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The period in the Americas from 1491 to 1607 was a time of European exploration, dominated by the Spanish. In the period from 1607 to 1754, exploration began giving way to expanding colonization. In North America, the Spanish, French, Dutch, and British established colonies, with the British dominating the region from Canada to the Caribbean islands. In particular, the British established 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast. Most of these provided a profitable trade and a home to a diverse group of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.

From the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607 to the start of a decisive war for European control of the continent in 1756, the colonies evolved. At first, they struggled for survival. Over time, they became a society of permanent farms, plantations, towns, and cities. European settlers brought various cultures, economic plans, and ideas for governing to the Americas. In particular, with varying approaches, they all sought to dominate the native inhabitants.

Early Settlements

The earliest Europeans in the Americas, the Spanish and Portuguese, settled in Central and South America. The Spanish slowly migrated into North America. Subsequently, the French, Dutch, and British settled along the Atlantic coast of North America and gradually migrated westward and developed various types of colonial systems and relationships with Native Americans.

The first two successful British colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America were Jamestown and Plymouth. They served as the starting points that would lead to 13 colonies as far south as Georgia. Depending on the environmental conditions and settlement patterns, each colony developed its own economic and cultural system. For many, transatlantic trade was important, with tobacco, timber, and rice being important products. Trade, along with ties of religion and language, created strong bonds between the colonies and Great Britain. However, in the mid-1700s, trade also became a point of conflict. Colonies increasingly resisted British control over their trade.

Trade was also the mainstay of early contact between the Europeans and Native Americans. The colonists wanted a dependable food supply and the Native Americans were drawn to the iron tools and guns of the newcomers. But the Europeans generally treated the Native Americans as inferiors to be used or pushed aside. Trade also led to competition for resources among colonists and natives. In particular, the British and the French fought a series of wars for control of land. Native Americans such as the Iroquois and the Huron allied with Europeans or each other to advance their own interests.

Sources of Labor

As Europeans seized land from Native Americans, they looked for a source of labor to make the lands profitable. They first tried to enslave Native Americans. This failed because the Native Americans could escape too easily. Europeans then tried to employ indentured servants, individuals who agreed to work for a master for a set number of years (often seven) in exchange for transportation from Europe to the Americas. Indentured servants became common in the colonies, but they did not provide sufficient labor for people who owned land.

The British, following the example of the Spanish and others, soon began importing enslaved laborers from Africa. Given the steady flow of support and families from Britain, the various 13 colonies gradually developed societies that both mirrored and varied from British society. From 1607 to the 1750s, the growth of these 13 British colonies would lead them to use trade and war to dominate both the Native Americans and the other European colonists.

Migration to the Americas during the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century was both influenced by the environment and had a lasting impact on it. The many different peoples that settled in North America from Europe, together with the Native Americans already living on the continent and the enslaved Africans brought there, would ultimately form a society unlike any previously seen.

Exploration in the new world by Europeans was quickly followed by colonization. The primary motivations for settling in the Americas in the 17th century were the desires for wealth, to spread Christianity, and to escape persecution.

Spanish Colonies

Spanish settlements developed slowly in North America as a result of limited mineral resources and strong opposition from American Indians. Missionary zeal was an important motivator as Roman Catholic Spain worked to counter the expanding influence of the Reformation and Protestantism. These colonies were largely populated by men, and they would gradually include Native Americans and Africans in their society.

Florida JuanPoncedeLeonclaimedtheselandsforSpainin1513.Aftera number of failures and the strong resistance of American Indians in the region, the Spanish established a permanent settlement at St. Augustine in 1565, more than 50 years before the English founded Jamestown. St. Augustine became the oldest city founded by Europeans in what became the mainland of the United States. Only a few small settlements developed as the Spanish found little silver and gold, a declining native population due to wars and disease, and periodic hurricanes.

New Mexico and Arizona In a region that had been settled by American Indians for about 700 years, Spanish colonists began arriving in 1598. They established Santa Fe as the capital of New Mexico in 1610.

Texas Between Florida and New Mexico, the Spanish established settlements in Texas. These communities grew in the early 1700s as Spain resisted French efforts to explore the lower Mississippi River.

California With Russians exploring from Alaska, the Spanish started a settlement at San Diego in 1769. By 1784, the Franciscan order and Father Junípero Serra had established missions along the California coast.

French Colonies

Similar to the Spanish, the French colonizers were mainly men. However, there were few French. Some came as Christian missionaries. Those who came for economic reasons mostly worked in the lucrative fur trade, traveling throughout the interior of North America purchasing furs gathered by American Indians. Many traders married American Indian women, who then provided valuable services as guides, translators, and negotiators with other American Indians. The reliance of the French on trade made rivers particularly important in their colonies.

• Quebec, the first French settlement in America was located on the St. Lawrence River. It was founded by Samuel de Champlain, the “Father of New France,” in 1608.

• In 1673, Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette explored the upper Mississippi River. Nine years later, Robert de La Salle explored the Mississippi basin, which he named Louisiana (after the French king, Louis XIV).

• By 1718, the French had moved southward down the Mississippi River and established a permanent settlement, New Orleans, where the river entered the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans became a prosperous trade center.

Dutch Colonies

During the 1600s, the Netherlands sponsored voyages of exploration. The government hired Henry Hudson, an English sailor, to seek westward passage to Asia. In 1609, while searching for a northwest passage, Hudson sailed up a broad river that was later named for him, the Hudson River. This expedition established Dutch claims to the surrounding area, New Amsterdam (and later New York). The Dutch government granted a private company, the Dutch West India Company, the right to control the region for economic gain.

Like the French colonies, the Dutch colonies consisted of small numbers of traders who built strong trade networks among American Indians. However, the Dutch were more likely to settle in trading posts near the coast or along major rivers and less likely to intermarry with American Indians.

British Colonies

In the early 1600s, England was in a position to colonize the lands explored a century earlier by John Cabot. England’s population was growing more rapidly than its economy, so its number of poor and landless families was increasing. They were attracted to opportunities in the Americas. Using joint-stock companies to finance the risky enterprise of colonization, the English began settling colonies in the Americas.

Compared to other European colonists, those from England included a higher percentage of families and single females, and they were more interested in farming. As a result, English settlers were more likely to claim American Indian land and less likely to intermarry with Indians. In addition, the English colonies attracted a more diverse group of European settlers than did other colonies. Most of these settlers migrated in search of better lives or religious freedom.