

The Dutch government gave the company the power to establish colonies, which enabled the company to control trade.

The Dutch East India Company controlled trade with the so-called Spice Islands, which are now part of Indonesia, making the Netherlands one of the world’s foremost commercial centers. For such a small country, the Netherlands was a naval powerhouse. The Netherlands also became interested in the New World because of its economic promise. In comparison with England, the colonial population of New France was relatively small. To this end, France fostered good relationships with Native Americans, and built on mutual benefits of the trade of beaver furs for French goods. France focused its attention on establishing commercially viable trading posts in the New World to supply Europe with its seemingly never-ending demand for furs. Fur Fervor In 1534, navigator Jacques Cartier claimed northern North America for France in 1608, fellow explorer Samuel de Champlain founded the first French settlement of Quebec on the cliffs over the St. Some of today’s largest cities in the southwestern United States began hundreds of years ago as missions. Over time, these missions grew into villages and then cities. Many claimed larger areas of land around them to farm and raise animals. Some missions also served as posts where explorers set out on the quest for riches.
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Missionaries worked in schools to convert Native Americans to Christianity and also how to farm and adopt other European ways. The main goal of these missions was to convert Native Americans to Christianity. To protect these missions, the Spanish established presidios, where soldiers lived. It would take another 70 years before the Spanish began to settle in California Father Junipero Serra built Mission San Diego, the first mission in present-day California, in 1769. The first mission was founded in New Mexico by friars who accompanied a 1598 expedition by Don Juan Oñante, who explored the southwest in search of gold. To this end, missions were founded in present-day Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California-indeed, anywhere the Spaniards had influence. In addition to the quest for gold, however, Spain sought to spread Christianity.

Spain soon grew rich from ample deposits of gold and silver in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Spanish conquistadors had better success in South America, where they conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires and claimed the land for Spain. A few fledgling Spanish settlements were established nearby, but clashes with Native Americans who lived there, and the lack of gold or other riches made many of them short-lived. Augustine, Florida today, this is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States. To this end, Spain built a fort in 1565 at what is now St. Columbus, in his voyage, sought fame and fortune, as did his Spanish sponsors. God, Gold, and Glory Spain was driven by three main motivations. While they all shared a desire for wealth and power, their motivations for colonization differed somewhat, and thus the pattern and success of their colonies varied significantly. Some of these European countries fought one another for control over trade and the riches of the New World. Colonization, or the desire to establish permanent settlements, soon followed.

Although Columbus mistakenly believed he had landed on an island in East Asia, later explorers added to the knowledge of the land, and-thanks in part to the voyages of fellow Italian Amerigo Vespucci-determined that Columbus had reached a “New World.” Each of the major European powers-Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England-sent explorers to the New World. In 1492, Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean. Com missioned by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was among the first who sought a faster, more direct route to Asia by sailing west rather than east. European countries recognized the potential profits of securing better trade with Asia and sought new routes by sea. At the same time, there were a number of improvements in shipbuilding and navigation, making it possible to travel farther and for longer periods of time. The rise in power of the Ottoman Turks and the decline of the Mongol Empire disrupted traditional trade routes. By the middle of the 16th century, however, this trade was under threat. Europeans had become accustomed to the goods from Asia, such as the silk, spices, and pottery that had for centuries traveled the Silk Road. Europe’s period of exploration and colonization was fueled largely by necessity.
