Imperial Goals of the British, French, and Spanish

    The imperial goals of the British, French, and Spanish in North America between 1580 and 1763 were similar in that all three European states sought to capture the wealth and commerce offered by the New World and in that they all used imperialism as a means of increasing the authority, territory, and influence of their state; however, the British, French, and Spanish imperialistic goals differed in that Britain's religious goals were those regarding asylum, while the French and Spanish sought to gain converts; moreover, the relationships the British, French, and Spanish wanted to form with the natives differed drastically. These goals continued to be a main focus of the British, French, and Spanish imperial efforts from 1580 to 1763. All three European powers sought to capture the wealth and commerce of the New World--namely, they sought to take advantage of the abundance of raw materials and the market for trade offered by North America--which caused economic and political tensions between the three states; therefore, the goal of capturing the wealth offered by the New World was the most significant goal and forged the relationships and tensions between the British, French, and Spanish in both North America and Europe.  

The British, French, and Spanish all sought to capture the wealth and commerce in North America. The British imperialistic goals in the New World included utilizing the North American as a means to acquire raw materials, such as lumber, to be made into finished goods in England; similarly, the French commercial goals consisted of capturing the lucrative fur trade in North Eastern America; likewise, the Spanish used their imperial holdings to obtain valuable resources such as gold and silver for vast wealth in Spain. Although the English and French both initially sought gold in North America, it was soon discover that no gold was present in the French and British imperial holdings and they sought out other means to acquire wealth and commerce in North America—the continuous economic imperial goal of the British, French, and Spanish. All three European states had goals of using their imperial possessions as a source for agricultural surpluses.  The British used their colonies for tobacco and other cash crops such as wheat to be transported to England in the Triangle Trade; similarly, both the French, with their prized colony of Saint-Dominique, and the Spanish, with their holdings in the Caribbean—such as Cuba—established large plantations or Encomiendas for the production of sugar, rice, and cotton to be transported back to Europe for consumption and use.  Perhaps the most reinforcing evidence that the British, French, and Spanish has similar economic goals for their North American imperial holding was that they all had a common motive. All three European powers were driven in their economic goals of imperialism by mercantilism and the idea that the world’s wealth was finite. The imperial goals of the British French and Spanish were also similar in that they all sought to increase the authority of their respective states.

The British, French, and Spanish all had imperial goals of increasing the influence and authority of their society. The desires of the British, French, and Spanish to expand their influence are best demonstrated with the continuous state of conflict in and around their imperial holdings. For example, The British colony at Jamestown found itself in constant conflict with the Native American Powhatan tribe. Moreover, these three European often came into conflict with one another. Instances like Queen Anne’s War and eventually the French and Indian War were causes of each state’s desire to expand their influence. The desire for territorial expansion was fostered by the influence of nationalism and mercantilism in Europe. Nationalism, through its belief that one’s ethnic group or state was superior to others, encouraged territorial expansion through patriotism. Mercantilism encouraged territorial expansion because it firmly expressed the idea hat the world’s wealth was finite; therefore, mercantilism created a sense of urgency among the European nations to posses as much of the limited amount of wealth as possible by acquiring new territories where new wealth was present. This territorial expansion incorporated native inhabitants into the European empires and each of these empires dealt with these natives in different ways.

The British, French, and Spanish all differed in their treatment of natives. The British sought to isolate themselves from natives or “transplant” British society in North America, visible in their construction of forts such as the one at Jamestown; however, in contrast, the French formed an integrated relationship with natives, especially the Algonquin, in order to gain access to the coveted fur trade; moreover, the Spanish differed from the French and British in that they exploited the native peoples by making them work and die on sugarcane Encomiendas in the Caribbean and in gold and silver mines in Mexico. The British goal from 1580 to 1763 was one of isolation; overtime, however, the British came into increasing interaction with natives, although they still pursued the goal of isolation. Another difference amongst the imperial goals of the British, French, and Spanish was that of a religious nature.

The religious goals of the British were those of asylum; whereas the French and Spanish sought to gain converts.  The religious dominations of the British colonists were mostly puritan and were mostly persecuted groups, for example, the Quakers and Puritans both immigrated to North America to escape persecution in England; however, in contrast, the French and Spanish were both Catholic and the Jesuit missionaries of both states made efforts to convert the masses of North America to Catholicism; moreover, the Spanish established missions on the Camino Real such as Mission San Diego and Mission San Luis Obispo. 

The British, French, and Spanish imperial goals were mostly consistent from 1580 to 1763. The British, French, and Spanish all sought to acquire raw materials and increase commerce with their imperial holdings in North America and they all had imperial goals of expanding their territory, authority, and influence; however, they differed in that the British sought religious asylum in the New World, while the French and Spanish sought to convert and in that they all wanted to form different relationships with the indigenous population of North America.