Spanish America and Brazil
Spain’s New World Empire
State and Church Spanish America expanded rapidly after 1492 Portugal controlled Brazilian coast by 1600 Colonial administration was based on the European model Spanish Council of the Indies replaced conquistadors Distance from Europe meant viceroys had a degree of independence
Catholic Church pursued conversion (religion, language, culture) Native resistance, depopulation meant that the Church became an urban institution (schools, universities)
Colonial Economies American gold, silver, sugar financed European global domination 1st labor systems (encomienda, mita) est. w/Amerindian labor Over time, African slave trade became more important
Colonial Society European immigrants exerted disproportionate control (Peninsulares, creoles) “Indian” became a racial signifier Mestizos and mulattoes-mixed ancestry Those w/African ancestry barred from privileged positions by 1600
English and French Colonies in North America
English Motivations Find NW Passage to Asia Rival Spanish Source of raw materials, export market First English colony (Roanoke, 1587) failed Roanoke Island-The “Lost Colony”
Southern Colonies VA Company- est. 1606 Jamestown Colony- f. 1607 New colony struggled to survive (disease, location, etc.)
Intro. of tobacco saved colony-required indentured servants, later slaves Other S. colonies (MD, NC, SC, GA) also had plantation economies (tobacco, indigo, rice) and therefore slavery
Middle Atlantic Colonies English captured New Amsterdam-1664 (renamed NY) New colony linked NE and S NJ-accommodated expanding pop. PA-haven for Quakers Economy-trade, farming
New England Colonies 1st colonies (Plymouth, MA Bay) est. by Puritans escaping persecution Economy-based on trade and farming Other NE colonies (NH, CT, RI) founded due to expan. From MA
New France Cartier-claimed land around the St. Lawrence River for France in 1534 Champlain-founded Quebec as 1st Fr. colony in the New World in 1608 Economy depended on fur trade French missionaries would spread Catholicism (Jesuits)