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The arrival of Europeans changed the map of people’s settlements in America. Now it is difficult to find an area where the ethnic regions at least coincide with the former borders of initial settlements. Ethnic processes were different in various parts of America. They were influenced not only by changes in population but also by the socioeconomic development of various regions of America. Often the nature of the formation of ethnic relations also depended on it. Nevertheless, in many ways, the arrival of Europeans contributed to the structure of the nation, its changes, or death. The success of a country in the process of colonization of the New World can only be determined by one factor: how well the colonized territory is functioning now, how progressive the processes of development of the colonized territory are, and how products in the modern world are a colonized country.
Of course, the Spanish and Portuguese colonization can be considered one of the most extensive socio-political and economic processes of the 15-16 centuries. The entire territory of Latin America was burned, colonized, and the Spanish Empire itself was lit up at the expense of the enslaved peoples. But it is not relevant to consider colonization to be successful if it led to the extermination of the ethnic group in a particular territory in order to temporarily enrich the metropolis. If, in retrospect, we look at the development of Latin and Central American countries, they do not impress with their economic success but rather have the reputation of weak agrarian countries that have not been able to overcome the crisis that occurred in the Middle Ages.
The processes of the initial colonization were determined by two factors: the natural resources of conquering areas as a value to the invaders, and the level of social development of the local population. “Conquest in the first sense gave primacy to the occupation and exploitation of the land.” (Bethell, 152) It was necessary to define whether people could be used in the mines and sugar plantations as labor. It was an extensive global campaign of Spanish colonization, which did not produce any positive results in the future.
Until the 1580s, colonization did not occupy the minds of the British. Philosophers and publicists focused on the problems of the Reformation and royal power, as well as on the intense social processes within Britain itself. The stabilization of the political situation under Elizabeth I, the expedition of Francis Drake and other corsairs, the confrontation with the Spaniards, and the commercial successes of English merchants changed this situation. Elizabethan intellectuals finally drew attention to the New World. Publicists sought to spread interest in colonization at court and among influential merchants. They felt that their interests in capturing power over America were late, so they inevitably lost to the Catholics (Spain and Portugal). They also suggested that most of England’s internal problems are rooted in this lateness.
At first glance, the idea of enslaving new lands was no different from the Spanish. Consequently, in the future, it also could prove to be unsuccessful and destructive for England. But the bottom line is that ardent supporters of English rule drew their knowledge from the colonial experience of other countries. They learned from them what to do in the New World, what can be achieved there, and in what ways. It was the negative experience of Spanish colonization that helped the British avoid mistakes. That is, being the second number in this game turned out to be strategically more successful. The system developed by English settlers was far different from the Spanish/Portuguese. (Faro, 7) The term “conquest” borrowed from the arsenal of Catholic kings was far from the attribute of colonization. Hence, for the Dutch, the main principle of colonial ownership was trade, while the Portuguese insisted that they own the New World by the right of discoverers. In the case of Spain, conquest was the primary tool for both the implementation and justification of colonization.
It was not just an act of war. It presupposed a developmental protocol, which included the mandatory reading of the special text “Requirements”, in which the indigenous people were invited to voluntarily recognize the power of the Spanish monarchy, the pope, and the Catholic Church. In this case, the natives retained freedom and even could not convert to Catholicism for long. In case of failure, the conquerors promised to enslave and destroy all who stand in their way. In most of the cases, “the demographic catastrophe that had overtaken the indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola had another and more immediately potent effect”, as natives didn’t have much desire to cope with new rulers. (Bethell, 168)
English, colonizers relied on social groups which had existed before their arrival. (Farrow, 300) Commerce was indeed a matter of concern to the English merchants and many nobles, an indicator of the success of the colonial enterprise. But the idea of trading did not belong to the Spaniards. They subjugated the local population and forced them to pay taxes while seizing wealth in the form of costly metals and vast lands for plantations. Trade was the cornerstone of two other powers of that time – Portugal and Holland.
Trade in the colonies was not only to bring net profit, but also to help strengthen the position of England, and reduce its dependence on Spanish tobacco, Portuguese sugar, hemp, and other goods from the Moscow kingdom. This mercantilist approach ignored the rhetoric of the conquest or citizenship of the indigenous people but was directly related to the patriotic upsurge that engulfed England when people turned their attention to the colonies.
English colonization can be called successful due to the relations of the colonists with the local population. In fact, the relationships between the English colonists and the indigenous population developed exceptionally unfavorably. Although, from the first years of colonization, the idea of Indians as the real owners of North America, whose lands can be acquired by white settlers only by agreement, was quite popular. The inhabitants of Jamestown and New Plymouth managed to survive the first winters after moving to the New World, thanks to the help of the Indians. But, unfortunately, this did not become the key to their good relations in the following years. Despite extremely unstable relations, the British did not behave like the Spaniards, and their goal was not the total destroy indigenous peoples by fire and sword in case of disobedience. The British were more diplomatic and peaceful. The English colonization can be considered successful due to the attempt to maintain relations with the indigenous people as well as the idea of living together profitably.
The colonial conquest of Latin America by Spain remains a painful wound in the minds of the Native people to this day. Mexico, as the central follower of the Spanish colonization, is not a successful country and has many negative stereotypes, including ones related to crime. In many respects, this spread to all the countries where the leg of the Spanish colonists stepped. After all, the imposed structure and way of life led to the death of the rich indigenous nations of South America. The situation is different in the United States right now. The USA is the world’s leading country and the central supplier of globalization in the world. North America was strategically a successful project for colonists. That is why the English colonization can be considered successful.
Works Cited
- Bethell, Leslie. The Cambridge History of Latin America. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984.
- Ferro, Mark. Colonization: A Global History. Routledge, 1997.
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