Spanish and English Empires in America

The present day America was discovered by the European explorers in the 10th century. This discovery was motivated by the European countries’ enthusiasm to expand their settlement, identify economic opportunities and extend their leadership influence. From as early as the 11th century, various European explorers such as the Norse crews had settled and established colonies in America. However, extensive colonization of America began with the entry of the Spanish sailors in 1492. Years after Spain found its colony in America, other powers including France, Portugal, and England joined in and established empires in various parts of the region. Each of these authorities developed unique policies and leadership structures based on their respective form of governance. This essay compares and contrasts the evolution and development of the Spanish and English empires in America.

Spanish and English empires were among the largest and steadfast forces that settled in America during the colonial era. They both shared a similar goal; that is to extend their powers and explore the rich natural resources in the region. They also sought to impart their respective cultures to the Native Americans. In his book A Companion to Colonial America, historical analyst Daniel Vickers explains how the two European powers conveyed the Catholic faith to the Native Americans. In addition, the two conquerors were both greedy of power and thus engaged in wars with the natives as well as other colonial powers. For example, Spain and its allies were involved in the Peninsular War against France over the control of the Iberian Peninsula. Similarly, the English empire as a part of the larger British power, engaged in a series of wars including the King William's war of 1689-1697.

Although both Spain and England entered to America with the aim of colonizing and exploiting the Americans natural resources, they carried out their missions distinctively. Firstly, English powers entered to America close to nine decades after the Spanish settlement. As Zuckerman puts it, the English colonists’ initial encounter with the Native American was friendly as opposed to the ruthless and martial entrance exhibited by the Spanish conqueror (1528). In addition, the English colonists consisted of the middle-class farmers, businessmen and specialists in various areas such as machinery and arts industries. They also included criminal convicts who were sent to work in America as part of their punishments. On the other hand, Spanish colonists were purely military soldiers and a few missionaries. Spanish middle-class farmers and tradesmen would enter into America later after the military conquest. The presence and contribution of the Spanish middle-class were also less significant compared to that of the soldiers and the missionaries.

The English and Spanish colonizers adopted different form of governance to their respective colonies. According to Zuckerman’s findings, the king of England allowed the English colonists to set up local government structures in America as long as the colonists remained loyal to the mother government (1529). English colonists in America established local, regional representatives and would collect revenues themselves. On the contrary, Spanish colonies were monitored from Spain through the Crown-appointed governors. Local governors had no mandate to make any law and were expected to brief the king on each and every proceeding. The difference in the two power’s form of governance saw the English conquest expands rapidly as they were able to adjust the colonization tactics to suit the differences in various American regions.

Concisely, both Spain and England sent their representatives to America for political and economic gains. Similar to the other colonial powers, the Spanish and English empires exhibited distinct forms of governance. While the English colonist extended a friendly and accommodative form of leadership, Spanish forces were aggressive with a lot of military involvements. However, both empires colonized over the American people robbing them off their freedom.