In the 14th and 15th centuries, most of the European powers were looking to expand their influence and power to lands beyond their own. The kings and rulers of the European countries wanted colonies in other lands to be able to acquire resources for their countries. These countries included Spain and France. It, therefore, led to expeditions being dispatched to various parts of the globes that had not been explored before by other people.
One of the most promising regions was America, the ‘New World’. From Spain, the colonial expansion was headed by conquistadores. These were soldiers, explorers, and adventurers. They began the exploration and later the Spain Monarchy came in through its administrators and missionaries. For Spain, the main reasons for establishing the empires were trading and to spread Christianity to the indigenous people of the region. The explorations were led by Christopher Columbus after he got consent and sponsorship from the Spanish Catholic Monarchs. (Leonard)
The Spanish administration that came later benefited from Columbus’s expeditions and took on from there. The Spanish empire in the New World was ruled by two viceroys. There was the Kingdom of New Spain and The Kingdom of Peru. The indigenous people were enslaved and made to work on large firms called haciendas. They also had to pay tax which was taken back to Spain.
The French also established colonies in the western hemisphere. Their empire was mostly devoted to exporting products such as furs, fish, and sugar. The exploration began during the reign of King Francis 1. In 1524, He sent an exploration lead by Giovanni de Verrazano. The exploration was meant to explore the region between Florida and New Found Land. The first exploration was very successful and therefore the King sent more explorations to the New Worlds.
Attempts to establish more colonies in this region were however futile due to constant conflict with the other European powers, the very hostile weather, and the diseases. They were, later on, able to establish colonies that last for a long time. (Centre.)
Since the Atlantic coast had already been colonized by the British and the Spanish, the French wanted to capitalize on the Mississippi River. This was going to help them a lot with their commercial ventures across the whole continent. They, therefore, moved in on this. (Osborne)
Plymouth was an English colony between 1620 and 1691. It was founded by Separatists and Anglicans who were fleeing religious persecution and wanted to have a place to worship without interference. The Plymouth colony was sizable and among the most successful early English colonies in North America. The success of the colony is owed to the treaty with Chief Massasoit.
The social, legal, and religious systems were very close and influenced each other. This developed a culture that was to influence American society forever. Some of the products of this include the thanksgiving holiday which is a recognized federal holiday which began in Plymouth during this time. The people and events that took place around this colony have also had a major contribution to American folklore.
The speech delivered by Puritan preacher John Winthrop, about the shining city upon a hill, leads to the American Exceptionalism belief. There is also Plymouth Rock which is an important symbol in American History. It was erected by the Mayflower pilgrims who founded the Plymouth Colony. (Osborne)
Works Cited
Centre., East Saint Louis Research. French Colonization. 2011. Web.
Fiske, John. The American revolution. Boston Massachusets: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Leonard, Irving Albert. Books of the brave: being an account of books and men in the Spanish Conquest and settlement of the sixteenth-century New World. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1949.
Osborne, Roger. Civilization: a new history of the Western world. Berkeley, CA: Pegasus Books, 2006.