-What is Mercantilism? -Ways Mercantilism impacted European colonization of the New World? -The nature of Spanish colonialism -The nature of Dutch colonialism -Class structures in colonial America [SLIDE 1] The main colonial powers in the 17th century were Spain, England, France, and Holland. [SLIDE 2] Colonial trade and expansion was driven by mercantile values. Merchants relied on governments to protect their ships and their investments. Governments relied on the merchants to invest in their military might and wars by providing loans with, they hoped, reasonable interest. [SLIDE 3] Mercantilism affected how the colonies were developed and controlled by the respective European powers. [SLIDE 4] [SLIDE 5] In a way, Spain was like the proverbial grasshopper that, unlike the industrious ant, failed to plan for the winter. Spain failed to develop industries while it had the chance. As long as silver from the New World was flowing in, Spain was able to sustain its trade imbalance with other countries. That pattern was not sustainable, however, and when the silver slowed, Spain went into debt. [SLIDE 6] Spanish territory in the New World extended from New Mexico through Central America and much of South America, the Caribbean islands, and north into Florida. Power was divided among different levels of authority. Administrators were appointed and usually sent from Spain. Spaniards who actually came from Spain were at the top of the social hierarchy. Ruling such a large, distant territory was unwieldy, and the system was prone to corruption. [SLIDE 7] Spain began as the most powerful colonial power, but it was surpassed by England. [SLIDE 8] One of the reasons for Spain's weakening status was its failure to move away from medieval patterns of chivalry. The encomienda system began in Spain as a way to reward conquering soldiers during the Reconquista, entitling them to the labor of conquered peasants. In New Spain, the laboring peasants were replaced by indigenous peoples. Although the Crown clarified that the Indians were to be "free serfs” and not slaves, the system was abusive and exploitative. Not all encomenderos were actual conquerors: some came later, and others were elites of the indigenous peoples. [SLIDE 9] Although the Middle Ages had passed, medieval notions of class structure remained. [SLIDE 10] Not everyone agreed with Spain's policies. Bartolomé de Las Casas provided important contemporary testimony about the genocide that had occurred and the abuses that continued to occur. In 1542 he reported the abuses both to the Council of the Indies and to the king, stating that the Indians were harshly treated and overworked, and that they were not receiving the "civilizing” training required. [SLIDE 11] As a result of reports of abuse like the report by Las Casas, Charles I of Spain issued new laws attempting to prevent abuse. The effort was only partly successful. [SLIDE 12] Although the Spanish established a 3-tiered hierarchy that we would consider racially based, race is in fact a social construct, not a scientific one. People on the middle tier of mixed race could breach the porous ceiling to the top by succeeding economically and adopting Spanish culture. [SLIDE 13] [SLIDE 14] In the 17th century, the newly independent Dutch Republic held a mighty commercial empire. Its colonial efforts were largely organized on corporate lines. The Dutch East India Company, established in 1602, is considered by many to have been the first transnational corporation. Along with the Dutch West India Company, it served as the international arm of the Dutch Republic and symbolized the power of the Dutch Empire. The Dutch East India Company was able to seize the Spice Islands from Portugal and establish a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe. [SLIDE 15] The Dutch participation in colonial activities took place through corporate sponsorship backed by the Dutch government. Although the Dutch were dominant participants in the early stages of colonization, they are perhaps best remembered today for creating the stock market and colonizing the Cape of Good Hope, today's South Africa. [SLIDE 16] The vast territory settled by the Dutch will be called the colony of New Netherland. [SLIDE 17] New York received its name when the British later took control of it, but the Europeans who first settled it in significant numbers were Dutch. Henry Hudson was seeking the Northwest Passage, a hoped-for water route that would lead through the North American continent to Asia. He didn't find it, but he did report back to Holland about the desirable land he had seen and the prospects for profit from beaver pelts, which were a hot commodity at the time. This led first to private trading missions and later to an official presence. [SLIDE 18] The early private ventures were replaced by the Dutch West India Company, which brought a small number of permanent settlers. Peter Minuit, the colony's director by that time, is credited with negotiating the purchase of Manhattan Island, but as we have seen, Native Americans didn't hold a concept of land ownership in the way that Europeans did. Settlers are gradually arrayed sparsely from Manhattan Island upriver to Fort Orange, a focal point for the trade in beaver pelts. In 1653, New Amsterdam became the city that would later be renamed New York. [SLIDE 19] The Dutch West India Company wanted to develop agriculture to support the lucrative fur trade, so they organized a plan to attract more settlers. The plan to attract wealthy patroons had limited success. [SLIDE 20] Most migrants were not affluent and were simply seeking a better life. [SLIDE 21] The 16th and 17th centuries were rife with religious conflict in Europe. The Dutch Republic had a relatively tolerant attitude toward outsiders. Some refugees from conflict found their way to the Dutch Republic. Some made their way to New Netherland. [SLIDE 22] When the Dutch West India Company found control of the colony was actually being exercised by an elite group of burghers who were not Company officials, they took measures to reassert their control. Peter Stuyvesant, who had lost a leg in armed conflict with the Spanish, was appointed director-general of New Netherland. Believing himself saved by God for great things, he was intolerant of other religions and fought the efforts of other religious groups—notably Lutherans, Quakers, Jews, and Catholics—to settle, worship privately, or build houses of worship. He was forced repeatedly by Company directors back in Europe to go against his own inclinations with regard to religious tolerance. [SLIDE 23] The Dutch heritage of New York is still celebrated in New York today, with cultural survivals attributed to the Dutch including cookies, pancakes, coleslaw, Santa Claus, and certain types of architecture. Most especially, it includes entrepreneurship, cultural diversity and religious tolerance. [SLIDE 24] [SLIDE 25] The French had little initial success in the New World due to the superior power of Spain. [SLIDE 26] France's efforts in the far northeast would yield much more success but would be hampered by religious strife between Catholics and Protestants taking place within France at the time. [SLIDE 27] The Company of New France initially fails to attract much interest, but its fortunes improved when it began to focus exclusively on beaver skins. [SLIDE 28] Coureurs des bois—the French fur traders—have gained legendary status within North American lore. [SLIDE 29] After Richelieu's death, the French regent Anne of Austria, who ruled until her son Louis XIV's majority, took measures to reform practices in New France and make governance more effective. She did it by forming a new company to assume authority. [SLIDE 30] Louis XIV was the epitome of the absolute monarch. He consolidated all functions of state in his hands and then gave his finance minister authority over colonial ventures. [SLIDE 31] It was the French, under Louis XIV, who would trace the path of the Mississippi and lay claim to the territories alongside it. [SLIDE 32] The Louisiana territory gave the French a new source of furs and a route to the sea that avoided the frigid and stormy North Atlantic. Although they had gotten a late start in the New World exploration game, they had now made some strategic advances.