Compare And Contrast French And Spanish Colonization

Those who came to America were seeking better lives and religious freedom. While the Spanish had already established somewhat of a foothold after Cortes conquered Mexico, and had established large and extensive bureaucracies, the French and English relied more on “private companies and individual proprietors [who] pioneered development”. Although England had more personal governing freedoms, creating the House of Burgess in 1618, and governing with procedures that were similar to the House of Commons in England, all of these cultures were still under the political control of their rulers. Because the English embraced emigration and encouraged it, as they had been encouraged by their homeland, their populations grew very quickly. The French and Spanish populations were significantly smaller. The English could use their gains and even tax themselves for personal use, where the French and Spanish …show more content…
“The Protestant Reformation had also helped frame the character of French and English settlements in the Americas.” Religion was clearly important to all. The English, renouncing the Protestant faith came as Pilgrims and Puritans and later Quakers. The Spanish and French wanted to spread the Catholic faith among indigenous people. The English were not focused on missionary type goals.
To some extent, English, French and Spanish colonists, all had the backing of their countries ruling parties. The English colonies were established by Royal Charter, and “Crown supported conquests gained riches for Spain and expanded its empire”. The first French colonies were missionaries working for the Crown of France. Therefore, the populations which came were predominantly coming for religious reasons, although economic gains were also very important. Most of these people were regular citizens, with a few wealthy emigrants. “London investors took up the challenge of colonizing the