White Superiority During the Colonial Period

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).

During the period of Colonialism, the English settlers arrived in America from Europe looking for religious freedom, land and the opportunity for wealth. While the Spanish Settlers arrived at Hispaniola unexpectedly, like the English; however, the Spanish did not leave Europe because of religion persecution; rather, they wanted to expand their religious belief to the New Word. While in both the English and the Spanish colonization, the Indigenous people were oppressed and enslaved but the English took a different approach. Thereby, although both the English and the European colonized in order to obtain gold and silver to help their countries wealth, the Spanish explorers took a more forceful method of gaining land.

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.

The role of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain’s conquest and colonization of continental America was a two-fold process whereby under the façade of conversion and control lay the primary goal of gaining wealth, enforcing laws and the inevitable extension of control while condoning the beginnings of European slavery in the Caribbean.[i]

The approaches Britain and Spain had towards colonization were reflected in their treatment of Native Americans. Ultimately, both countries were primarily interested in the expansion of their empires, the enrichment of their economies and their own political power, and their treatment of the natives is indicative of these aims. As Spain’s only purpose for colonization was to conquer land for their empire, the

The Spanish were the first European settlers in the Americas when Christopher Columbus in October 12, 1492 while searching for a new route to Asian Indies, discovered new land. Columbus wrote to the king of Spain telling him that the Americas was kind of heaven, full of thousand of different kind trees, with prosperous land. This letter has helped understand the motives of the Spaniards for colonizing the Americas, the virgin continent, untouched lands, full of gold and precious metals as Columbus described in his letter. Columbus also told King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that the natives we simple, timid people who went about naked and lived simple lives in an environment like that of the Garden of Eden, and that they can also be made Christians. The monarchs saw this as an opportunity to impose their modes of civilization upon this vast population, justifying the colonization of the New World as the white man’s duty. Motivating and accelerating the occupation to the Americas. Since in fact the Spaniard kingdom initial motives to venture out into the oceans were richness and to acquire goods that were rarely available. The Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella were also wanted to establish missionaries to purify and reform.

By the early 1700’s Europeans began to migrate over to America in order to form their own colonies. The causes for colonization in America was for political, religious, and economic freedom. During this time Europeans found their way over to the Chesapeake and New England regions. America was a developing country at this time, it had no real unified order, nor any actual power and yet why would the Europeans choose to colonize here?

The reason America was discovered in the first place was because Columbus was looking for a water route to Asia. Columbus was sailing to avoid the tax and unfriendliness of the Ottoman empire. When Columbus realized that he was not in Asia and instead was in an whole new world basically, he sent captured indians back the Pope to show him that the Natives could be used for labor. After this, many conquistadors flooded to America looking for wealth and profit. Some well known conquistadors we're Hernan Cortes, who took over the Aztec Empire and all of their wealth and sent it back to Europe. Francisco Pizarro was an conquistador who dominated the Incas and sent the gold and silver back to Europe. Many other Spanish people saw the wealth was brought back and thought they could get in on the loot also. Colonization boomed after wealth came back to Spain. Another example of why wealth was an motivator for colonization is the population increase in Europe. Since more people we're being born, landlords we're profiting off lending land to serfs. With all the money the landlords we're gaining, they wanted to spend that money on new, luxurious items such as cotton and sugar. Since the demand for these products we're high, more and more people flooded to America to gain the new exotic items that we're not previously available. Both religious conversion and desire for wealth had an significant impact on the lives of Native Americans and

Sociology explains the creation of "The Other" as a necessary component to facilitate justification for the exploitation of said "other", whether for economic gains or purely for sadistic actions enacted upon the aforementioned. A major aspect needed to formulate the concept of "The Other" is the degradation of "The Other" to further or sever all sentimental or emotional ties to "The Other". The idea of "The Other" would prove to be the foundation of "scientific" racial ideology, or racism, which categorizes human superiority by race. The rise "scientific" racism and Social Darwinism during the advent of New Imperialism gave European empire builders self-justification to conquer and exploit the Congo. These racial ideologies covered any moral objections against the colonization of the Congo and other regions of Africa, showcasing the

The Protestant Reformation was not the only thing that impacted the colonization of America. Henry VIII had supported Cabot in his explorations after rejecting Christopher Columbus. Cabot was one of the first to discover the American mainland.

Racial peculiarities are the biggest obstacles in southern colonies. Differences in race continue to be problematic in the south. David Fisher Albion’s Seed, Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia and William Byrd’s Aborigines express the different outlooks Indians and African Americans face in comparison to the White settlers. Southern settlers viewed themselves as a superior race. Southerners considered other ethnicities as being civilized in their own habitat. Different physical features played a role. Different morals of the Native Americas played a part in the way white settlers viewed them.

Mankind has matured greatly with years of pursuance. Although involved with societies, governments, and religions, there are many things that are yet to accepted in today’s society. During the early North Americas, Spanish and French colonies were two of the overruling colonies that vanquished great amounts of land and build powerful empires. Both the Spanish and French decided to justify their rule by choosing specific ways in societies, governments, and religion preferences that can shape them to be similar and different in their own ways. Foremost, one of the many similarities that both the Spanish and French colonies possess is found in their colonial societies.

Inequality has been a major issue in the Colonial Virginia and it was originated within a hierarchy of race, gender, and social class that already existed in the mother country of England.

Although England’s religious turmoil played a role in the development of British settlements, England’s economic problems fueled much of the settling of British North America. England’s economic situation caused many settlers to come for economic success rather than religious freedoms. Colonists fled to Massachusetts Bay not only to escape religious persecution but also economic decline. Settlers sent by the Virginia Company were attracted by the promises and opportunities to live a better life. Economics soon became the underlying reason for colonization in North America.