If
you select this Discussion Question 1,
please consider the following in your response:
-What motivated the French, Spanish, and English to settle in the New World? Were their intentions the same? If not, how were they different?
-How did the European nations interact with native tribes? In what ways was that interaction similar? In what ways was it different?
-Make sure you include proper in-text citations and a Works Cited section with your response. You can find examples of MLA formatting in the Doc Sharing area of the class.
-What motivated the French, Spanish, and English to settle in the New World? Were their intentions the same? If not, how were they different?
-How did the European nations interact with native tribes? In what ways was that interaction similar? In what ways was it different?
-Make sure you include proper in-text citations and a Works Cited section with your response. You can find examples of MLA formatting in the Doc Sharing area of the class.
Before
I talk about the French, Spanish and English Colonists I think that it is
important to include in this topic that the Native Americans were the first settlers
of what is now known as North AND South America (basically the whole of the
Western Hemisphere!). The Native American’s migrated to the Americas sometime
around 25,000-30,000 years ago; although archeologists dispute this claim.
French:
There
are four notable French Explorers who helped conquer the new world. They are: Giovanni da Verrazano, he sailed up the
coast of North America, looking for a passage to the west. He was unsuccessful
and returned home to France. Jacques Cartier
had a little more luck. His original goal was to find a passage that would lead
to the East Indies; instead he found the St. Lawrence River. He conquered for
France what would later be called Montreal. The discovery of Canada is what prompted
the French to come to North America as colonists.
Samuel de Champlain,
in 1608 Champlain brought settlers to Montreal and they built a settlement.
They traded furs with the Indians, and they sent out missionaries to try and
convert the natives to Christianity. Champlain is credited with the discovery
of what is known as The Great Lakes today. Father
Marquette was a missionary living with the Huron Indians Louis Joliet was contracted to help
find a river to the Pacific Ocean; instead he is credited with finding the
Mississippi instead. Robert LaSalle
traveled and claimed the entire Mississippi in the name of France, though this
move France clenched their hold on the New World and what would later become
the United States of America.
The
French Indian War or also known as the 7 Years War erupted over France and Britain’s
dispute of land located in the Ohio River Valley. I will explain more of the
English involvement later. It is interesting to note however that the French
and Indians fought on the same side. Many French intermarried and traded with
the Indians. So consequently when it came time to pick loyalties the Indians naturally
sided with the French. This gave France an advantage because the Indians, being
natives of the land, knew the lay of the land extremely well.
Spanish:
“Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.” This is a
common nursery rhyme taught to young children. We honor this great explorer
with his own holiday in the United States; Columbus Day. While there have been many
explorers that have landed on the shores of the America’s, Christopher Columbus
is the most renowned Spanish explorer. Columbus is credited with being one the
first explorers of the New World (although that is up for debate, evidence has
brought to light that perhaps even the Vikings might have touched down on the
shores of the New World LONG before Christopher Columbus set foot here, but I
digress).
Columbus founded the Spanish settlement of Isabella.
After discovering a high quantity of gold, the Spanish spread quickly through
the areas of what is now known today as Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, and South
America. The Spanish did not treat the natives very kindly; they brought with
them diseases, which killed of much of the Native American population and
brought many of them to the brink of extinction. Cruelty towards the Native
American population was not uncommon, they were treated as slaves.
The Spanish are infamously or famously known for single
handedly destroying the Aztec Empire. The Spanish brought weapons to defeat the
Aztecs, but little did the Aztecs or the Spanish know that something smaller
would cause the downfall of the Aztecs. Smallpox is credited with singlehandedly
wiping out the Aztec Empire.
English:
Ironically
Christopher Columbus is the explorer that we credit with finding the New World,
and yet we identify with Great Britain was being the ones that conquered the
New World. In all actuality most of what is now the United States had been
claimed by other European nations before Great Britain came along. Great
Britain gets the credit however because they were the last ones standing…..well
almost.
The
first British Colony was Roanoke Virginia in 1584. (Virginia named after the
Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth 1st). This settlement was a failure;
however British Colonists would try several times to set up settlements between
1585 and 1590. Other British settlement would be colonized around this time
known as Plymouth and Jamestown. The British Colonist relationship with the Native
Americans known as the Algonquians were rather rocky, at times the local
natives could be really helpful and at other times not so much.
British
came to the America’s for many different reasons. Some were seeking religious
freedom and other were in search of money, most though were in search of a new
life, free of poverty, and religious persecution. As mentioned above, the British
were heavily involved in the French Indian war. The dispute erupted over territories
in the Ohio River Valley. Most famously, is the war between the American
Colonists who fought for freedom against the British Monarchists, this war is
known as The American Revolutionary War started which started in 1812.
Work
Cited
"Background
Notes: Colonial America Historical." Colonization in the New World.
Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.teachingushistory.org/lessons/col_his_bg_notes.html>.
United States. National Park Service.
"Unit 1." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the
Interior, 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nps.gov/fora/learn/education/unit-1-spain-in-the-new-world-to-1600.htm>.
"The
French Come to the New World." The French Come to the New World.
Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
<http://bookunitsteacher.com/explorers/frenchexplorers.htm>.