The Key Characterisitcs Of Brit, Fra And Spa Colonies Flashcards
Who arrived first ?
What is the order of colonisation ?
First came the Spanish with Christopher Columbus in 1492
- much of their empire was in the south and also the south west and Florida
French in the 1500s North America controlling the Gulf of Mexico to Canada
Last came Britian establishing the first permanent colony of Virginia in 1607 then Massachusetts in 1620
By the 18th Century Britian controlled the thirteen colonies of the eastern seaboard.
Name each colony within the three groups.
Extra: how far did it span
New England colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts’s, Rhode Island and Connecticut
Middle colonies: NY, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware
Southern colonies: Maryland, Virginia, Norh Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia
Extra: 2400km
Where else other than its colonies on the eastern seaboard did Britian control?
Canada: Hudson Bag company incorporated by a charter in 1670 acted as a government for the area
Caribbean: Jaimaic
What were the economic aims of the countries respective colonies ?
- only really Britain and France
French colonies: supply France with raw materials such as fur and fish which brought them into contact with the natives
British colonies: farming the new land where Tabasco was the key crop, they therefore adopted fewer native customs
Therefore natives would often side with French to raid British settlements
What else affected the economic success of the colonies ?
Population growth
Spanish: few settlers in New Spain and Florida which affected the economic output of these areas
French colonies: population of New France and Louisiana were low with no more than 600k settlers by mid 1700s with most settlements being small with little more than a fort
British colonies: mid 1700s British population reached over 1 million
- Virginia most populous and there were five seaports including New York and Boston
What were the attitudes to migration within each countries colonies ?
French and Spanish: reluctant to accept those of other nationality or religion
Britain: less against the idea, 400k people went to Brit colonies from 1700-63 with the diversity leading to greater religious tolerance and religious composition
What were the religious differences of the colonies ?
France and Spanish: Catholic states that did not tolerate any other religion and Spain wanted to spread Catholicism
Britain: open to allowing people from other nations leading to 400k mirgrsting to British colonies 1700-63
- included many Protestants denominations
What wer where political differences of the colonies ?
French: ruled by divine right absolutist monarchy and maintained tight control over colonies often levying high taxes.
- Catholic state so no religious toleration
Britian: far more liberal and minimalist with a less powerful central government with freedom of speech, assembly and press
- did not want to loose these freedoms which lead to a fear of the French
What are some factors for the high population growth in British colonies?
- 18th century: 1/5 of settles are English- diversity
- indentured servants: free passage by entering contract pledging labour for a certain amount of years with many immigrants being identified slaves up to 2/3 of white immigrants
What was Britian colonies average growth rate ?
3% largely down to tobacco
