I. Introduction
When Great Britain and Spain set out to colonize other regions, they both have goals that they wanted to accomplish in their conquest. The idea of taking over of other regions, considerably differ with each colonizer, but their goals were defended on the presumption that they wanted to civilize other places that they considered to have yet to experience the European progress. While the advancement of the Christian faith was said to figure prominently in Spain’s conquest, the Great Britain was said to have set its eye on seeking out better settlement. However, most historians claimed that the main objective of the colonizers was, in fact, to build their economy by setting out to discover regions that are rich in natural resources. Regardless of their goal, there are similarities and differences in the tactics used by Great Britain and Spain in colonizing, and history would reveal how these strategies have caused their success or failure in the process.
The System of Planting, Unplanting and Replanting
Accordingly, the goal of each colonizer has practically helped in molding the systems it followed in its operation in the colonies. The planting of a new country means that the colonizers were able to come into a certain territory which do not necessarily have an existing form of government. The goal of the colonizer was then to “plant” a system of new government that shall be followed by the settlers. This is most apparent in the first voyage sent from Great Britain under the leadership of Newport. His men were chosen among and were called as planters owing to the main purpose of their voyage, which was to plant people (Elliot, 9). On the other hand, the unplanting denotes a system where the natives were pulled up from their traditional practice in terms of religions, government and other social aspect. The colonizers did the unplanting by employing several schemes that range from civil manner to the use of hostile powers. It is to be noted that the native people “did demonstrate that their traditions were dynamic and intellectual systems, capable of change” (Ronda, 67). The replanting means the colonizers made it a point to introduce their own way of life, government and religion to the natives. Consequently, while some of the natives readily accepted the new way of life introduced by the colonizers, there are also those that rejected the message of the Europeans.
II. Spain’s Goal: “God, Gold and Glory”
The Monarchy of Spain, with the help of its administrative and religious leaders decided to expand the empire and successfully colonized many parts of the Americas. The main goal of their conquest was a) spread Christianity, b) seek for natural resources, and c) increase the scope of the Spanish empire through new colonies.
When Spain started to rule in the New World, their goal was initially to help in the spread of Christianity, and the Monarch and the missionaries were one in their objective in their hopes of bringing their religion to new lands. Accordingly, the aim to propagate Christianity naturally took its toll on the finances of the empire, as Hernado Cortés realized, “the acquisition of empire demanded a firm commitment to settle and colonize”(Elliot, 6). Thus, it was inevitable that their religious objective was coupled with the end to extract great riches from these new lands which eventually created a conflict and difficulty in achieving the goal of the missionaries to spread Christianity. One example of conflict was with the belief of the missionaries about converting the natives of the new land, which was in contrast to that of the other administrators who wanted the natives out of their way (Elliot, 85), even by means of killing them in the process.
The Christian missionaries advocated for the use of peaceful means to convert the natives into Christianity, however, the need to serve their self and the economic interest of the monarchy conflicted with such idea. For one, the expeditions to search and colonize was sponsored by the Monarchy in order to expand the scope of its empire, and this was under the name of the Christian faith, thus most voyages were manned by several missionaries. The goal of unplanting rested on the friars and royal officials who “approached the nomadic or semisedentary tribes on the fringes of empire with a clear sense of the superiority of what they had to offer the ‘barbarian’ peoples.” (Elliot, 87). The conquest garnered different reactions from the natives that often resulted in tension, nevertheless, as the strain lessened comes the re-planting process. The colonizers who were generally composed of the officials, missionaries and the settlers “all represented in their different ways a coherent and unified culture” (Elliot, 87), and they tried to re-plant a new set of society with the changes in government, religion and societal policies.
The Spanish Monarch was able to rule in the New World for over 300 years, and this was enough for them to sufficiently change the traditional ways of lives of the natives. However, due to severe policies and the inability of the settlers and the native Americans to decide on their own, the progress of the New World under the Spanish empire was slow. Several of the reasons for the slow development were the inordinate importance given on military conquest which was economically draining. There was also the inability to establish better relationships with the natives, and this may be attributed to the indecision to settle in permanent communities.
III. Great Britains and their Profit Motive
The conquest of Great Britain to the New World was inspired by the news of better opportunities and vast lands in the Americas. The main goal of Great Britain was to find new settlements, as there was a need for some of the English people to seek for a better place where they can live the life they wanted and practice their own religion without having to submit to the Church. Moreover, the over population in England brought about the idea of expanding their territory, thus the need to find a new land where they can produce needed by their country without having to engage in trading with other nations. In contrast to the Spanish colonizers who were originally composed of royal leaders, missionaries and soldiers, the English colonists were chosen from among the middle-class constituents, those who have their own specialties and other groups in the society. They were the cluster of people who were tasked by the monarch of England to plant a new country in a new territory.
Unlike the Spanish, the English colonizers did not try to readily unplant the tradition of the natives, rather, they dealt with them peacefully by encouraging them to assimilate into the new culture. For example, the English settlers looked upon the conflict with the natives of Ireland as a struggle between cultures, yet they regarded the native rulings as a form of government despite its tyranny. While the natives lived under what the English perceived as a barbarous way of life, “they did not consider those living under Gaeli rule to be incapable of being civilized” (Canny, 580). The barbaric way of ruling resulted in the decision of the English officials to unplant the traditional system of the natives of Ireland by overthrowing the Gaelic chieftains. With the consequent abolishment of the Gaelic law, “the native inhabitants, thus liberated from thralldom, would be accepted as subjects under English law” (Canny, 580). Nevertheless, there was still a distinct separation between the new settlers and the natives, much of it was due to the idea that the European tradition was superior “because it combined the benefits of Christianity with those of civility”(Canny, 586). The English settlers decided to live separately from the natives, though it was their goal to “create a Godly community, an example to militant Protestants in Europe of a person living with one another-and with the natives” (Salisbury, 501).
However, just like the Spanish colonizers, self and economic interest prevailed among the English colonizers. For example, the “Puritan missionaries in southern New England likewise acted in accordance with the larger economic and political goals of the English colonial effort” (Salisbury, 507). The English settlers were not contented in merely living separately from the natives, but they also put it in their objective to expropriate the lands of the Native Americans for the white settlers. Thus, they claimed was one way of securing the settlers from possible attacks from the Indians.
Both the Spanish and the English colonizer have the economic goal in setting out to colonize regions in the New World. The difference, however, was that the first explorers of the Spain empire were keen in looking for large fortune such as the possibility of conquering a gold rich territory. On the other hand, the English colonizers were set to stay in a region where they can make a living, not only by its natural resources, but also by cultivating the land, thus they were able to attach themselves into their new environment by the series of improvements that signifies Conclusion
Both England and Spain were able to arrive and conquer the New World, however, their different goals spelled the difference in their success in their permanent stay. While both had the propagation of Christianity in their agenda, their other objectives as well as their different approach in colonizing spelled the reason why Spain appeared to historians as unsuccessful in its conquest. This was because the Spanish colonizers readily focused on uncovering abundant treasures, while the English settlers were keen on the idea of developing a society where they can live harmoniously. While the Spanish were able to locate the gold and other natural minerals, the English colonizers were able to develop a stable society. In the end, the English settlers were able to generate abundant products and supplies that were very much needed in England.
Works Cited
Canny, Nicholas. "The Ideology of English Colonization: From Ireland to America." The William and Mary Quarterly 30.4 (1973): 575-598. Web.
Elliot, John. Empires of the Atlantic World. Yale University Press, 2006. Print.
Ronda, James. "We ARe Well As We Are: An Indian Critique of Seventeenth-Century Christians Missions." William and Mary Quarterly. N.p., n.d. Print.
Salisbury, Neal. "Religious Encounters in Colonial Context: New England and New France in the Seventeenth Century." American Indian Quarterly 16.4 (1992): 50509. Web.
