Early Colonies of the Americas Essay by LauraT

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.