Compare And Contrast The Motives Of European Colonization In The 17th And 18th Century
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In the 17th century and 18th century there was a lot of competition between European countries to be more prestigious than the other. The monarchs of Europe believed that gaining colonies gave the country prestige, wealth and power. European countries like France, Spain and Great Britain would seize territories and exploit the raw resources of their colonies in trade to create more wealth, which lead to more competitions over land for resources. The motive of Early colonization was God, Gold and Glory; “God” signifies the European, especially the Spanish and Portuguese, who took it upon themselves to convert the indigenous people to Christianity and used evangelism to justify the seizing of other lands. “Gold” signifies the wealth that the Europeans could gain through…show more content… The English government supported this and gave the buccaneers letters of marque, (a pardon from the government to attack Spanish ships) because of the competition for the Caribbean islands Britain had with Spain. By the 17th Century Piracy faded when the three countries Spain, France and Great Britain signed a treaty to ensure an end conflicts over the Caribbean. European powers began to build many settlements on their colonies to prevent other countries from capturing it and to keep wealth and power they gained from the land. Several Colonial wars broke out between colonial powers France, Britain and Spain for power over the new world.For example the French and British had been fighting over the fur trade the French owned with the Native Americans in Ohio Valley, which caused the French and Indian war. In 1754, the English were able to drive the French out of Ohio Valley and later capture Quebec (another territory of France). Great Britain then owned all of North