Chapter 2

France, a prominent European power, was slow to colonize the New World due to internal conflicts and wars during the 1500s, including violent clashes between Roman Catholics and Protestant Huguenots. French adventurers made limited journeys to the New World, with Jacques Cartier exploring parts of Canada in the 1540s, claiming the region for France. French fishermen and fur-trappers also engaged in economic activities off the Canadian coast and in the interior forests.

The 1598 Edict of Nantes brought religious toleration to France, ending religious wars and heralding the nation's rise as a powerful European force under King Louis XIV. Louis XIV took a keen interest in overseas colonies, and eventually, France established a permanent presence in the New World, founding Quebec in 1608. Samuel de Champlain, known as the "Father of New France," played a crucial role in the establishment of the French empire in Canada.

Champlain's approach to diplomacy with Native Americans contrasted with the Spanish dominion, as he sought respectful alliances with various tribes. However, an unfortunate conflict with the Iroquois tribes led to lasting enmity and hindered French expansion into the Ohio Valley. The government of New France became an autocratic royal regime under the direct control of the king, without representative assemblies or trial by jury.

The population of Catholic New France grew slowly, with around sixty thousand white inhabitants by 1750. French peasants, content with their land holdings, had little economic incentive to migrate, and Protestant Huguenots were denied refuge in the colony. The French government prioritized its Caribbean island colonies with lucrative sugar and rum production over Canada.

New France possessed a valuable resource - the beaver - which French fur-trappers hunted for their sought-after pelts used in European fashion. The colorful coureurs de bois, or "runners of the woods," ventured deep into North America, establishing place names and engaging in the fur trade with the help of indigenous peoples.

The fur trade, while lucrative, had harmful consequences for the Native Americans, as it exposed them to Old World diseases and disrupted their traditional way of life. French Catholic missionaries, like the Jesuits, tried to convert the Indians and document their experiences in New France.

Some French explorers, like Antoine Cadillac and Robert de La Salle, sought to expand French dominion to counter English and Spanish encroachment. The French established fortified posts and founded New Orleans as a strategic outpost at the mouth of the Mississippi River, facilitating trade and securing French influence in the region.

Despite their efforts, the French empire in the New World remained modest. French peasants were reluctant to move to what they saw as cold and dangerous colonies, and the French relied more on Native American allies for trade and military support than the English did. Native Americans took advantage of the rivalry between the French and British by engaging in negotiations and trade with both European powers.

For nearly a century after Columbus's arrival in Hispaniola, the Spanish empire held significant control over the New World, extracting wealth from colonies like Mexico and Peru through gold, silver, pearls, and other resources. The influx of riches led to rampant inflation in Spain, causing scarcity of goods except for silver.

The Spanish continued exploring and expanding their influence in the Americas, establishing the first permanent European settlement in North America, St. Augustine, in 1565. They further expanded northward, founding New Mexico after negotiations with the Pueblo peoples. Santa Fe became the capital of New Mexico in 1610, serving as a gateway into North America.

Unlike the economically focused colonies in the Caribbean and Central America, Florida and New Mexico primarily functioned as missionary centers rather than contributing to Spanish revenue. Despite this, they strengthened Spanish claims to sovereignty in their respective regions, frustrating their European rivals.

During the 1500s, England's attempts to rival the expansive Spanish Empire were weak. Initially allied with Spain, England showed little interest in establishing its own overseas colonies. Religious conflict, fueled by the English Protestant Reformation, disrupted the country, with Catholics and Protestants vying for power.

After Protestant Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1558, England embraced Protestantism, leading to intensified rivalry with Catholic Spain. Ireland, under English rule since the twelfth century, became a battleground in this rivalry. The Catholic Irish sought Spanish aid to resist the new Protestant English queen, but their uprising was brutally crushed by Elizabeth's troops, resulting in atrocities and the confiscation of Catholic Irish lands.

As part of a policy to establish control, the English "planted" Ireland with new Protestant landlords, exacerbating religious conflicts that persist to this day. English soldiers' contemptuous attitude towards the Irish natives during this period influenced their approach to the New World.

Encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I, ambitious English buccaneers targeted Spanish treasure ships and settlements to promote Protestantism and seek plunder, even during times of supposed peace between England and Spain. Among the famous "sea dogs" was Sir Francis Drake, who returned in 1580 with immense Spanish booty, providing massive profits to his backers, including Queen Elizabeth.

Early English attempts at colonization, such as Sir Humphrey Gilbert's in Newfoundland, failed, while Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke colony mysteriously vanished in the Virginia region. These failures contrasted with the wealth of the Spanish Empire, led by Philip II, who assembled the "Invincible Armada" to invade England. The decisive defeat of the Armada in 1588 marked a turning point for Spain's global dominance.

England's triumph over the Armada intensified its national spirit, leading to a golden age of literature, with William Shakespeare referencing England's American colonies. A sense of restlessness, adventure, and curiosity about the unknown blossomed, fostering self-confidence and vibrant patriotism. As peace was eventually signed with Spain in 1604, England was primed to establish its own colonial empire in the New World.

As the seventeenth century began, England experienced social and economic changes, with its population growing from 3 million in 1550 to about 4 million in 1600. Enclosures of croplands for sheep grazing forced small farmers into tenancy or off the land entirely, leading to economic depression in the woolen trade and causing footloose farmers to drift around England, often becoming beggars and paupers in cities like Bristol and London.

Despite the perception of a "surplus population," England held a mobile population compared to present-day London. Laws of primogeniture limited inheritance of landed estates to eldest sons, compelling ambitious younger sons like Gilbert, Raleigh, and Drake to seek fortunes elsewhere. With the development of joint-stock companies in the early 1600s, investors known as "adventurers" pooled their capital to limit personal risk.

Peace with Spain, a growing population, unemployment, and a thirst for adventure, markets, and religious freedom provided the motives for English colonization. Joint-stock companies offered the financial means, leading to a historic effort to establish an English presence in the uncharted North American wilderness.

In 1606, the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company, received a charter from King James I to establish a settlement in the New World with the promise of gold and hopes of finding a passage to the Indies. Although the company intended to last only a few years, it granted the settlers the same rights as Englishmen. The settlers, arriving in 1607, faced numerous challenges, including attacks from Native Americans, mosquito-infested and unhealthy conditions, and lack of provisions.

Captain John Smith's leadership helped keep the colony from collapsing in its early years. Despite facing starvation and disease, the colonists persevered. Pocahontas, the daughter of the Native American chief Powhatan, played a crucial role as an intermediary between the Indians and the settlers. However, the "starving time" of 1609-1610 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of settlers.

Lord De La Warr's arrival with a relief party in 1610 encouraged the remaining settlers to continue their efforts in Jamestown. Disease continued to take its toll, leaving only around 1,200 survivors out of nearly 8,000 adventurers who had initially set out to establish the colony.

Click here to read a short summary of Jamestown's Starving Time, which aligns with the bottom image.

The English colonists encountered Powhatan, the chieftain who ruled over the native peoples in the James River area, forming Powhatan's Confederacy, which included around 100 villages and 24,000 people. At first, Powhatan saw the English as potential allies, but tensions arose as the colonists resorted to raiding Indian food supplies during periods of starvation.

In 1610, when Lord De La Warr arrived, he declared war against the Indians in the Jamestown region, adopting "Irish tactics" and leading to the First Anglo-Powhatan War. A peace settlement followed in 1614 after the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, but the fragile peace was broken in 1622 when the Indians struck back in the Second Anglo-Powhatan War, resulting in significant casualties and the displacement of the Chesapeake Indians from their ancestral lands.

By 1669, only about two thousand Indians remained in Virginia, less than 10 percent of the population encountered by the original English settlers in 1607. Epidemics of European-borne diseases, disorganization, and disposability led to the decline of the Powhatans. They lacked the unity and cohesion of the smaller English settlement and provided no valuable commodities for trade, making them disposable in the eyes of the colonists, who desired their land.

In the late sixteenth century, the Netherlands revolted against Catholic Spain and gained their independence with the help of Protestant England. The Dutch then turned their attention overseas and became a major commercial and naval power in the seventeenth century. They challenged England in three Anglo-Dutch naval wars, each side dealing significant blows.

The Dutch Republic also became a prominent colonial power, with its greatest activity in the East Indies. The Dutch East India Company, a powerful entity, maintained an extensive and profitable empire for over three hundred years. Seeking further wealth, the company employed English explorer Henry Hudson, who explored the Hudson River area in present-day New York and filed a Dutch claim to the region.

The Dutch West India Company, though less potent than its East India counterpart, had profitable ventures in the Caribbean and captured Spanish treasure ships. New Netherland, now the Hudson River area, was established by the Dutch West India Company for fur trade, with New Amsterdam as its main settlement. The Dutch colony was initially run as a company town, with little enthusiasm for religious toleration or democratic practices. However, it attracted a diverse and cosmopolitan population over time, becoming a haven for refugees and immigrants from various backgrounds.

Vexations plagued the Dutch company-colony from its inception, with incompetent directors-general and shareholders prioritizing dividends over the colony's welfare.

Local Indians retaliated with brutal massacres, and New England was hostile towards its Dutch neighbor, ousting Hollanders from their land.

The Swedes also intruded on Dutch territory, establishing New Sweden on the Delaware River.

In 1655, the Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant's leadership defeated the Swedes, absorbing their colony into New Netherland, leaving a lasting impact on Delaware's heritage.

New Netherland represented only a secondary commercial interest to the Dutch and was overshadowed by the more vigorous English colonies to the north.

New England immigrants, comprising about half of New Netherland's population, threatened to seize control from within, prompting the English to see the Dutch as intruders.

In 1664, the English fleet captured New Amsterdam, which was then renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York.

The conquered Dutch province retained illiberal features, with an autocratic spirit and influential landowning families wielding disproportionate power.

The Dutch left their mark on the middle colonies, evident in place names, architecture, and social customs such as Easter eggs, Santa Claus, and bowling.

The arrival of European powers in North America led to profound changes for Native Americans, disrupting their lives and causing demographic and cultural transformations.

Disease was a significant disruptor, as Old World pathogens caused devastating epidemics among biologically defenseless Indian populations, extinguishing entire cultures and reshaping others.

Trade with Europeans also transformed Indian life, introducing firearms and intensifying rivalries among tribes for access to prime hunting grounds and trade goods.

Native Americans played a critical role in the expanding Atlantic economy, but often struggled to control the terms of engagement and were at times exploited by European traders.

The impact of European colonization on Native Americans varied across regions, with some tribes being annihilated or displaced while others managed to strike a balance with the imperial powers and maintain their autonomy for a time.