Download Resource Sheet U2-3

2006-07
Colonial Successes and Failures
Directions: Using the resources provided, complete the chart with information about each colony.
Colony
What was the purpose
of the colony?
What was successful about the
colony? Why?
What failure(s) did the colony
experience? Why?
St. Augustine
U2-13
Roanoke
Quebec
Resource Sheet U2-3
The Spanish Colony of St. Augustine
The colony of St. Augustine, located along the east coast of Florida, was established by the Spanish in 1565. The Spanish
military leader Pedro Menendez de Aviles went to this area of North America that had been previously explored by Ponce de Leon in
order to set up a colony that would help to protect Spanish trade along the North American coast. The colony would also protect
Spanish holdings from the threat of colonization by other European countries. One such country was France, which had established
Fort Caroline, also along the east coast of Florida.
Menendez journeyed to a village of the Timucua Indians and met with their leader, Chief Seloy. The Spanish military force
settled in this village and used it as a base for further exploration and for an attempt to drive out the French. They did eventually drive
out the French, but also managed to anger the Timucua. Menendez moved his settlement to nearby Anastasia Island to avoid attacks
by the Timucua.
By 1572, the settlement was moved back to its original location, in part because the island and its fort were eroding into the
ocean. Menendez continued to rule the settlement until he died in 1574. At this point, leadership of the settlement was turned over to
his heirs, but they did not handle the responsibility well. In 1576, the Spanish monarchy took control of the settlement and made it a
crown colony. They appointed a governor who would be directly accountable to the Spanish monarchy. In addition to this Spanish
official, St. Augustine had a mayor and city officials who handled the day to day jobs of running a small town.
Life was still not easy for the people of St. Augustine. The settlement was repeatedly destroyed by both natural disasters and
attacks by both Indians and Europeans. But Spain considered the colony to be of vital importance in protecting Spanish interests in
North America and continually rebuilt the settlement, rather than abandoning it as unprofitable. Spanish soldiers began to marry
Native American women, thus mixing the cultures of Spain and the Native Americans. The people of the settlement learned how to
adapt to the conditions of Florida. This enabled them to survive over the years that followed.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
The English had made several attempts to establish a base on the other side of the Atlantic before their victory over Spain. In
1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth. Then he sailed south along the coast looking for a place to
establish a colony. Before finding a suitable site, he died at sea.
The following year, Queen Elizabeth gave Sir Walter Raleigh the right to claim any land in North America not already owned
by a Christian monarch. Raleigh sent an expedition to look for a good place to settle. His scouts returned with an enthusiastic report
of Roanoke Island, off the coast of present day North Carolina. The land was good for farming, they said, and the local people were
“most gentle, loving and faithful.”
In 1585 Raleigh sent about 100 men to settle on Roanoke Island. After a difficult winter on the island, the unhappy colonists
returned to Enland.
Two years later, Raleigh tried again, sending 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children to Roanoke. John White, a mapmaker and
artist, led the group. The new settlers began building a permanent colony. They needed many supplies, however, and White sailed to
England for the supplies and to recruit more settlers. Although he had hoped to be back within a few months, the war with Spain
delayed his return for 3 years.
When White finally returned to Roanoke, he found it deserted. The only clue to the fate of the settlers was the word Croatoan
carved onto a gatepost. White thought the colonists must have gone to Croatoan Island, about 100 miles to the south. Bad weather
kept White from investigating. The Roanoke colonists were never seen again.
Quebec
France had shown little interest in building an empire in the Americas. Its rulers were preoccupied by political and religious
conflicts at home. The French viewed North America as an opportunity for profits from fishing and fur trading rather than a place to
settle.
Furs were popular in Europe and traders could make large profits from beaver pelts acquired in North America. A group of
French traders obtained the rights to the fur trade with Native Americans. In 1608 the group sent Samuel de Champlain to establish a
settlement in Quebec in what is not Canada. Champlain made several trips to the region and discovered Lake Champlain. He
described the beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife and the Native Americans he met there.
From Quebec the French moved into other parts of Canada where they built trading posts to collect furs gathered by native
Americans and French trappers. The trappers were called coureurs de bois, meaning “runners of the woods.”
In the early 1600s, the Dutch began to set up trading posts along the Hudson River—first at Fort Orange and then at New
Amsterdam (present day NYC). For the Netherlands, England, and France, the 1500s were years of early exploration. In the early
1600s France and the Netherlands established trading posts in the Americas. More serious efforts to discover and develop the
possibilities of North America were to come in the years that followed.