1. APUSH Review: Spanish, English, French, and Dutch Colonization
Everything You Need To Know About European Colonization To Succeed In APUSH

2. Periods 1 and 2
Much of these periods focus on European exploration and their impact on the Americas
This is a GREAT potential short answer/essay topic
Big Idea Questions:
What were similarities and differences among the European powers?
What impacts did each power have on North America and its inhabitants?

3. European Exploration Reasons For:
Wealth, power and status, spread of Christianity
3 Gs (Gold, Glory, God)
Technological improvements
Sextant, caravel
Interactions with Natives:
Many (most) Europeans saw Natives as “uncivilized”
Differences over land “ownership,” family and gender roles, and religion led to conflicts between Europeans and Natives

4. Spanish Colonization
Spain became the early European leader in exploration - settled in South America and SW US
Spain sought precious metals (gold and silver)
Spanish Conquistadores:
Hernan Cortes - Tenochtitlan, 1519, conquered the Aztecs due to advanced weapons and disease
Francisco Pizarro - conquered the Incas in Peru
The Columbian Exchange - transfer of goods, people, and diseases across the Atlantic
**Impacts on the Americas**?
Disease decreased Native populations drastically; livestock and guns altered hunting and warfare
**Impact on Europe**?
New crops (potatoes, maize) increased the population; increased wealth led to capitalism and decline of feudalism

5. Spanish Colonization Cont.
Spanish colonial societies
Sought tight control from the crown and wanted to convert many Natives
Most Spanish settlers were men, leading to racially mixed populations with the Natives
Emergence of a caste system:
Mestizo - mixed Spanish and Native ancestry
Mullato - mixed Spanish and African ancestry
Encomienda System:
Royal land grants to Spanish settlers; promise to Christianize Natives on the land and gain tribute from the Natives
Eventually replaced by African slave labor

6. Spanish Colonization Cont.
Debates over how Natives should be treated: (16th century)
Juan de Sepulveda
Argued harsh treatment of Natives was justified
Bartolome de Las Casas
Advocated for better treatment of Natives
Helped lead to the decline of the Encomienda System
Writings introduced the idea of the “Black Legend” - Spain was a brutal colonizer that exploited Natives
Pueblo Revolt: (1680)
Pueblo Indians (New Mexico) successfully rid the Spanish for over 10 years
After Spain regained control, they became more accommodating of Native culture

7. English Colonization 1st permanent settlement was Jamestown in 1607
Settled along the Atlantic in the present-day US and Caribbean
Applied many of the same tactics used in Ireland towards the Natives
Seen as “savages,” excluded from English settlements
England sent large amounts of men AND women to colonies, focused on agriculture, and had hostile relationships with Natives

8. English Colonization Cont.
New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Rhode Island):
Puritans - community of like-minded believers (“City upon a hill”), focused on agriculture and commerce
Those that were not “like-minded believers” were outcasts - Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson
Middle Colonies (Pennsylvania, New York):
Most diverse religiously, ethnically, and demographically of English colonies
Many immigrants from Europe, religiously tolerant, Pennsylvania - William Penn’s “Holy Experiment”
Southern Colonies:
Chesapeake (Maryland and Virginia) and North Carolina - focused on tobacco, initially used indentured servants, later African slavery (post Bacon’s Rebellion)
South Carolina and the West Indies - focused on rice and sugar, slaves made up most of the population
Colonies had some form of representative assembly

9. English Colonization Cont.
England promoted mercantilism:
Idea that colonies exist for the benefit of the mother country
Provide raw materials and markets
Focused on controlling balance of trade - more gold and silver should flow into the country than out
Navigation Acts - allowed for colonies to trade ONLY with England
Many colonists resisted these acts and smuggled

10. French Colonization
Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec in 1608 (1 year after Jamestown)
Most of the colonists were men
Like Spain, France accepted intermarriage (metis)
Focused on fur trade with Natives - friendly relations with Natives
Coureurs des bois - French “runners of the woods”
New France had a governor-general that ruled and was appointed in Paris
No representative assembly

11. French Colonization Relations with Natives:
Did not take a substantial amount of Native land (like English)
Did not force them into slavery (like Spanish)
Christian Indians were allowed to have a lot of autonomy (independence)
Many Natives were killed by diseases

12. Dutch Colonization
Henry Hudson of the Dutch East India Company reached NY in 1609
The Dutch established trade posts in NY - Manhattan and Albany
Like the French, the Dutch sent few Europeans to settle and formed alliances and intermarried with Natives
The Dutch created the joint-stock company - pooling $ together and sharing the profits and losses of voyages - helped lead to modern capitalism
New Netherland - dominated the Atlantic slave trade
Married women retained rights when married (unlike English women who lost land)
Some religious toleration - privately, not publicly

13. Test Tips Multiple-Choice and Short Answer:
Reasons for European exploration (3 Gs, technological improvements)
Characteristics of European colonies (know the characteristics of British colonies - New England, Middle, Southern)
Impacts of contact on Natives AND Europeans (Columbian Exchange)
Essays:
Comparing and contrasting characteristics/goals
British - large numbers of men AND women, agriculture, and hostile relations with Natives
French - sent fewer Europeans, focused on trade alliances with Natives
Synthesis Point:
Creating political, social, economic categories if NOT prompted to do so
Connecting AND EXPLAINING (2-3 sentences) to another time period
The arguments used by Europeans to justify colonization included spreading Christianity. This is a similar argument that was used by some Americans that sought to spread Christianity in Asia in the late 19th, early 20th centuries after the US acquired land in the Spanish-American War.