Spanish Settlement In The New World: A Comparative Analysis

During the 17th century, many nations started settling all throughout North America. Spanish conquistadors claimed much of the Southwest, while England began to occupy the Northeast. The Spanish and English colonies varied in terms of the impact of religion and control of the economy.

The English had a much larger population in their colonies than the Spanish, in fact, in 1700; there was a total population of 250,000 in the English colonies compared to 4,500 in the Spanish. A larger population in the colonies meant there was more manpower for work and, in addition, a greater wealth development. This led to a greater distinction between the English and the Spanish, which was the mass level by which slaves were used in colonial society. The Spanish too had similar ways of acquiring cheap labor services by establishing the Encomienda system. This system, unlike the English, exploited the Indians for personal profits rather than slaves imported from Africa. As English colonies, particularly in the south, focused on establishing an agrarian society; the Spanish did not focus as much on maintaining an agriculture based society. In marked contrast to England’s compact, densely populated settlements on the Atlantic, Spain established far-flung inland networks of fortified trading posts and missions. Unlike the English, they were unable to attract large numbers of colonists, and thus enlisted Native Americans as trading partners and military allies. The Catholic nation had far greater success in converting natives to Christianity than their Protestant counterpart. By 1700, Spanish missionaries, traders, and soldiers were spreading their influence beyond the range of England’s colonies; to

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, New Spain and New France came to the New world for two different reasons. New France came to the new world in search of a new west passage and Spain came in search of gold and religious freedom. They both wanted to spread their religious beliefs through missionaries. The Spanish were the first to establish large settlements. The Spanish had over 200 cities by 1570. The French didn’t start colonizing until 1604. The first French colony was Acadia and Quebec which came years later in 1608. The Spanish had a huge head start on colonization over New France but they both thrived in their own ways by using Natural Resources and slaves.

From the mid 1500’s to the 1700’s, people from all over Europe flocked to the vast lands of North America. Spain and England quickly became the most dominant European presences in the Americas. Citizens of the two countries had very different experiences in the New World. This was partially due to their different interactions with Native Americans, religions and their different motivations for coming to the New World. Although rivals at the time, Spain and England’s colonization efforts shared many similarities.

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.

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

Spanish and English had similar motivations for exploration of the New World, such as gaining land, goods from the natives, and gold. However, their motivations also differ greatly. The Spanish conquistadors also gained slaves from the native people, as well as spreading the word of Christianity. The English settlers came to the New World to get away from the religious oppression in England and to practice religion freely, and to grow tobacco to send back to England. The Spanish gained much more land quickly because, upon landing in places like the Caribbean and Brazil, because of their conquering and enslaving of the natives. The English came to the New World much less prepared,

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.

Behind its neighbors, England finally decided to invest in settling in the New World during the 17th century. Many of the expeditions to North America were made by private organizations; stock companies and the rich alike shared a common ideal of having a fresh start from outside their homeland. Two colonies with one common nationality, however, became two diverse establishments in North America. The colonies in New England and the Chesapeake region developed into two substantially contrasting ways of life. The main colony in the New England region was Massachusetts, which included the Puritans, a group of religious settlers who wanted to purify the Protestant Church of England.

Dissent always existed in the New England Colonies; the Puritans rarely all agreed on one point. Differing theological opinions forged a schism between groups and lead to the creation of colonies such as Rhode Island. As they stressed literacy, individuals formed their own impressions of the gospel. Minister Roger Williams, for example, disagreed with the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Indian relations and lack of religious freedoms. Roger Williams wrote this on the matter, “God requireth not a uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced; which enforced uniformity sooner or later is the greatest occasion of civil war.”

During the early stages of North America, the Spanish settlements in the Southwest and the English colonies contrasted from each other as a result of different resources, religion, and various other factors. In the 17th century, North America was just beginning colonization. In 1588, the Spanish attacked the English but were defeated because the English used different tactics that were swifter. Both the Spanish settlers and English were devoted to their religions. While the English were trying to decide what path of religion to follow, the Spanish had already choses Christianity as their dominant religion. Some Spanish missionaries were founded in California and Texas with the goal to Christianize the natives. The English

Religion plays a major part in many societies, especially the first 13 colonies. Some colonies were even settled solely to have freedom of religion and escape from religious persecution. Massachusetts was one example, as the Puritans first went to Plymouth in 1620 seeking religious freedom. In terms of the New England colonies overall, they remained Puritan. The idea of religious toleration was restricted to only the Puritan religion. A goal of theirs was to establish a “city on a hill”, which they succeeded at by having an atmosphere of “watchfulness” and helping each other. John Winthrop, a Puritan, served as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor. Anyone who did not follow this religion were known as

During the 17th century, many English colonists began to settle on the Atlantic, this embarked on colonies beginning to build the foundations of their community. The New World was named profoundly since it was considered, "new." Although New England and the Chesapeake regions were settled mainly by people of English decent, by the 18th century, the two similar societies became apparent. As they began to change, the two colonies developed contrasting societies, institutions, and economies. These contrasting differences may be considered the primary motives for colonization, climate, geography, different in views and philosophy and many settlers of different origins.

For the New England colonies like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, they had the Mayflower Compact. Their political and government structure had a interrelation between politics and religion. It dictated the economic, political, and social lives of colonists. Each town had meetings, elected legislatures, debated, and issued laws. Voting was allowed to white men who went to church. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, or the Middle Colonies, elected representatives to assemblies. The assemblies would then elect government officials which passed laws and did the decision makings. The Middle Colonies had religious tolerance that was founded by William Penn and practiced by the Quakers and it played a minor role in politics and economy. For the Chesapeake colonies, the House of Burgesses was founded in Jamestown where

In 1631, Roger Williams left England and arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he worked as a minister. However, his divergent views on religious freedom, and the rights of the Natives cause him to be banished from the colony. He then bought land from the Narragansett Natives, and created a new colony, which is now known as Providence, Rhode Island. Providence quickly became a home for Quakers, Jews, and other religious minorities. Although Williams was a minister, he was a strong supporter of religious freedom, and the separation of church and state. London’s religious intolerance was the leading reason he fled England. It is no surprise that once he saw the same system forming amongst the colonists he began to speak out against