Unit 2.2: European Colonization

French Colonization

Political unrest led to the monarchs wanting to restore wealth without taxing citizens

* Wanted to be in competition with Spain and England

  • French settled the American Northeast

    • Samuel de Champlain – Quebec (1608)

    • Louisiana (1682)

  • Mainly trading post colonies (fur trading)

  • Coexisted with natives

    • “Black Legend”: Propaganda that portrayed Spaniards as corrupt and cruel to Native audiences and made French colonization seem favorable

Dutch Colonization

Wanted to spread Dutch Protestantism (Calvinists)

  • (1621) Dutch East India Company: Trade with Asia

  • Dutch West India Company: Trade with the Americas

  • “New Amsterdam” – Later colonized by the English (“New York”)

    • Served as a boost in the Dutch economy as a major port

    • Back end of the Dutch Golden Age

English Colonization

* English colonization was initially hindered by domestic conflicts, such as economic struggles

  • Struggle turned outward when the English focused their grievances on the Spanish and French.

  • Joint Stock Companies: Displays the economic motivation for settlement

    • Made economic ventures less risky and more productive

    • East India Company: Popularized by the tea that initiated the Boston Tea Party

    • Virginia Company: Named after Queen Elizabeth I (Virgin Queen)

* Feudal System was very prominent!

  • Social hierarchy based on land ownership

    • Monarch → Nobles → Land Owners/Knights → Serfs

Treaty of Tordesillas (1491): Land was divided between Portugal and Spain to prevent conflict

  • Portuguese got land to the East

  • Spanish fot land to the West

(Opposite to how they are positioned on the map in relation to one another)