Spanish, English and French Colonial Outline
Thesis: Throughout the early period of colonization in America, the three chief colonial powerhouses Spain, England, and France, tackled the issues of royal authority, sources of profit and trading rituals, as well as religious practice and toleration in shockingly different ways with few similarities.
Background:
As each of these world superpowers arrived in the new world during the 1500s, they were all looking to expand their empire and gain wealth. The Spanish came first and took the most action early. The French and English soon began to experiment in the Americas as well, although the
French would only grasp a small portion of valuable land during their campaigns.
Political Paragraph:
Spanish, French, and English colonial empires had some clear similar political strategies in that this land was theirs for the taking, yet these similarities were shattered by the many other differences in their political policies.
● Spanish and French colonies both totally subservient to the crown, English had some degree of autonomy through salutary neglect.
● Spanish were extremely aggressive towards Indians, English were peaceful when it was good for them, brutal when it wasn't, and the French traded with the Indians and hired them to gather beaver fur under good relations.
● The English colonies grew much faster than the French and Spanish due to loose immigration policies and dedicated colonies.
● English colonies were populated mainly by middle class people, French colonies by merchants and trappers, Spanish colonies by conquistadors, soldiers, and missionaries.
Economic Paragraph
The three empires’ styles of profiting from the new world greatly differed from one another as
Spain focused on searching for riches, the French developed short lasting trade partnerships with
Indians, and the English invested