts at colonizing the New World had been extremely successful, for they had gained both wealth and power. The English did not see such success, as their ships would crash, be lost to the seas, or their colonization efforts would cease to be useful. Through the Spaniards control over the Americas they had gained a massive naval army, noted as the Spanish Armada. The Spanish attempt to invade England in 1588 failed which lead to the beginning of the fall of the Spanish empire in the New World.

Before Columbus landed in the West Indies in 1492, The Spanish Inquisition made it known to anyone within Spain’s domain of influence that if a person was not of the Catholic religion, they were to be punished severely and sometimes even fatally. This influence would undoubtedly be brought over to the Americas a century later, as the colonization of the New World would begin by then. While it was very essential for the Spanish (as well as the Portuguese) to improve their economy by using the resources they found in Latin America, it seemed to a number of them as if that was the only reason for being there, or the main reason at the very least. During the Spanish Inquisition and from that point after, it was the Pope’s main goal, to

One of the first English slaving voyages, in 1567, was made by Drake. Between 1570-1571 he is known for making two trading voyages to the West Indies. From earlier voyages Drake had considered the Spanish “lifelong” enemies, so in 1572 during a marauding expedition against the spanish ports, he commanded. This in turn led to him seeing the Pacific OCean and capturing “the port of Nombre de Dios” (BBC Sir Francis Drake). He gained a reputation as a superb privateer, through returning to England with “Spanish treasure.” He is now known to have been secretly commissioned to participate in expeditions against the Spanish. He eventually became the first Englishman to navigate the “Straits of Magellan.” Another accomplishment of his was traveling “further up the west coast of America than any European”(BBC Sir Francis Drake). Through his travels he gained the distinction of being the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.

Vice Admiral Sr. Francis Drake was an English sea captain and officer of the Elizabethean era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580, and was the first to complete the voyage as captain while leading the trip for the entire expedition. With his invasion into the Pacific Ocean, he claimed what is now California for the English and started an era of conflict with the Spanish on the western coast of the

Yeah, this is reasonable to say, by introducing Christianity Spanish were saving Indians from slavery itself. According to the native american, Indian people have no freedom at all they are slave of themselves. Christianity was modern and superior in the society deals with freedom, they actually able to implies the modern society or new world to Indians through converting into Christianity.

With the defeat of The Armada, their were consequences from bankruptcies, internal rebellions, the costs of the Armadas, and the ongoing wars in the Netherlands and intervention in the religious wars in France they were exacting an unbearable cost on Spain’s finances. They were freed from pressing financial constraints and from a direct threat in the Mediterranean when Philip undertook a number of initiatives against his enemies in Europe in the 1580s and early 1590s. But was faced by a constant state of war against the Dutch who were aided by both the English and the French. At the same time, English ships were disrupting to the Spanish fleet in the Atlantic and attacking Spanish naval ports. The defeat of the Armada in 1588 was deeply

Spain 's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating Civil War (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, it has played a catch-up role in the western