Early European Colonization of America

📘 Notes: European Settlements — Spanish Colonization

🇪🇸 Early Spanish Colonization

• The Spanish were the earliest documented colonizers of the Americas.

• Their colonization efforts began after Christopher Columbus’s voyages (starting in 1492).

📜 Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

• A treaty signed between Spain and Portugal.

• Purpose: Divide newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two powers.

• Results:

  • Spain received rights to colonize most of North and South America.

  • Portugal received lands in Africa, Asia, and the area of South America that is now Brazil.

🌎 Spanish Empire in the Americas

• By the 16th century, Spain became the dominant colonizing power in the Americas.

• Their empire stretched:

  • From the present-day United States (especially the Southwest and Florida)

  • Down through Mexico

  • Through Central America

  • To South America (except Brazil, which belonged to Portugal)

🗺 Map Insight (summary of what the map would show)

• Areas under Spanish control included much of modern-day:

  • California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida

  • Mexico and Central America

  • Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and more.

📘 Notes: Spanish Conquest of South America

🏝 Early Spanish Colonies in the Caribbean

• 1493: Spain established the first European colony in the Americas on Hispaniola (modern Haiti and Dominican Republic), where Columbus had landed in 1492.

• 1508: Juan Ponce de León colonized Puerto Rico.

• He also discovered Florida.

• 1512–1515: Diego Velásquez conquered and settled Cuba.

⚔ Conquest of the Aztec Empire (Mexico)

• 1521: First major Spanish conquest.

• Led by Hernán Cortés, a conquistador (Spanish for “conqueror”).

• After three years of warfare, Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire.

• Key factors in Spain’s victory:

  • Superior weapons (guns, steel swords, cannons)

  • Horses (which Indigenous peoples had never seen)

  • Smallpox, which devastated the Aztec population

  • Alliances with rival Indigenous groups who opposed the Aztecs

🏔 Conquest of the Inca Empire (South America)

• 1533: Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire.

• The Inca territory stretched across present-day:

  • Ecuador

  • Peru

  • Chile

  • Bolivia

  • Colombia

  • Argentina

• Pizarro’s actions:

  • Killed thousands of Indigenous people

  • Captured and executed Atahualpa, the Incan emperor

  • Looted and destroyed Cuzco, the Incan capital

• 1535: Pizarro founded Lima, now the capital of Peru.

📘 Notes: Spanish Colonization of North America

🌎 Why Spain Colonized North America

• To protect and secure its colonies in Mexico and South America.

• To search for new economic resources (wealth, land, gold).

🗺 Early Exploration Attempts

Panfilo de Narváez Expedition (1527)

• Landed near Tampa Bay, Florida with about 300 explorers.

• The expedition faced hunger, cold, and disaster.

• Thought to be entirely lost, but four survivors returned to Mexico in 1535.

  • Most famous survivor: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.

  • He survived by being shipwrecked on the Texas coast and living among Indigenous peoples.

• Cabeza de Vaca’s stories of northern riches inspired future expeditions.

🐴 Hernando de Soto Expedition (1539–1543)

• Began in Cuba and moved into Florida.

• Explored much of the southeastern United States, including:

  • Florida

  • Georgia

  • The Carolinas

  • Tennessee

  • Alabama

  • Mississippi

  • Arkansas

  • Texas

• Harsh journey: De Soto and almost half his men died from disease.

• However, his exploration opened the way for future Spanish settlement in the region.

🏜 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Expedition (1540–1542)

• Mission: Find the legendary Seven Cities of Gold.

• Although he found no riches, his expedition made major discoveries:

  • Grand Canyon, via the Colorado River

  • Explored the Great Plains, including:

    • Texas

    • Kansas

    • Nebraska

• His journey helped Spain map and understand the northern territories.

📘 Notes: Spanish Colonization — St. Augustine & New Mexico

🏰 St. Augustine, Florida (1565)

• The first permanent European settlement in mainland North America.

• Established by the Spanish to protect their sea route to the Caribbean.

• Built as a military fort to defend Spanish shipping from pirates and rival nations.

🏜 Spanish Expansion into New Mexico (1598)

Don Juan de Oñate

• A colonist from Mexico who received permission to claim land north of the Rio Grande.

• Goal: Make it the province of New Mexico and search for gold and silver.

Battle of Acoma (1598)

• Oñate’s troops fought the Acoma Pueblo.

• Results:

  • The Spanish massacred many Pueblos.

  • Captured Acoma men had their left foot amputated.

  • Women and children were enslaved.

• Oñate is considered both a founder of New Mexico and a symbol of brutality.

🏛 Santa Fe and Spanish Government (1610)

• Santa Fe became the capital of New Mexico in 1610.

• This was the first European-style government center in what is now the United States.

• While no gold or silver was found, New Mexico grew important for:

  • Missionary work

  • Catholic conversion efforts

  • Suppression of Indigenous religions

📘 Notes: Spanish Trade in the New World

🎯 Spanish Goals in the New World

Spain came to the Americas mainly to:

1. Find precious metals (gold and silver)

2. Spread Christianity through Catholic missions

They successfully achieved both goals.

💰 Mining Gold and Silver

• By the 1540s, Spain began extracting huge amounts of gold and silver from mines in:

  • Mexico

  • South America (especially Peru and Bolivia)

• These metals were in high demand in Europe, causing their value to rise.

• Result: Spain gained massive wealth and became extremely powerful.

🍬 Sugar Plantations

• Spain also profited from the booming European demand for sugar.

• They established:

  • Sugar plantations

  • Sugar mills

• These were mainly in:

  • South America

  • The Caribbean

👑 Spain’s Dominance

• The trade of:

  • Gold

  • Silver

  • Sugar

• …made Spain the most powerful nation in Europe by the late 1500s.

📘 Notes: French Colonization

🌊 Early French Exploration

Giovanni da Verrazzano (1524)

• An Italian sailing for France.

• Explored the eastern coast of North America, from:

  • Newfoundland

  • to the Carolinas

• His goal: find a northwest route to the Pacific Ocean.

Jacques Cartier (1534–1536)

• Explored:

  • Newfoundland

  • Quebec

  • Nova Scotia

• Traveled through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and reached Montreal.

• 1541: Tried to establish a French colony in Quebec.

  • Failed after 2 years due to attacks by Indigenous peoples.

  • Colony was abandoned.

🏰 French Huguenot Settlement (1564)

• French Huguenots = French Protestants (followers of Calvinism).

• Founded Fort Caroline near modern-day Jacksonville, Florida.

• 1565: Conflict with Spain.

  • Spanish forces attacked, destroyed the fort, and killed the defenders.

  • Spain wanted to prevent Protestant settlements in its territories.

📘 Notes: French Colonization — Fur Trade & Renewed Exploration

⚔ French Setbacks in the 1500s

• The Fort Caroline massacre (1565), where the Spanish killed the French Huguenots, discouraged French colonization.

• France was also dealing with a religious civil war between:

  • Catholics

  • Huguenots (French Protestants)

• Because of these troubles, France was reluctant to colonize for the rest of the 16th century.

🦫 Growth of the French Fur Trade

• Despite political struggles, French traders continued traveling to North America.

• They discovered that beaver fur was extremely valuable in Europe for making hats.

• French traders visited coastal areas from:

  • Newfoundland

  • down to New England

• They exchanged European goods—axes, knives, cloth, glass beads—for beaver pelts from Indigenous tribes.

🏞 Samuel de Champlain & Quebec (1608)

• The French government wanted to control the fur trade and prevent:

  • English traders

  • Dutch traders

  • Independent French traders
    from taking profits.

• Because of this, they sent Samuel de Champlain to establish a permanent settlement.

• 1608: Champlain founded Quebec, the center of France’s North American empire.

🤝 Alliances With Native Tribes (1609)

• Champlain made military and trade alliances with:

  • Montagnais

  • Algonquin

  • Huron

• Purpose:

  • To secure access to beaver-rich regions deeper in Canada.

  • To protect the French fur trade from rival tribes and European powers.

📘 Notes: French Colonization — Expansion & Trade

⚔ Conflict With the Mohawk (Iroquois Confederacy)

• The Mohawk tribe wanted direct access to European fur traders along the St. Lawrence River.

• The French allied with:

  • Montagnais

  • Algonquin

  • Huron

• 1609: The French helped their allies defeat the Mohawk at Lake Champlain (present-day New York).

• This victory strengthened French influence and showed their reliance on alliances with native tribes.

🛶 French Exploration of the Interior

• The French colonies expanded mainly for:

  • Fur trade opportunities

  • Spreading Christianity

Key Explorers:

Père Jacques Marquette & Louis Jolliet (1673)

• Explored the Mississippi River north-to-south.

• Confirmed it was a major trade route.

René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1682)

• Traveled farther south and claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley for France.

• Named it Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV.

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (1718)

• Founded New Orleans.

• Gave France control of waterborne trade along the Mississippi River.

📉 Why French Colonization Was Limited

• France focused on the fur trade, which required:

  • Trade posts

  • Alliances with native tribes

  • Rivers and transport routes

• Large permanent settlements were NOT necessary, unlike in Spanish or English colonies.

• As a result, French colonization was:

  • Less aggressive

  • Less populated

  • More dependent on native alliances

📘 Notes: English Colonization — Early Exploration & Motivation

🧭 Early English Exploration

• The English were among the first documented European explorers of mainland North America.

• However, the Vikings may have attempted a settlement in Newfoundland around 1000 A.D., but it failed.

John Cabot (1497)

• Sponsored by King Henry VII of England.

• Cabot reached Newfoundland in modern-day Canada.

• Despite this achievement, England did not continue colonizing immediately.

🇬🇧 Why England Didn't Colonize for Nearly 100 Years

1. Weaker European Power

• In the 1500s, England was less powerful than Spain and France.

2. Religious Conflict

• England was torn by conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

• This intensified after King Henry VIII separated England from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England.

👑 Elizabeth I and a Shift in Focus (1558 onward)

• When Elizabeth I became queen in 1558, Protestants became the dominant group in England.

• She shifted England’s attention toward challenging Spain and weakening its Catholic empire.

⚓ English Privateers (Legalized Pirates)

• Elizabeth encouraged private profiteers, who acted like pirates but had government approval.

• Their mission: raid Spanish ships and colonies to steal wealth from Spain.

Sir Francis Drake (1577–1580)

• Left England in 1577 to raid Spanish towns on the Pacific Coast of South America.

• Returned in 1580 with huge amounts of stolen Spanish treasure.

• His profits were shared with:

  • English merchants

  • Queen Elizabeth I

• These raids helped weaken Spain and funded English exploration.

📘 Notes: English Colonization — Roanoke & Jamestown

🛶 Sir Walter Raleigh and the First English Attempts (1584–1590)

1584: Raleigh’s Charter

• Sir Walter Raleigh received a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to establish a colony south of the Chesapeake Bay.

• Goal: expand English influence in the New World.

🌴 First Roanoke Colony (1585)

• Raleigh’s team settled on Roanoke Island (in present-day North Carolina).

• Problems:

  • Settlers angered the Roanoke Indians.

  • Food shortages forced them to abandon the colony.

• They returned to England soon after.

🌫 The “Lost Colony” of Roanoke (1587–1590)

1587: Second Attempt

• Raleigh sent another group, led by John White.

• About 100 settlers, including women and children, stayed at Roanoke.

White Leaves for Supplies

• White sailed back to England for additional supplies.

• War between England and Spain (1588) delayed his return.

1590: The Colony Disappears

• When White returned, all the colonists were gone.

• Only clue: the word “CROATOAN” carved into a post.

• The disappearance remains one of the greatest mysteries in American history.

🚢 England’s New Confidence After 1588

• 1588: England defeated the Spanish Armada, becoming the dominant naval power.

• With control of the Atlantic, England felt confident expanding its colonies.

🏰 First Permanent English Colony: Jamestown (1607)

• Established in Virginia.

• This was the first lasting English settlement in North America.

• It began England’s long-term colonial presence.

🗺 13 Colonies Established (1607–1733)

• Over the next 126 years, 13 English colonies were founded along the east coast.

• These colonies would eventually form the original United States.

⭐ Spanish vs. French Colonization: Motives & Methods

🇪🇸 Spanish Colonization

Motives

• Inspired by Columbus’s stories of:

  • great riches (gold, silver)

  • “docile” natives who could be converted to Christianity

• Their goals were often summarized as the “3 G’s”:

  • Gold

  • Glory

  • God

Methods

• Conquest and force were central.

• Conquered large empires:

  • Aztecs (Mexico)

  • Incas (Peru)

• Used:

  • Superior weapons

  • Horses

  • Brutal military tactics

• Also brought European diseases, especially smallpox, which wiped out millions of natives.

🇫🇷 French Colonization (not in your text, but here for comparison)

Motives

• Mostly interested in:

  • Fur trade

  • Building trade alliances

  • Expanding influence, but not large-scale conquest

• Much less focused on gold or large settlements.

Methods

• Friendlier relations with Native Americans.

• Formed alliances (especially with tribes involved in the fur trade).

• Smaller settlements and fewer colonists.

• Did missionary work (Jesuits) but with less violence.

⭐ Key Difference (in one sentence)

The Spanish came for wealth and conquest, using force and domination, while the French came mainly for trade and alliances, relying on cooperation with native groups.

Notes: European Settlement – Spanish vs. French

Spanish Colonization

• Motives:

  • Inspired by Columbus’s reports of gold, wealth, and easily converted natives.

  • Wanted riches, land, and to spread Christianity.

• Methods:

  • Used brute force to conquer Central and South America.

  • Defeated powerful empires like the Aztec and Inca.

  • Brought horses, advanced weapons, and deadly diseases (especially smallpox).

  • Disease and violence killed large numbers of natives.

French Colonization (implied differences—even though not in this text, these help contrast)

• Motivated by trade (especially fur), alliances, and exploration—not gold.

• Used friendship and cooperation, not force.

• Often formed alliances with Native groups.

Spanish Missionaries & Encomienda System

• Encomienda system:

  • Spanish officers were granted land taken from natives.

  • Supposed to protect natives and convert them to Christianity.

  • In practice, it enslaved natives; they were forced to perform menial tasks.

  • Resulted in a stark social divide in Spanish colonies.

• Role of Catholicism:

  • Spanish monarchs + Roman Catholic Church sent missionaries to settlements.

  • By late 16th century: 300+ settlements established.

  • Many missionaries used threats and violence to convert natives.

• Resistance:

  • The Pueblos of New Mexico became hostile.

  • 1680: Po’pay’s Rebellion

    • Leader: Po’pay united all Pueblo tribes.

    • Result: ~400 Spaniards killed; all churches destroyed.

    • Spanish regained control 12 years later.

Impact of Spanish Colonization in America

• Exploitation & Transformation:

  • Colonies built on plunder, religious conversion, and enslavement of natives.

  • Introduced European crops and animals → transformed native lifestyles.

  • Horses revolutionized life for tribes in the Great Plains.

• Cultural Legacy:

  • Spanish culture, religion, and language still influence Mexico and South America today.

• Racial Integration:

  • Unlike French/English, Spanish intermarried with natives.

  • Led to creation of mestizos (mixed-race population).

  • Many modern Mexicans value their fusion of Old and New World heritage.

French Colonization in North America

• Approach to Natives:

  • Focused on trade and diplomacy, not violent conquest.

  • Formed mutually beneficial alliances with American Indians.

  • Practiced reciprocity: traded axes, cloth, glass beads for fur.

• Motivations:

  • Expand the fur trade.

  • Spread Catholic faith (eventually leading to New Orleans colony in 1718).

• Settlement Pattern:

  • Colonization was sparse, mostly in northern Canada.

  • Large settlements were unnecessary due to focus on fur trade rather than conquest.