New World Colonies

Discover New World Colonies! Learn about Spanish, French, Dutch, and English settlements in this engaging history worksheet.

Read the section titled Colonial Latin America and fill in the blanks as you read. The Spanish conquest of the Caribbean, Mexico, and Peru brought many important changes. Although their explorations did not find the cities of gold they were seeking, the Spanish asserted their dominance, religion and culture on the native tribes. The region was transformed into Latin America --a fusion of European and Native American cultures. Read the section titled Colonial Government and fill in the blanks as you read. As a result of these conquests, Spain now ruled an American empire many times larger than Spain itself. Special royal governors, known as viceroys, were sent to rule the colonies in the king's name. Officials born in Spain filled the most important positions in the colonial government and the military. Gold and silver from the Americas were shipped to Spain, making it the strongest power in Europe in the 16th century. What was the encomienda system? Read the section titled Colonial Society and answer the question. What religion did priests try to convert the Natives to? Read the section titled Colonial Society and answer the question. What 3 things did the Jesuits do in the new world? Read the section titled Colonial Society and answer the question. Groups in society-matching Read the section titled Colonial Society and match each group of people to their description. Peninsulares Noble officials and landowners who were born in Spain Creoles People of Spanish background but born in the New World Mestizos People of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry Native Americans People who inhabited the Americas before the Europeans arrived. (Now do most of the hard work) Spanish Colonies Social Structure Read the section titled Colonial Society and put the 4 different social groups that you just matched in the section above in the correct place on the social pyramid.(Creoles, Native Americans, Peninsulares, Mestizos) Peninsulares Creoles Mestizos Native Americans Read the section titled New France and fill in the blanks as you read. New France was established in Canada and along the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. New France never became as populous as the Spanish or English colonies. It consisted of a handful of towns and a series of trading Outposts. French missionaries arrived in the Americas to convert the Native American Indians to Christianity.By the end of the seventeenth century, French territory covered almost three-fourths of North America. The region continued to attract French explorers who found that the region contained valuable fur-bearing animals, especially beavers - whose pelts were greatly desired by Europeans for making hats. Read the section titled New Netherland and fill in the blanks as you read. Based on Henry Hudson's explorations, the Dutch claimed control of the region around present-day New York. They set up a successful fur trade with the native peoples of the Hudson River Valley and called their colony New Netherland. The Dutch government gave control of the colony to the merchants of the Dutch West India Company. In 1624, thirty families came to settle in Fort Orange (present-day Albany). More settlers arrived the next year and established a second fort at the tip of Manhattan island. They named this settlement New Amsterdam after the Dutch city of Amsterdam. The city of New Amsterdam, with its fine natural harbor, became a leading center for trade. Read the section titled The English colonies and fill in the blanks as you read. The first permanent English colony in the “New World” was established by a private company at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The first settlers were men who came in search of gold. Despite initial challenges, the colony at Jamestown became profitable by growing tobacco for sale in Europe. A second English colony was founded by a Protestant group known as the Pilgrims. They landed at Plymouth Rock. Another group of English Protestants, the Puritans, landed in nearby Massachusetts Bay in 1630. They came to practice their own religious beliefs without persecution. Eventually, the number of English colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America expanded to thirteen – from Georgia to Massachusetts. New World Colonies Map Use the legend in the bottom left corner to correctly label the map with which European powers had colonies in which areas. Some will have more than one label. French Spanish Portuguese Spanish Spanish Dutch French English English