Colonial Americas: British, Spanish, French, Dutch Relations

1. British Colonies: Negatives and Positives

Negative things

British colonies.

• Their behavior toward the Native Americans was abusive; they did not want any relation with them.
• They intended to grab North American territory that had been claimed by Spain.
• They raided Spanish ships full of gold and silver when those ships were coming from Mexico.
• Sir Walter Raleigh organized a colony; he returned to England to bring food, people, and resources, and he never came back.
• Jamestown, at the beginning, was not fruitful because many people in the colony were of the upper class or soldiers, and they knew nothing about agriculture.
• Many people in Jamestown died from mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, because the colony was located in a marshy area.

Majority of men.

Positive things

• Sir John Smith tried to establish relations with the Native Americans.
• The tobacco business was successful in Jamestown; the Virginia Company played a central role in its development.
• With the passage of time, Jamestown and Plymouth developed representative institutions (House of Burgesses).

2. Differences: Dutch, Spanish, English, French Colonies

Spanish colonies

In the Spanish colonies the colonizers were abusive toward the Native Americans, but in this text they are described as less abusive than the English colonizers. The locations of the Spanish colonies included South America (not Brazil) and the southern part of what is now the USA. They brought European diseases to America and they also brought alcohol.

French colonies

The French colonies were based on the fur trade. The French were interested in the textile area and related industries. They generally did not abuse the natives. They were not interested in maintaining large permanent populations in the colonies; they were often present for short periods of time. The French colonies were located in what is now Canada and were usually established near rivers.

Dutch colonies

The Dutch colonies were similar to the French colonies. The Dutch were not interested in large permanent settler populations either and they often remained for short periods of time. They had good relations with the Native Americans. The colony of New Amsterdam was a Dutch colony; it later became a British colony called New York.

English colonies

The English colonies were the worst in terms of relations with the Native Americans. They were abusive and generally did not maintain constructive relations with the indigenous peoples.