Spain, France, and England Colonization

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A HISTORIAN. This essay was to reflects on what I had learned about colonization.

The sources were from my class lectures, the textbook Traditions & Encounters: A Brief History, and JSTOR journal “Trade, Colonies, and State Power: French Officers’ Economic Views on French and English America, 1755-1783” by Martin L. Nicolai.


         Europeans had just begun exploring the New World, and not long after, settlements and colonization occurred. Spain, England, and France were the main ones that dominated the Americas at the time. There were many similarities and differences between the Spanish, English, and French regarding how and why they explored, traded, did labor, and colonized in America. One similarity between the three was that Spain, England, and France wanted to keep their money or currency in their own countrys’ hands. One difference between the three was where they colonized the Americas. For example, Spain colonized and settled in the Caribbean and all of Latin America. England colonized much of the area near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean while France colonized most of the areas touching the Mississippi River. This essay will compare and contrast the motivations and approaches to exploration, trade, labor, and colonization of the Americas by Spain, England, and France as well as how these factors contributed to the different societies.

         Spain, England, and France had many similarities. The first similarity was that England and France had similar motives when it came to new lands. They both view the lands in America as a place to establish plantations according to the Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. The second similarity was that all three of the countries wanted to keep the money in their own countries according to Dr. Andersen’s lecture. They would trade with other countries if they weren’t rivals. Some items Spain, England, and France would trade were fur, pitch, tar, silver, gold, and lumber according to Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. The third similarity was that England and France didn’t have viceroy or audiencias. According to the Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, they had private investors and royalties on their sides. This gave France and England more control in the colonies. France, for example, traded and raised state taxes under the king of France, and this benefited France, the mother country, according to Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society on JSTOR. The fourth similarity was that the Spanish and the English were benevolent to the Native Americans. For example, Spanish saw the Native Americans as possible Catholic Spaniards according to Dr. Andersen’s lecture. Another example was that the French traded fur with the native women according Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. The final similarity was that Spain, England, and France had slaves. The Spanish used the Native Americans for labor in the Potosi’s mine. The English had used slaves brought by the Dutch to work on their plantations while the French brought slaves over to the Americas for free to build the slaves population according to Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society on JSTOR. With many similarities, there were many differences.

         There were many differences between Spain, England, and France. The first difference was that the Spanish’s main motive was to “exploit and administer than to colonized and settle down” while the English and French wanted to establish plantations on lands according to Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. The second difference was that Spain had audiencias and viceroys while England and France didn’t according to Traditions & Encounters: A Brief History. The third difference was that the English didn’t treat the Native Americans benevolently while the Spanish and French were less destructive according to Dr. Andersen’s lecture. The English even called the Native Americans “lazy heathens” according to Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. Instead of using the Native Americans as laborers, they would mistreat the Natives and would kill them. The French and Spanish on the other hand used or traded with the Native Americans. The French traded beaver pelts with the Natives while the Spanish exploited them for labor. For example, the Spanish had Native Americans working on mines at Potosi according to Traditions & Encounters: A Brief History. These differences shaped Spain’s, England’s, and France’s societies in America.

         The difference between Spain, England, and France was their motive to land, the way their government was, and their ways of treating Native Americans. The Spanish’s main goal was god, gold, and glory. By getting land in the Americas, they can bring wealth back to Spain. The Spanish government had audiencias and viceroys to run the government in place of Spain. Because America is far away from Spain, the Spanish affair was not heavily influenced by the Spanish monarchy. The Spanish also used the Native Americans for labor because the Native Americans had willingly accepted their conquest according to Dr. Andersen’s lecture. Because of the labors from the Natve Americans, the Spanish were able to mine in the Potosi. The English’s main goal was to establish plantations and escape persecution under England. New England, for example, was a place to have the freedom of religion. The government in the English colonies self-governed themselves. This means that they followed the rules and broke the law if they wanted. Also, the English mistreated the Native Americans. This caused one third of the English population to be massacred by the Natives in the Chesapeake area according to the Traditions & Encounters: A Brief History. The French’s main goal of land was to establish plantations like the English. They claimed land alongside the Mississippi River. The French settlements in America were strictly governed by the French government and were subjects of the king like the Spanish. Also, the French traded and respected the Native Americans and were more peaceful than the Spanish and the English. This meant that they could work and trade with the Natives. These differences between Spain, England, and France had shaped the societies in America.

         The New World was colonized by Spain, England, and France. These three countries had established a very similar but different society. The similarities were their motives for land, trade, government, and interactions with the Native Americans. The differences were their approaches to land, how the government is set up, and how they treated the Native Americans. These differences led to their colonial societies in America. Spain, England, and France colonial establishments had influences on America today.