The image of America emerged little by little on the maps from the 16th to 18th centuries. Many European explorers travelled a lot looking for wealthy lands. The Spanish explorers were the first from the Europe who settled on the shore of the American continent. It was Christopher Columbus’ second expedition which reached Puerto Rico on November 1493. The places of their destination were the Mississippi River, the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Plains and the Grand Canyon. The Spanish settled at St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. It was the first European settlement on the American continent. New Netherland was the colony belonged to the Dutch from the 17th century and centered in New York and the Hidson River. The Dutch used this colony as the territory for their trade. This colony was captured by the UK in 1664. The area called New France was the French colony from 1534 to 1763. Spanish and Portuguese settlements were between 1500 and 1800. Spanish and Portuguese people always saw the western hemisphere more as a land to exploit and administer than as a place to settle and colonize (Bentley 417).
The French seemed to be slow in the development of interest in the New World. The interest was awaken after a French privateer captured a Spanish ship overloaded with Mexican gold and silver. After this event, Francis l sent navigators to the New World dreaming of the great wealth. Giovanni da Verrazzano established a French claim to the lands of North America. Jacques Cartier was one of these three explorers who reached the St. Lawrence River. Sieur de Robervall ran the first meaningful attempt to found settlements in the North America. He took over a camp which was founded earlier by Cartier which was the place of the modern Quebec but the settlers returned to France after one brutal winter. Jean Ribault reached the St. Johns River and the coastal Florida in 1562 but was confronted by Spanish colonists. Samuel de Champlain explored Port Royal and Quebec in 1608 (Bentley 418).
The French contribution to this exploratory chase was immense. The French traversed the St. Lawrence Valley, the Great Lakes, the Great Plains, the Mississippi Valley, the North Atlantic Coast and the part of the Pacific Coast. Canada was explored by the French who made a great contribution to the development of geography. The French were attracted to the North America believing in the great wealth of these lands in silver, gold and other precious metals. The French wanted to convert native inhabitants (“pagans”) to Roman Catholicism. What goals did the French chase settled in America? They did it for more personal things or the service of God and King, for basic necessity or the desire for wealth, for curiosity or the thirst of knowledge, for the taste of liberty of the search of glory.
French efforts in the exploration of the New World differed sharply from those of other European settlements. One of the basic aims of the French was the exploration of new lands even deep into the interior regions while most European settlers stayed close to the coastlines. The French wanted to plant large permanent settlements populated by French citizens more than commercial interests in trading and fishing. This difference helped France not to become the rival to the English settlers who chased selfish ends exploring new areas.
Works Cited
Bentley, Jerry. Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.