From the early 1600’s to the mid 1700’s, several European nations vied to control North America. Spain, Great Britain, and France were all powerhouses trying to colonize the free world and create a massive empire. Out of the three, England won the struggle because of failures made by the Spanish and French in the years before the American Revolution.
The Spanish were the most powerful nation before the colonizing of the West Indies began. They had the Spanish Armada who was known for never losing a single battle. They also had all the riches in the world from all of their explorations. Unfortunately, during the early 1600’s, the Spanish began to experience fatigue from overextension with their army. The Spanish had to take care of problems in their Dutch territories causing them to leave the West Indian Islands and Jamaica open for grabs. Great Britain would eventually claim it and they began to work with sugar, the rich man’s crop.
One difference between the British and Spanish motives for colonizing was that the Spanish based part of their time converting people to Catholic. The British were not concerned with religion, but more concerned with expanding their empire and making a profit. So by now, the British had colonized most of the Atlantic coast from Maryland down to Georgia.
Another nation that wanted to have control over North America was the French. The French owned land from Quebec all the way down to the end of the Mississippi River in New Orleans. They basically controlled “middle” America. The French were in the business of trapping and fur trade. A very profitable business, but not a very sustainable one on its own. The French never really had a chance to control the New World because they were not as powerful as the Spanish or the British. France lost their hopes of having control in North America when they lost the French and Indian War with Great Britain. Great Britain’s victory over the French caused them to give up most of the land that they claimed and now half of the United States was in control of the British.
England won the struggle for control of North America because when they saw a chance to pick up more land from another country, they would grab it. They had the army power to go to war with France and the Spanish had too much on their plate which weakened them. The English controlled the east coast of North America and had many profitable industries such as tobacco, sugar, and indigo. England won based on their power and strategy.
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