Expansion of British Power

By the beginning of the seventeenth century, Spain dominated Mexico and Central and South America with the exception of Portuguese Brazil. In the late part of the seventeenth century, Spain's two great rivals, Great Britain and France, began establishing their own colonies in North America. They wanted to reap the benefits that Spain had experienced in the New World like finding gold and silver.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century there were no permanent English colonies in the New World. A handful of traders and fishermen had set up some make-shift villages along the northern New England coast; men eager to make money in the trapping or fishing market ventured to the New World to take advantage of the virgin water and land.

Sailing to the New World and setting up a permanent colony was no easy task. The dangers that people experienced when traveling the long distance across the ocean frightened many newcomers to the continent. By the end of the 1500's, several of England and France's colonies collapsed.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh made attempts to set up colonies in Newfoundland and Roanoke, but both failed at establishing permanent settlements. One of the most fascinating stories in early colonial history is that of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. Sir Walter Raleigh hired John White to lead a group of settlers there that included woman and children. White sailed back to England to get supplies, but a war with Spain prevented him from returning for three years. When a rescue crew eventually arrived, the only thing they found was the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Four hundred years later, no one knows exactly what happened to the colony. All that is known is that the Croatoan Indians lived in the region. That is the only clue.

When colonization of the Americas began, many European countries raced to establish settlements. By the late 1500's no one could stop England, France, or the Netherlands from exploring the New World. Spain had waged wars across the globe, in England, and the New World, and could no longer claim or defend a sovereign right in the New World. The Dutch, French, and English began establishing permanent colonies throughout the 17th century, all while the curious eyes of Native Americans looked upon the new immigrants in the colonies with growing concern.