The Colonization of America | BRI’s Homework Help Series

0:00 Welcome to Homework Help. Whether you’re studying for the AP US history exam or any other exam that your teacher is inflicting upon you, we’ve got you covered. Today we are discussing European colonies in North America. During the European powerhouse, nations of Spain, France, England and Holland dominated North American colonization,

0:24 each focusing on a different geographical area of the Americas. Spain, the major powerhouse during the age of exploration, controlled all of modern Mexico and Central America, as well as holding outposts along the coast of California. Throughout what is now modern Texas and along the southern coast of Florida.

0:45 The French, unlike the Spanish, focused their efforts much further north by opening a series of trading posts throughout the Great Lakes area, including modern Toronto, as well as New Orleans and other parts of what is now the northern United States and Canada. The English focused much of their efforts on modern day New England and Virginia,

1:07 with communities and colonies established all around the Eastern seaboard. Lastly, the Dutch, coming late to the game called modern day Manhattan home. The reasons for colonization differed for each country, and this affected each country’s relationship with the native population. Spanish efforts in California and Texas began with Franciscan Missionaries,

1:30 a Christian religious group who built missions throughout California and Texas. These communities focus on spreading their gospel and converting the natives to Christianity. Therefore, in general, the relations between the Spanish missionaries and the native population, at least at the beginning, were fairly peaceful. On the other hand, the French explorers, consisting mainly of individual men

1:53 who ventured along the waterways in the north, collected animal furs, which were a prized commodity of the French public. They had very few permanent settlers, and these fur traders rarely stayed in one place and had no plans of covering New French territories. For example, the city of Quebec was founded in 1608, but after 30 years,

2:14 the entire French colony had only 350 settlers. Only after direct intervention by Louis VII did the number increase to 3000 in 1665. French fur trappers, often working with natives to increase their chances for success, were able to cultivate good relations with the native population.

2:35 The Dutch were much like the French. They settled Manhattan Island, which they called New Amsterdam, as a trading outpost. Like the French, the Dutch were able to establish friendly relations with the natives. Ironically, as New Amsterdam grew, only about half the residents were actually Dutch. Many of the incoming settlers came

2:56 from England, Ireland, Germany, France and Scandinavian countries. It was a melting pot from the beginning, with more than 18 languages spoken. Unlike the isolated French settlements, new Amsterdam began to develop into a trading hub of the East Coast. The English colonies, on the other hand, were developed for contrasting reasons.

3:18 For example, New England began as settlements for families wishing to escape the political and religious turmoil in the English motherland, while Virginia was established by entrepreneurs hoping to make a fortune in the New World. Interestingly, Virginia began very similar to its French counterparts, as it catered mostly to single men and had to attract families to settle there

3:41 permanently to become a thriving community. English colonists remain strongly tied to the cultural traditions back home, as most immigrated as families rather than as individuals. This sense of English identity often created greater barriers with the natives, leading to more contentious relationships. The primary differences between the English, Spanish,

4:04 Dutch, and French colonies were related to the systems of government by their mother countries and how each system affected the stability of the colony. The Dutch and the French colonies in America were largely governed by fur companies with little to no military support from the motherland. For the Dutch, this led to England eventually being able

4:24 to annex New Amsterdam in 1664 without even firing a single shot and renaming it New York. By contrast, the English had mixed control over their different colonies in the New World. Some colonies, such as Virginia and South Carolina, had stronger governmental ties to the British, as British officials from England had been

4:46 appointed by the Crown to govern these colonies. These were called royal colonies. Other colonies, such as Connecticut and Massachusetts, had more direct control over their communities as they were given power to govern themselves through written documents authorized by the British Crown called charters. These were known as charter colonies.

5:08 American colonies were greatly influenced by the countries that founded them. This is one reason why cities throughout at North America are interestingly unique from one another.