Colonial Powers Clashed in America: France, England, Spain - Research Paper

Introduction

Throughout American history, the colonial experience of North America was remarkably prolific, which primarily centers on the significant struggles between three significant colonies, including France, England, and Spain, contending for the dominion of the entire continent. From the early 16th century, the three territories, along with the Netherlands, began the most significant colonization groups in America (Middleton, Richard, and Anne). However, during this period, there was a high rate of deaths, while other colonial attempts wholly disappeared, such as the English Lost Colony of Roanoke. Besides, the successful colonies were accomplished with time in subsequent decades. In the early 17th century, the English did not have a permanent settlement in America. Still, in the next several decades, England managed to conquer their rivals, the Spanish and French or the Dutch (Fitzmaurice 35). The colonies, however, moved to the Atlantic for various distinct motives while their regimes applied varying approaches in their colonizing attempts. The differences among the colonies were both beneficial and had their drawbacks that remarkably incited the fate of the New World. For instance, Spain and France were both ruled by tyrannical governments with absolute authority (Middleton, Richard, and Anne). Also, their associated colonists settled in America as servants of the Crown. On the other end, the English colony had much freedom, and as a result, this allowed them to rule over themselves, given that they strictly adhered to the English law and respected the ruling King. The English also encouraged immigration as compared to the French and Spanish, and this effectively enabled them to establish dozens of colonies and to send many immigrants with the aim of populating the land and thus increasing its colonial population. The chief objective of this paper is to provide a critical overview of the significant factors that led to the success of the English as the colonial power in North America by 1763 and also discuss the presence and the contribution of the Spanish and French colonies during this period.

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The Situation in England at That Time

Ideally, the English colonization of the Americas was initiated late though they established firm settlements in the 1600s after a few failed efforts in the 1500s (Quinn). During the colonization and settlement period between 1585-1763, the earliest settlement for the English colonies was mainly in Virginia and Massachusetts but later quickly spread in other parts of the Atlantic coast as well as the interior of the content (Fitzmaurice 38). The England colonists were principally recruited from groups of tradesmen, middle-class farmers, and artisans. Also, the long distance between the frugal parliament and England permitted the colonists to establish local assemblies and governments so long as they did not interfere with the Crown. While they were initially friendly, the England colonialists hugely relied on the native Americans for trade and economic activities, which ultimately resulted in greed that contributed to the conflicts with the Indians.

The English colonization in North America supporters, most of them who did not venture across the Atlantic, composed a lot concerning the bounty the English would obtain. The colonization boosters, in turn, aim for a profit either by importing the raw materials or opening new markets for the English products and encourage Protestantism without interference.

The Indian and French war that involved the two prominent powers of North America that is France and Britain, began in 1756 (Fitzmaurice 40). Typically, it was an imperial fight for the land whereby at the end of the battle in early 1760, the British successfully overthrew the French out of America, giving themselves the control over the territory starting from the East Coast towards the Mississippi River (Simmons). In essence, the treaty of Paris that was established in 1763 surrendered to Britain all the French territories and determined the colonial destiny of the continent. Immediately after the war, the English government abolished its policy regarding the salutary neglect and tried to tighten their power on their properties in North America. The British government, however, wished for the colonies to contribute equally in paying the enormous debt that was created during the Indian and French wars. In the 16th century, England had already experienced an exceptional increase in its population. It seemed to be a much welcoming colony for those who encountered extreme poverty and overcrowding in their regions (Simmons). Moreover, by 1763, the English had gained control over North America, upon conquering Spain and France in the war between the Indian and French (Simmons). The few regions that were colonized by the French or Spanish retained their national features that are still present to date.

Spain's Colonial Presence

Notably, the Spanish colonial power was hugely the most influential throughout history. It all began in 1492 when sovereigns Isabella and Ferdinand sponsored the expedition of Christopher Columbus, significantly leading to the first contact of Spain's with Americans (Jensen and Robert 37). Spain's influenced by their Pope were, however, give the control over the Western Territories in the 1494 treaty of Tordesillas and colonized the Caribbean in early 1510. However, from 1492 through the 1800s, the Spanish colonialists were bullies of the New World, the conquered, and most of them settled in South America and the Caribbean (Jensen and Robert 37). The Spanish colonization core historical goal was to gains access to gold and silver in America and enhanced its economy and ensure that Spain was a more powerful nation. The Spain colonial during this period also aims at converting the native American into Christianity. Unlike the British colonies which only aimed at increasing their territory dominance, Spain's wanted to enhance their wealth.

France's Colonial Presence

The France colonial experience in America started in the 16th century, which continued in the several subsequent centuries until the French initiated a colonial empire in the Western regions (Jensen and Robert 39). France primarily established colonies in a significant part of North America with the main goals of claiming the territory for their King. Following unsuccessful trials of encouraging the emigration to North America, France founded a colonization policy mainly regarding the land grants that were to be given to the farmers and other inhabitants.

Why France and Spain Colonial Failed

For the France colonials, they were greatly troubled by foreign conflicts as well as the fights between the internal religions. The French also failed to recognize the extreme probabilities of the new continent, and therefore, their established settlements at the St Lawrence valley was faced with numerous challenges (Dickinson 168). The Spains, on the other hand, was preoccupied with South America while their lands were washed away by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. However, for the English colony following the earlier failures under the leadership of Sir Humphrey established a stable settlement starting from Maine to Georgia. As a result, the arrangements boosed the English with a large population, and this enabled them to conquer the smaller colonizing venture of the French at the Hudson Valley. The Spanish rule also failed because of the Columbian exchange, which led to the spread of diseased fro the Europeans to the Americans.

Factors That Made English the Successful Colonial Power

Since the beginning, the English moved to North America with the main aim of settling there as compared to Spain and French, who were more concerned with the resources for their benefits (Dickinson 169). Also, in contrast to the French and Spanish colonies, the English settled their colonies in North America by encouraging immigration such that when the French and Indian war began, the England colonial total population was about 1 million.

Conclusion

The colonial history if North America was majorly influenced by the Spanish, French, and English colonies. RHe all had differing colonizations goals, but the English colonial power was eventually the most successful in contrast to the France and Spain powers in colonizing North America primarily because of the increased numbers.

Works Cited

Dickinson, Ja." FRENCH REVIEW, EBSCOhost, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 168-169. search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edswah&AN=A1995RY50400043&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 3 March 2020.

Fitzmaurice, Andrew. Humanism and America: an intellectual history of English colonization, 1500-1625. Vol. 67. Cambridge University Press, 2003: 35-50.

Jensen, Merril, and Robert L. Reynolds. "European Colonial Experience: A Plea for Comparative Studies." The Medieval Frontiers of Latin Christendom. Routledge, 2017. 37-52.

Middleton, Richard, and Anne Lombard. Colonial America: A history to 1763. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.

Quinn, David Beers, ed. The Roanoke voyages, 1584-1590: documents to illustrate the English voyages to North America under the patent granted to Walter Raleigh in 1584. Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis, 2017.

Simmons, Richard C. The American colonies: from settlement to independence. WW Norton & Company, 1981.