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The success of England and France’s colonies in the New World and their interactions with Native Americans reflected each country’s motives for colonization. Both colonial powers strived to profit from trading New World commodities and spread their brand of Christianity. England and France shared similar goals for colonization but had different motivations. The New England colonies and New France are examples of how different motivations for colonization can shape their interactions with Native Americans. In New France, native Americans were instrumental to the colony’s goal of profiting off the fur trade and establishing missions that required the knowledge and cooperation of Native Americans. This resulted in friendlier interactions between the French and Native Americans in comparison to the English. The Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies were founded as Puritan refugees, thus resulting in more hostile interactions with Native Americans. The New England colony’s goal of creating a new social order allowed for its population and wealth to flourish in comparison to New France which aspired to recreate the feudal state.
New France had friendly interactions with local native populations and in some cases embraced their culture because the colony’s goal of spreading Catholicism and capitalizing on the fur trade required it. In 1618, Samuel de Champlain wrote a letter to the King of France outlining New France’s goal of spreading Catholicism to Native Americans and transforming them into French subjects. Samuel de Champlain established a trading outpost at Stadacona with the goal of creating a monopoly on the fur trade by purchasing furs as they traveled from the interior to the coast. Jesuit missionaries published instructions for how its priests should interact with the Huron Nation and it stated “You must conduct yourself as not be at all troublesome to even one of the barbarians”. When France regained control of Quebec from the English in 1632, Jesuit missionaries were responsible for maintaining relations with the colony’s trading partners. Jesuit missionaries adopted the diet of the Illinois people to their displeasure because they realized they had to accommodate some of the Illinois customs if they wanted them to embrace Catholicism. New France made concerted efforts to develop friendly relations with the Huron and Illinois people out of strategic necessity. For New France to gain control of the fur trade it needed to ally itself with the Hurons and other local groups because they had the connections and knowledge to procure beaver pelts. The friendly sentiment expressed toward Native Americans as evidenced in Champlain’s letter to the King was born out of necessity. It shows that Native Americans had a pivotal role in the function of the colony. The prominent role the Jesuits played in the colony with regard to trade also contributed to friendly relations. Jesuit missionaries were not motivated by profit and likely saw the fur trade as a means to establish missions. They realized if they wanted the Native Americans to convert to Catholicism they would need to build their trust. While violent interactions between the French and Iroquois occurred, the Jesuit’s leadership role in the colony likely reduced this by a significant portion.
The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies had frosty relations with Native Americans because these colonies were focused on creating new social orders that fit with their puritanical worldview. John Winthrop, one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, stated that all the churches of Europe have been infested with sin and that God provided this land for those seeking to escape the depravity of Europe. When Winthrop is asked to provide a justification for inhabiting Native American land he answered that God has given them the right to inhabit this land. He further states “ Thirdly, God hath consumed the Natives with a great plague in these parts so as there be few inhabitants”. The Protestants living in New England believed that the apocalypse was upon them and that they were engaged in a holy war with the Antichrist. The Puritans in New England were willing to destroy anything that stood in the way of God’s plan and the destruction of the Pequot people served as an example. The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies did not view their settlements as only economic ventures but as bulwarks against the decline of religion in Europe. This meant these colonies were more concerned with creating and preserving their new social order and Native Americans did not have a role in this new social order. While these colonies did have friendly relations with Native Americans it was not as important as it was in New France. These colonies felt entitled to Native American lands because it was endowed to them by God. The fact that New England colonies believed that God summoned the plague that wiped out native populations shows that they viewed the native peoples as an impediment to God’s plan. Combine this belief with the urgency associated with the apocalyptic Puritan beliefs and it will create a ruthless mentality This mentality reared its ugly head when the New England colonists destroyed the Pequot people.
While both England’s and France’s colonies in North America fought with local Native Americans, England’s violent interactions with Native Americans arose out of revenge for perceived Indian transgressions while France’s violent interactions were a cost of doing business.
During the early years of New France, colonizers became frustrated because their native trading partners were dragging them into turf wars. The French were seen as intruders into an ongoing war between rival Native American nations but their trading posts were never destroyed because they made it easier for the Iroquois to rob fur traders. Lion Gardener, an English military engineer who witnessed the Pequot War, stated “The Pequits gave them wampum and beaver, which they loved so well, but they sent it to them again and killed them because they had killed an Englishman. John Oldham was an English trader that was purportedly murdered and looted by the Niantic people who were formerly subordinate to the Pequots. This prompted the Massachusetts Bay colony to send soldiers to a Pequot stronghold near the Mystic River and kill a quarter of the Pequot population. The French relied on strategic alliances with Native Americans in order to get access to the fur trade, but this also forced them to take sides in a war between the Algonquin and the Iroquois. To build and preserve their alliances the French would accompany their Algonquin allies in warfare against the Iroquois people. The English engaged in violence out of a sense of justice and their motives were more personal than France’s motives. The French used violence pragmatically in order to gain the trust of trading partners by fighting side by side in the war. The difference in the use of violence reflects each colony’s motives and reveals what they each value.
England’s colonies became more populous and wealthy than France’s colonies because England’s colonies provided more opportunities for social advancement while France’s colonies were less profitable and sought to preserve the old social order. The Massachusetts Bay Colony offered any person who paid their passage across the Atlantic fifty acres of land and fifty acres for any servant a master brings over. One thousand immigrants arrived in Massachusetts in 1630 and by 1635 another nine thousand immigrants came to the region. The worsening condition of Puritans in England correlates with the increase in immigration into New England. The appeal of spacious land, acceptance of puritanical beliefs, and local self-government drove urban planters to move to the region. In New France, all of the lands were held in seigneurial tenure, or specifically, the land was owned by a few large investors. These investors were expected to populate their parcel of land with hundreds of servants. Aside from the Catholic Church and lay seigneurs only three hundred people moved to the colony in its entire history. New France struggled to attract people because it had a short growing season, no viable cash crops, and crucial waterways for a trade would freeze over for most of the year. England was significantly more successful in producing sustainable colonies in North America because it was more appealing to people in the colonizing country. New France on the other hand was less appealing than life in France because it maintained a similar feudal social structure but with worse living conditions. As more people immigrated to New England, it created momentum for its population to grow and easy ocean access made the colony more economically viable than New France. New France’s desire to preserve feudalism and its poor growing seasons made it an inferior place to live when compared to France. This could not be said about the New England colonies because they offered land ownership and self-government, two things unthinkable in Europe at the time. The motivations for the establishment of England and France’s colonies played an important role in shaping the trajectory of each country’s colonial mission.
England and France’s colonial endeavors and their interactions with Native Americans reflected their social and economic motives for colonization. New France’s goal of profiting off creating Catholic missions amongst Native Americans required partnerships with them. England’s frosty relationship with its Native American neighbors reflected its insular goal of creating colonies with a puritanical worldview. When analyzing England and France’s motives for violent encounters against Native Americans, it becomes clear that France viewed violence as a cost of doing business while England viewed it as a form of justice and retribution. The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies grew more populous and wealthier than New France because it afforded unique opportunities not available to the common individual in the Old World. Overall the motives for colonization play a major role in shaping each colony’s structure and its eventual success or failure.
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