Early Colonies of the Americas

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, soon after word of the great wealth and abundance of potential converts, discovered by Christopher Columbus, spread across Europe, other nations expeditiously sent their own ships to the new world to establish settlements, extract the land's wealth and convert the natives. The author points out that, while the Spanish immediately laid claim to Central and South America and later ventured north into New Mexico, the English followed over a century later by establishing their first permanent settlement in Virginia. The paper stresses that each group of settlers had different reasons for choosing to colonize the Americas. The author concludes that these groups' expectations for their colonies, their relations and early encounters with the natives and their fundamental long-term goals catalyzed the experiences of the early colonists and ultimately shaped the structure of these early American settlements.

From the Paper:

"By 1622, the settlers of the Chesapeake had established what they considered to be a peaceful and friendly dynamic with the Indians, living in a hierarchical, dominating peace with the natives. In the massacre of 1622, the Indians cunningly preyed upon the English settlers' sense of safety and their naivety to the Indians' true feelings regarding their relationship. Although the efforts of the Indians were largely successful, it was also the catalyst for their demise, as it brought about a valid excuse for the English to assault the natives and steal their lands which, it can be argued, had been their intention from the start."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Palacious Rubios, "El Requerimiento", as reprinted in Sir Arthur Helps, The Spanish Conquest in America (London & New York: John Lane, 1900), 264-67.
• Andrew L. Knaut, The Peublo Revolt of 1680, (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995).
• Edward Waterhouse, "A Declaration of the State of the Colony and Affaires in Virginia" (1622, http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/efford1/Waterhouse1622.htm).

More papers on Early Colonies of the Americas:

• Essay # 137307 : "Analyzing Winthrop’s Utopian Idea of the Inclusionary Society in Modern American Communities "
• Book Review # 136008 : "The Last of the Mohicans"
• Book Review # 108649 : "'The Island at the Center of the World'"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: