The Americas Vs. Asia and Africa

A new wave of colonialism took shape after the early explorations during the early modern period between the years 1450 and 1750. During this time, major European settlements developed direct empires overseas. These settlements include the colonial empires in both North and South America and in colonial possessions in Africa and Asia. Like most colonies, these three had a few similarities in addition to many contrasting differences.

A main similarity between the early American, African, and Asian colonies was their administration system. The early American colonies were formed by small bands of adventurers loosely controlled by European administration, which compares to African and Asian territories in which administration remained limited. However, unlike the African and Asian territories, Spanish and Portuguese officials created a more formal administration in the Americas, as agricultural settlements were established. In addition, missionary activity added another layer of American administration.

Another similarity between the civilizations is that they all had influential European settlements. The American colonial societies developed primarily on following European patterns. Colonists consumed political ideas, trade and manufacturing developed along with a strong merchant class, which are seen in many European societies. However, unlike European patterns, there was an importance in African slaves and slavery. On the other hand, Africa and Asia had minimal European settlements. However, there was an important European settlement in South Africa on Cape Town, which was founded by the Dutch in 1652.

There were major contrasting differences between the three societies dealing with their values to their rulers. In the Americas the colonies had less value to their rulers than Asian possessions. In addition the value of the exports and imports of their small populations was insignificant. Asia and Africa, on the other hand, had large colonial values, due to their numerous amounts of luxury items and goods, along with valuable trading stations.

The colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas are similar but yet very unique and distinct. In all, Africa and Asia was more valuable with their prestigious trading system. However, they had a lesser amount of European influence with minimal European possession. Conversely, the Americas had less value, but ran almost parallel to European society. The development of European