In the Pre-Colonial era, France
and Spain
were two of the major powers of the day, and were also some of the biggest
colonizers at the time. They are oft overlooked, however, being overshadowed by
the British Empire, who was the most
successful colonizing power, despite getting in the game somewhat late. Why
were these two nations, in some respects, not as successful as the English in
their colonization attempts? Did these two world powers share something in
common besides speaking Romantic languages? What did England
have that gave them the advantage, or were Spain
and France
merely lacking something?
Spain
began her colonization almost immediately after Christopher Columbus' first
commissioned expedition in 1492. The Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon
and his wife Isabella of Castile, began and financed the initial voyages, with
the conquistadors at the spearhead. Soon
private ventures began, with secular Spaniards going for trade and wealth, and
the more religiously inclined departing as missionaries for the Catholic Church
to convert the so-called heathen barbarians discovered there. For nearly four
centuries this was the norm, with the Spanish Empire enveloping modern day Mexico, Central America, the Southwestern
United States and Californian coast, and even extending their
claims northwards as far as the Alaskan coast. To the south, they declared much
of South America, all the way down the western coast to Tierra Del Fuego,
although the eastern portion of the continent was claimed by Portugal. (Chaney, 2012)
Christopher Columbus, the Italian visionary most people of
the time thought insane, has often been portrayed in academia as the benevolent
discoverer of America.
Due to recent historical finds, however, it has been revealed that he was
neither. Leif Eriksson claimed the title of Discoverer nearly 500 years before,
and Columbus himself dispelled the illusion of benevolence and kindheartedness,
recording in his diary that the Indians there "would make fine servants… With
fifty men we could subjugate them all, and make them do whatever we want."
(Zinn, 2003) This sentiment was echoed by the Spanish nobility, and truly set
the tone for the following expeditions, not only the ones headed by Columbus, but by the
conquistadors as well. As historian Edwin Weatherby said on his blog (2012),
"To expand God, gold and glory was the mission statement of the Spanish
during the 16th and 17th centuries. Every explorer and
conquistador became obsessed with either one or the other." And
oftentimes, the expansion of all three were backed under threat of force, even
by the Catholic missionaries. Conquistadors and their men were most notable for
letting their greed drive them, slaughtering entire towns, tribes, and cities
merely to strip away the precious metals and resources located there. It is
interesting to note that this was the first time that legends about mystical
"cities of gold" began circulating, leading some historians to
believe that these were merely myths conjured by the natives, using the greed
of the Spanish against them, and causing them to move on from sacking one area
in particular to search of the fabled treasure. (Weatherby, 2012)
In short, the Spanish advance into the Americas was swift, and it was
brutal. They refused to allow anything to stop or slow their conquest for the
glory of the Crown and the Church – and by association, themselves as well. Nonetheless,
their war against the native peoples was effective, breaking their spirit and
gaining dominance over them, both of which can still be felt today in Latin America. The French, however, took a slightly
different approach, despite desiring many of the same results.
In a way, the French method of conquer was genius: take
the Spaniards' gold without having to fight or mine, by way of monopolized trade.
While the Spanish were busy making enemies and hoarding precious metals, the
French began to establish their own colonial empire surrounding in-demand
export products like furs, fish, timber, and sugar. Instead of coming to the New World thinking of themselves as mighty conquerors of
God, the French took the approach of the sly businessman, creating a
French-Indian policy that encouraged trade, peace, and intermarriage. (Osburn,
2009) In fact, it was not uncommon to have the French and Indian populations
live together and teach each other their respective languages, along with
various trade skills. This forged a bond that was unseen by any
"civilized" country to that time, and the business side of the
relationships caused a flourishing economy felt throughout the lower- to
middle-class all the way up to the government of France itself. Even the Creek
and Seminole Indian tribes would secretly trade with Frenchmen, despite being
under the iron boot of the Spaniards, who had alienated nearly all the tribes
under the new Spanish empire. (Weatherby, 2012)
The French king who encouraged the exploration, and
resulting Indian policy of diplomacy and friendship, was Francis I. He, like
Ferdinand and Isabella, had an Italian head his nation's maiden voyage to the
new world, and charged Giovanni da Verrazano with finding a route to the Pacific Ocean. After failing to find an intercontinental
passage, the French then attempted to colonize the area explored by da
Verrazano. Most of these settlements were short lived, partially due to the
lack of French women willing to leave the Old World, but were eventually able
to establish their presence in what is today Canada, the Midwestern U.S., and
Louisiana, along with a few colonies scattered in the Caribbean. The French
also relied on brigantines – small, fast ships capable of carrying a decent load
– as opposed to the heavier Spanish galleons to protect their investments from
English privateers. This cut the cost of having a fleet in the area, and thus
led to more productivity, whereas the Spanish were forced to keep a strong
military fleet in the area, resupplied with French timber, of course.
(Weatherby, 2012) (Osburn, 2009)
Eventually, both the French and Spanish were in effect
forced out of the New World, either by England, or the native inhabitants
rising up against them. Neither left without making their mark, however, as can
be seen most clearly in the language groups commonly used in the Americas. The
Spanish simply couldn't hold their colonies due to their repressive nature,
making any and all under their rule resentful and restless; and the French were
either bought out or driven out by the English. There was not any special
formula or gift that gave the English an edge over the French, but by creating essentially
a hybrid policy of force and diplomacy that varied from colony to colony, for
dealing with the Indians and other European settlers, the English were able to
survive and dominate where others couldn’t. The Spanish were there to storm
beaches and conquer the heathen, the French were there to befriend the locals
and subtly take out Spain,
but England?
The English subjects were there for a new start, a fresh beginning, a chance at
freedom, proving once again that an idea in the heart and mind of man is more
powerful than all the steel and schemes a government can muster.
References
Chaney, A. J. (2012, November 5). Spanish
colonization of the Americas. Retrieved from https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas.html
Osburn, K. (2009, August 14). The French in the
New World.
Retrieved from http://iweb.tntech.edu/kosburn/history-444/the%20French%20in%20theNew%20World.htm
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign - Illinois
Bottomland Explorer Archives (1999, July 28). FRENCH COLONIZATION. Retrieved from http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/IDOT/idot3.htm
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign - Illinois
Bottomland Explorer Archives (1999, July 28). BRITISH AND SPANISH. Retrieved from http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/IDOT/idot2.htm
Weatherby, E. (2012, October 3). Differences of
the French and Spanish colonization | Pipe N' Slippers. Retrieved from http://pipenslippers.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/differences-of-the-french-and-spanish-colonization/
Zinn, H. (2003). A People's History Of The United States.
New York: The
New Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-1-56584-724-8.
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