In the Shadow of Spain and the French in the Northeast

In the Shadow of Spain

• spanish power breeds resentment
  • worsened by Protestant Reformation
• northern protestants develop the “black legend”
  • argument that spanish colonization was uniquely cruel
  • origins in *0 Years War propaganda
  • dutch vs hapsburg spain
  • a key motivation for english and dutch colonizers
• in practice, spains rivals weren’t that different

The French in the Northeast

• trade with native people, starting mid-1500s
  • manufactured goods for beaver pelts
  • alliances with northern Algonquians and Hurons (Iroquoians)
• trade on native terms
  • as sharing/ gift-giving among kin
  • created obligation between groups
  • focus on goods’ spiritual value
• reshaped native societies over time
  • dependency on outside goods/markets
  • uneven trade access complicates native politics
• first permanent french settlements in 1600s -1610s
• catholic missionaries arrive 1615
  • live among native people
  • also spread diseases