French and Dutch Settlements

COLONIZATION AND ECONOMIC EXPANSION HIST 1301 | History French and Dutch Settlements English naval captain Henry Hudson was engaged by Dutch merchants in 1609 to command an expedition into the Atlantic Ocean. The Dutch were hoping Hudson would discover the long-lost Northwest Passage, a fabled waterway believed to let ships from Europe go west over the continent of North America, traverse the Pacific Ocean, and reach Asia. Hudson found a big river that headed inland and a deep-water port that is today known as the Hudson, or New York Harbour. It seemed for a brief moment that he had discovered the Northwest Passage. But the expedition turned back when the Hudson River at Albany, New York, got too shallow for oceangoing ships. Although Hudson was unable to locate the Northwest Passage, he did discover a fertile river valley and a good harbour that he claimed for the Dutch. The Dutch West India firm, a joint stock firm akin to the Virginia Company, began preparing to establish a small colony in North America when Hudson returned to Europe. The Dutch placed more of an emphasis on trading than the English colonists' established agricultural model. The directors of the company hoped that by establishing a colony, they would strengthen their position in the lucrative port that would eventually become New York Harbour, guarantee their access to the North American fur trade, and establish their claim to the region, which they believed might hold more untapped sources of wealth. The Dutch colony of New Netherlands was established in 1624 when thirty families on board the ship Nieu Nederlandt landed in what is now New York. Though many of them came for other reasons, working in the fur trade was one of their main goals. Similar to their Spanish and English colonial counterparts, the Dutch had difficulties in producing commodities through paid labour and attempted to address the issue by importing Africans who were under slavery. In addition, they promoted immigration from all across Europe by offering financial advantages and a certain degree of religious tolerance, which even included Jews, who were subject to harsh prejudice throughout most of the continent. Soon after, the New Netherlands was home to a thriving colony of people from all over Europe and Africa. Along the Hudson River Valley, from New Amsterdam, or New York City, north to the settlement of Beverwijck, or Albany, colonists resided in a band of farms and villages. They farmed a little, but their main source of revenue was the fur trade. As the colony expanded, New Netherlands saw an increase in warfare. At first, the Dutch had cordial ties with Native Americans who were willing to exchange their furs for metal equipment, wool blankets, and European weaponry. But when the Dutch wanted payment for the advantages they claimed they had provided, such access to international markets and knowledge of Christianity, serious disagreements erupted. When the Native Americans refused to pay, fighting started. The Dutch compelled African slaves to construct fortifications around what was then the northeast edge of New Amsterdam in order to defend the city against invasion. Wall Street, which subsequently developed into a significant business hub and the location of the New York Stock Exchange, ran parallel to these defences. The Dutch faced a considerably more serious threat from the English, thus despite fierce fighting, Native Americans were unable to drive them out. A military expedition from England landed at New Amsterdam in 1664 as part of a larger war between England and the Netherlands. The Dutch gave up, seeing little chance of repelling the English cruisers. In recognition of the Duke of York, who had led the expedition, the English called New Amsterdam New York and offered them lucrative peace conditions. When Jacques Cartier visited what is now known as the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Canada in 1534, the French learned that there were chances for colonisation in North America, but they took their time establishing colonies. In what is now Canada, a number of early colonisation attempts failed, primarily because of the hostile northern climate. Founded in 1608 by an expedition under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain, Quebec was the first significant French colony in North America. Leading the early French colonisation attempts in North America and providing financial support for settlements was the firm of New France, a joint stock firm similar to the Virginia Company and the Dutch West India Company. In 1534, a group of French settlers called New France was established in what is now Newfoundland. In the end, it covered a large portion of North America, extending from southern Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and the Mississippi River Valley. Similar to the Dutch, French colonists prioritised trade above the English preference for a stable agricultural model. They fished off the coast of what is now Canada, making the most of their gains from the lucrative fur trade. A little group of French Catholic priests, who tried to convert Native Americans to Christianity as the Spanish had done in their colonies, lived among the French colonists. The majority of these missionaries were affiliated with the Jesuits, also known as the Society of Jesus, a religious order whose goal was to oppose Protestantism and promote Catholicism. The Jesuits employed a strategy known as cultural accommodation, which involves incorporating a minority culture into the mainstream without pressuring it to absorb all aspects of the majority culture. They could care less about whether Native Americans assimilated into other facets of European culture—all they wanted was for them to convert to Catholicism. It's also possible that the Jesuits in Canada came to the realisation that they lacked the numbers and French backing needed to compel Indigenous peoples to acquiesce to attempts to alter their way of life. Of all the European colonists, the French most likely had the nicest connections with Native Americans. Unlike their competitors, they often made an effort to form an alliance with Native Americans in order to address the labour problem. Furs were a significant resource that the French aspired to exploit for prosperity. To this end, Native American tribes, who understood the region far better than the newcomers from Europe, provided aid. A multicultural and multiracial culture was also created as a result of the large number of French colonists who married Native American women because there were few French women travelling to New France. In the 1627 Ordonnance, Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII's senior minister, offered a theological defence of Franco-Indian alliances. "The descendants of the French who are accustomed to this country [New France], together with all the Indians who will be brought to the knowledge of the faith and will profess it, shall be deemed and renowned natural Frenchmen, and as such may come to live in France when they want, and acquire, donate, and succeed and accept donations and legacies, just as true French subjects, without being required to take letters of declaration of naturalisation," the Ordonnance stated in part. The Ordonnance was a significant indication that the French government was prepared to recognise Native Americans as equal members of society, even if not all of them desired to give up their traditional beliefs or become French. Strong ties between the French and Native Americans were facilitated, especially with the Algonquin-speaking tribes that inhabited the majority of New France. By arming the Algonquins in their conflicts with competing Iroquoian-speaking tribes and Dutch and English immigrants, the French strengthened their relationship with the latter. However, there's always a chance that Native Americans would have unfavourable outcomes even in cases when they benefited from their interactions with European colonists. For example, the advent of weapons increased the lethality of Native American fighting. The European commercial partners of the Iroquois benefited from the trade in stolen pelts while the Dutch-armed tribe fought the French-allied Wendat country. Because it reduced the numbers of beavers and deer in some locations, the use of weapons and the incentives provided for killing as many animals as possible also had an impact on the ecosystem. Some Native Americans were indebted to European traders due to their desire for European manufactured goods, while others were unable to pay due to the decline in animal populations. Many Native Americans also developed addictions to the alcohol that European traders brought in or exchanged.