Petterns of Colonization in the New World

Chapter 3
Patterns of Colonization in the New World

Colonization of societies and cultures arose at different times, in different geographical areas and under different European national patronage. The English, French, Dutch, Swedes and Danes attempted to establish colonies in the Americas. All colonies began as small, unstable places on unfamiliar continent. They survived by forging relationships with one another and by strong reciprocal relationships with the parent societies in Europe.

As these colonies developed and succeeded politically and economically, they began to represent and reflect the collective experience of their associates. Slowly they became new societies in a new land with new identities.

There was a wide spectrum of social forms present in the Americas. Throughout Spanish America, Brazil and the Caribbean significant and vital native communities continued to exist alongside the European. Semi-European cultures were present as well as Buccaneers in the...