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European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore the New World and the first to settle in what is now the United States.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/motivations-colonization/

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European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and influence.

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Historians generally recognize three motives for European exploration and colonization in the New World: God, gold, and glory.

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European countries migrated to the Americas in order to boost their economies and expand their sway over international politics.
Source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/motivations-colonization/

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Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands established colonies in North America. Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits.

Subjects

Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Religion, Social Studies, Economics, U.S. History, World History

Image

Jamestown Colony Ferry

The opportunity to make money was one of the primary motivators for the colonization of the New World. The Virginia Company of London established the Jamestown colony to make a profit for its investors.

Painting by Richard Schlecht

Europe's period of exploration and colonization was fueled largely by necessity. Europeans had become accustomed to the goods from Asia, such as the silk, spices, and pottery that had for centuries traveled the Silk Road. By the middle of the 16th century, however, this trade was under threat. The rise in power of the Ottoman Turks and the decline of the Mongol Empire disrupted traditional trade routes. At the same time, there were a number of improvements in shipbuilding and navigation, making it possible to travel farther and for longer periods of time. European countries recognized the potential profits of securing better trade with Asia and sought new routes by sea.

Commissioned by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was among the first who sought a faster, more direct route to Asia by sailing west rather than east. In 1492, Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean. Although Columbus mistakenly believed he had landed on an island in East Asia, later explorers added to the knowledge of the land, and-thanks in part to the voyages of fellow Italian Amerigo Vespucci-determined that Columbus had reached a "New World." Each of the major European powers-Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England-sent explorers to the New World. Colonization, or the desire to establish permanent settlements, soon followed.

Some of these European countries fought one another for control over trade and the riches of the New World. While they all shared a desire for wealth and power, their motivations for colonization differed somewhat, and thus the pattern and success of their colonies varied significantly.

God, Gold, and Glory

Spain was driven by three main motivations. Columbus, in his voyage, sought fame and fortune, as did his Spanish sponsors. To this end, Spain built a fort in 1565 at what is now St. Augustine, Florida; today, this is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States. A few fledgling Spanish settlements were established nearby, but clashes with Native Americans who lived there, and the lack of gold or other riches made many of them short-lived. Spanish conquistadors had better success in South America, where they conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires and claimed the land for Spain. Spain soon grew rich from ample deposits of gold and silver in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

In addition to the quest for gold, however, Spain sought to spread Christianity. To this end, missions were founded in present-day Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California-indeed, anywhere the Spaniards had influence. The first mission was founded in New Mexico by friars who accompanied a 1598 expedition by Don Juan Oñante, who explored the southwest in search of gold. It would take another 70 years before the Spanish began to settle in California; Father Junipero Serra built Mission San Diego, the first mission in present-day California, in 1769. To protect these missions, the Spanish established presidios, where soldiers lived.

The main goal of these missions was to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Missionaries worked in schools to convert Native Americans to Christianity and also how to farm and adopt other European ways. Some missions also served as posts where explorers set out on the quest for riches. Many claimed larger areas of land around them to farm and raise animals. Over time, these missions grew into villages and then cities. Some of today's largest cities in the southwestern United States began hundreds of years ago as missions.

Fur Fervor

In 1534, navigator Jacques Cartier claimed northern North America for France; in 1608, fellow explorer Samuel de Champlain founded the first French settlement of Quebec on the cliffs over the St. Lawrence River. France focused its attention on establishing commercially viable trading posts in the New World to supply Europe with its seemingly never-ending demand for furs. To this end, France fostered good relationships with Native Americans, and built on mutual benefits of the trade of beaver furs for French goods. In comparison with England, the colonial population of New France was relatively small.

The Netherlands also became interested in the New World because of its economic promise. For such a small country, the Netherlands was a naval powerhouse. The Dutch East India Company controlled trade with the so-called Spice Islands, which are now part of Indonesia, making the Netherlands one of the world's foremost commercial centers. The Dutch government gave the company the power to establish colonies, which enabled the company to control trade. Its foray into North America began in 1609, when the Dutch East India Company employed English explorer Henry Hudson to search for a water route by which it could reach its markets in Indonesia more quickly. Hudson did not find the so-called Northwest Passage, but he explored the river bearing his name.

The Dutch established settlements in what it called New Netherland. It purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans in 1626 and renamed it New Amsterdam. The primary motivation for Dutch settlement of this area was financial-the country wanted to add to its treasury. To this end, Dutch traders formed powerful alliances with Native Americans based on the trade of beaver pelts and furs. Farmers and merchants followed. Success was short-lived, however. In 1664, Britain took over the colony of New Netherland and renamed it New York.

England Establishes Permanent Colonies

Of all the European countries, England established the firmest foothold in North America. Like the other European countries, England was motivated in part by the lure of both riches and the Northwest Passage. In 1606, King James I granted a charter to colonize Virginia to the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company of investors who believed there was a profit to be made. They settled the colony of Jamestown. Yet, Britain soon had populated permanent settlements in the new world for a different reason.

The settlement of these colonies was motivated by religion. In 1620, a group of settlers left Plymouth, England, to join the settlers in Jamestown. Among them were the separatists, a group of people who believed the Church of England to be corrupt and thus sought to break from it. They believed the New World would offer them an opportunity to live and worship in accordance with their beliefs. They left England later than they had planned, and their ship was blown off course. They landed on the coast of present-day Massachusetts and named their settlement after the town from which they had set sail.

These Pilgrims were followed by countless others who settled along the Atlantic Coast. Britain encouraged these settlements, benefiting from the vast array of raw materials the colonies found and cultivated. In New England, the colonies engaged in fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding. Farther south, colonies provided tobacco, rice, and indigo. For almost 200 years, until the colonies fought and won their independence, England benefited financially from the relationship with its North American colonies.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

other

October 19, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands established colonies in North America. Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits.

# data[].attributes.body
The opportunity to make money was one of the primary motivators why Europeans came to America and colonized them.

Europe's period of exploration and colonization was fueled largely by necessity.

Souces:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/motivations-colonization/

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During the colonial period, Native Americans had a complicated relationship with European settlers. They resisted the efforts of the Europeans to gain more of their land and control through both warfare and diplomacy.

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The Crusades, a series of religious conflicts fought between the 11th and 15th centuries in which European Christians fought to establish Jerusalem as a Christian-only territory, can be directly linked to religious causes.
Sources: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/precontact-and-early-colonial-era/old-and-new-worlds-collide/a/motivations-for-conquest-of-the-new-world

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Historians generally recognize three motives for European exploration and colonization in the New World: God, gold, and glory.

Religious motivations can be traced all the way back to the Crusades, the series of religious wars between the 11th and 15th centuries during which European Christians sought to claim Jerusalem as an exclusively Christian space.

Europeans also searched for optimal trade routes to lucrative Asian markets and hoped to gain global recognition for their country.

The Crusades: increased religious intolerance and forceful religious conversion

The year 622 brought a new challenge to Christianity. Near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a prophet named Muhammad claimed he received a revelation that became a cornerstone of the Islamic faith. The Koran, which contained the revelations received by Muhammad, identified Jesus Christ not as God but as a prophet. Islam spread throughout the Middle East and into Europe until 732.

Soon thereafter, European Christians began the Crusades, a campaign of violence against Muslims to dominate the Holy Lands -an area that extended from modern-day Turkey in the north along the Mediterranean coast to the Sinai Peninsula-under Islamic control, partially in response to sustained Muslim control in Europe. The city of Jerusalem is a holy site for Jews, Christians, and Muslims; evidence exists that the three religions lived there in harmony for centuries. But in 1095, European Christians decided not only to reclaim the holy city from Muslim rulers but also to conquer the entire surrounding area.

The Crusades provided the religious ideology for the Reconquista, which in turn inspired Atlantic colonization. The Reconquista, or reconquest, refers to the 800 years of violence and expulsion of Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula after the failed Crusades. The Crusades and the Reconquista cemented religious intolerance, and the Christians looked to colonization partly as a means of continuing religious conquests. Particularly in the strongly Catholic nations of Spain and Portugal, religious zeal motivated the rulers to convert Native Americans and sanctify Christian global dominance.

The lure of gold: finding new routes to trade Eastern goods

Despite the consequent religious polarization, the Crusades dramatically increased maritime trade between the East and West. As Crusaders experienced the feel of silk, the taste of spices, and the utility of porcelain, desire for these products created new markets for merchants.

Merchants' ships brought Europeans valuable goods, traveling between the port cities of western Europe and the East from the 10th century on along routes collectively labeled the Silk Road. However, transporting goods along the Silk Road was costly, slow, and unprofitable. Muslim middlemen collected taxes as the goods changed hands. Robbers waited to ambush treasure-laden caravans.

As well as seeking a water passage to the wealthy cities of the East, sailors wanted to find a route to the exotic and wealthy Spice Islands in modern-day Indonesia, whose location was kept secret by Muslim rulers. The lure of profit pushed explorers to seek new trade routes to the Spice Islands and to eliminate Muslim middlemen.

A thirst for glory: European competition for global dominance

Competition between the Portuguese and the Spanish motivated both nations to colonize quickly and aggressively. Prince Henry the Navigator spearheaded Portugal's exploration of Africa and the Atlantic in the 1400s. Portuguese sailors successfully navigated an eastward route to West Africa, where they established a trading foothold. Portugal then spread its empire down the western coast of Africa to the Congo, along the western coast of India, and eventually to Brazil and the Atlantic islands. Although the Portuguese did not rule over an immense landmass, their strategic holdings of islands and coastal ports gave them almost unrivaled control of nautical trade routes.

The travels of Portuguese traders to western Africa also acquainted the Portuguese with the African slave trade, already widely in practice in West Africa and funded by sugar production on the newly colonized Atlantic islands. Upon discovering the immense global market for sugar, the Portuguese began to trade enslaved people across the Atlantic to toil on the sugar plantations. The Portuguese fort Elmina Castle, located in modern-day Ghana, became more of a holding pen for enslaved Africans from the interior of the continent than a trading post, as the markets for slave labor in both Europe and then the New World boomed.

Portuguese colonization in the 1400s inaugurated an era of aggressive European expansion across the Atlantic. The Spanish, threatened by the Portuguese monopoly on enslaved Africans and expansion in the Atlantic, started their own colonization project with Christopher Columbus in 1492. The competition between the two nations continued and drew more and more Europeans to the New World.

What do you think?

How did the Crusades influence European colonization projects?

Explain the relationship between religion, commerce, and conquest at the beginning of European exploration and colonization.

Imagine you are a European explorer in the 1400s. Do you think you would be most motivated by religious conversion, global market opportunities, or competition with other European nations? Why?

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Motivation for European conquest of the New World (article) | Khan Academy

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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Europeans wanted the power and resulting wealth that would come from controlling trade. Finding all water routes to Asia and its riches would allow European merchants to cut out Middle Eastern middlemen and reap all the profits of eastern trade. Some Europeans were also eager to spread Christianity to nonbelievers.

Sources:
https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CKHG-G5-U3-about-european-motivation.pdf

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Europeans also  search for trade route to Asian markets and hoped to gain wealth and global recognition for their country.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/precontact-and-early-colonial-era/old-and-new-worlds-collide/a/motivations-for-conquest-of-the-new-world

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Colonization ruptured many ecosystems, bringing in new organisms while eliminating others. The Europeans brought many diseases with them that decimated Native American populations.

Sources:
https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CKHG-G5-U3-about-european-motivation.pdf

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The aboriginal  inhabits suffered greatly as a result of European colonization of North America. Their way of life underwent a quick  but permanent transformation. Many circumstances such of the loss of land illness, the imposition of laws that went against their culture, and much more, contributed to the changes
Sources: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/motivations-colonization/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands established colonies in North America. Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits.

Subjects

Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Religion, Social Studies, Economics, U.S. History, World History

Image

Jamestown Colony Ferry

The opportunity to make money was one of the primary motivators for the colonization of the New World. The Virginia Company of London established the Jamestown colony to make a profit for its investors.

Painting by Richard Schlecht

Europe's period of exploration and colonization was fueled largely by necessity. Europeans had become accustomed to the goods from Asia, such as the silk, spices, and pottery that had for centuries traveled the Silk Road. By the middle of the 16th century, however, this trade was under threat. The rise in power of the Ottoman Turks and the decline of the Mongol Empire disrupted traditional trade routes. At the same time, there were a number of improvements in shipbuilding and navigation, making it possible to travel farther and for longer periods of time. European countries recognized the potential profits of securing better trade with Asia and sought new routes by sea.

Commissioned by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was among the first who sought a faster, more direct route to Asia by sailing west rather than east. In 1492, Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean. Although Columbus mistakenly believed he had landed on an island in East Asia, later explorers added to the knowledge of the land, and-thanks in part to the voyages of fellow Italian Amerigo Vespucci-determined that Columbus had reached a "New World." Each of the major European powers-Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England-sent explorers to the New World. Colonization, or the desire to establish permanent settlements, soon followed.

Some of these European countries fought one another for control over trade and the riches of the New World. While they all shared a desire for wealth and power, their motivations for colonization differed somewhat, and thus the pattern and success of their colonies varied significantly.

God, Gold, and Glory

Spain was driven by three main motivations. Columbus, in his voyage, sought fame and fortune, as did his Spanish sponsors. To this end, Spain built a fort in 1565 at what is now St. Augustine, Florida; today, this is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States. A few fledgling Spanish settlements were established nearby, but clashes with Native Americans who lived there, and the lack of gold or other riches made many of them short-lived. Spanish conquistadors had better success in South America, where they conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires and claimed the land for Spain. Spain soon grew rich from ample deposits of gold and silver in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

In addition to the quest for gold, however, Spain sought to spread Christianity. To this end, missions were founded in present-day Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California-indeed, anywhere the Spaniards had influence. The first mission was founded in New Mexico by friars who accompanied a 1598 expedition by Don Juan Oñante, who explored the southwest in search of gold. It would take another 70 years before the Spanish began to settle in California; Father Junipero Serra built Mission San Diego, the first mission in present-day California, in 1769. To protect these missions, the Spanish established presidios, where soldiers lived.

The main goal of these missions was to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Missionaries worked in schools to convert Native Americans to Christianity and also how to farm and adopt other European ways. Some missions also served as posts where explorers set out on the quest for riches. Many claimed larger areas of land around them to farm and raise animals. Over time, these missions grew into villages and then cities. Some of today's largest cities in the southwestern United States began hundreds of years ago as missions.

Fur Fervor

In 1534, navigator Jacques Cartier claimed northern North America for France; in 1608, fellow explorer Samuel de Champlain founded the first French settlement of Quebec on the cliffs over the St. Lawrence River. France focused its attention on establishing commercially viable trading posts in the New World to supply Europe with its seemingly never-ending demand for furs. To this end, France fostered good relationships with Native Americans, and built on mutual benefits of the trade of beaver furs for French goods. In comparison with England, the colonial population of New France was relatively small.

The Netherlands also became interested in the New World because of its economic promise. For such a small country, the Netherlands was a naval powerhouse. The Dutch East India Company controlled trade with the so-called Spice Islands, which are now part of Indonesia, making the Netherlands one of the world's foremost commercial centers. The Dutch government gave the company the power to establish colonies, which enabled the company to control trade. Its foray into North America began in 1609, when the Dutch East India Company employed English explorer Henry Hudson to search for a water route by which it could reach its markets in Indonesia more quickly. Hudson did not find the so-called Northwest Passage, but he explored the river bearing his name.

The Dutch established settlements in what it called New Netherland. It purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans in 1626 and renamed it New Amsterdam. The primary motivation for Dutch settlement of this area was financial-the country wanted to add to its treasury. To this end, Dutch traders formed powerful alliances with Native Americans based on the trade of beaver pelts and furs. Farmers and merchants followed. Success was short-lived, however. In 1664, Britain took over the colony of New Netherland and renamed it New York.

England Establishes Permanent Colonies

Of all the European countries, England established the firmest foothold in North America. Like the other European countries, England was motivated in part by the lure of both riches and the Northwest Passage. In 1606, King James I granted a charter to colonize Virginia to the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company of investors who believed there was a profit to be made. They settled the colony of Jamestown. Yet, Britain soon had populated permanent settlements in the new world for a different reason.

The settlement of these colonies was motivated by religion. In 1620, a group of settlers left Plymouth, England, to join the settlers in Jamestown. Among them were the separatists, a group of people who believed the Church of England to be corrupt and thus sought to break from it. They believed the New World would offer them an opportunity to live and worship in accordance with their beliefs. They left England later than they had planned, and their ship was blown off course. They landed on the coast of present-day Massachusetts and named their settlement after the town from which they had set sail.

These Pilgrims were followed by countless others who settled along the Atlantic Coast. Britain encouraged these settlements, benefiting from the vast array of raw materials the colonies found and cultivated. In New England, the colonies engaged in fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding. Farther south, colonies provided tobacco, rice, and indigo. For almost 200 years, until the colonies fought and won their independence, England benefited financially from the relationship with its North American colonies.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

other

October 19, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands established colonies in North America. Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits.

# data[].attributes.body
They came to the continent of America to increase their wealth and to make a huge image of themselves to world affairs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By 1650, however, England had established a dominant presence on the Atlantic coast. The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620.…

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Their motivations were about finding ways to get rich resources such as gold, silver, and other valuables, and so came along the idea of finding new and fresh trade routes.

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The impacts that it gave were diseases and illnesses that the native americans didn't have any exposure to or resistance against it

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Effects of European Colonization: Christopher Columbus and Native Americans

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European colonizers murdered thousand of native American  to gain their land and spread of religion and the interaction between European and native American led to spread of disease that killed 95% of population of Americas
https://study.com/learn/lesson/european-colonization-impact-native-americans.html#:~:text=It%20was%20negative%20because%20European,indigenous%20population%20in%20the%20Americas.