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Course: US history > Unit 2
Lesson 1: Early colonization projects- French and Dutch colonization
- French and Dutch exploration in the New World
- Lesson summary: French and Dutch colonization
- England in the Age of Exploration
- Motivations for English colonization
- The Lost Colony of Roanoke - background and first attempts
- The Lost Colony of Roanoke - settlement and disappearance
- Early colonization projects
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Lesson summary: French and Dutch colonization
A high-level overview of French and Dutch efforts at early colonization.
French and Dutch colonization in the Americans focused on the profitable fur trade. Depending on Native Americans to hunt animals for their pelts, French and Dutch colonizers cultivated friendly relationships with Native Americans through intermarriage and military alliances.
Key terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Samuel de Champlain | A French explorer who founded the first permanent French settlement in North America, Quebec. |
| Quebec | The first permanent French settlement, founded in 1608. |
| Henry Hudson | An English adventurer hired by the Dutch government who led an expedition to find a path to Asia through North America. His expedition led to the establishment of New Amsterdam. |
| New Netherlands | New Netherlands was a Dutch colony founded in 1609 by the Dutch East India Company to maintain Dutch fur-trading practices. |
| Dutch East India Company | A Dutch merchant company chartered in 1602 to carry on trade with Africa, the West Indies, North and South America, and Australia. |
| Fur trading | The sale and exchange of animal furs (like beaver pelts). French and Dutch colonizers focused on trading furs with Native American tribes in North America. |
French and Dutch colonization patterns
Core historical themes
Motivations for colonization: The French colonized North America to create trading posts for the fur trade. Some French missionaries eventually made their way to North America in order to convert Native Americans to Catholicism. The original intent of Dutch colonization was to find a path to Asia through North America, but after finding the fur trade profitable, the Dutch claimed the area of New Netherlands.
Establishing permanent settlements: Unlike the Spanish and English, the French and Dutch created few permanent settlements. French settlements were initially made up of fur traders, merchants, and missionaries, so that there were fewer than 5,000 settlers by 1672. Dutch settlements were also relatively small, and only about half of their residents were Dutch, the others being a mix of ethnicities, including Germans and French .
Interactions with Native Americans: The goals of both the French and Dutch revolved around the fur trade. Unlike the Spanish and English, the French and Dutch fostered good relationships with Native Americans. The French in particular created alliances with the Hurons and Algonquians. Both the Dutch and the French relied on marriages with Native Americans to expand their fur trading operations.
Review questions
- What was the main motivation for French colonization and Dutch colonization?
- Compare French and Dutch colonization to Spanish colonization. What are two differences and one similarity?
Want to join the conversation?
Was the Dutch East India Company similar to the East India Company in India when India was colonized by the British?(20 votes)
Yes, they were both private corporations working for countries and had their own colonies.(30 votes)
Why Was everyone trying to convert natives to their religion?(5 votes)
Well... if for real Christian love and evangelical reasons, it was because they didn't want all the natives to die unsaved and go to h-e-double toothpicks.
Unfortunately, in reality it was often used in an abuse of power as a control method, or to scare the natives into a fear-based rather than faith-based religion.(17 votes)
- what are some similarities between Spanish colonization and french/dutch colonization(3 votes)
Find the lesson summary on Spanish colonization and print it out. Then print out the summary of French and Dutch colonization you'll find in this lesson. Lay them side by side and the similarities will become apparent. When you do your own work, you learn the answer better, and you also learn the method better. You can do it!(21 votes)
I wonder why on some lessons the videos have the most information and on others the articles have the most information. Also, I've noticed that on a lot of lessons they have questions about information that doesn't appear until the next lesson.(11 votes)- don't understand anything on here(3 votes)
- When that happens to me, I listen again, a couple more times.(15 votes)
Are Dutch and French the same(0 votes)
No, the Dutch live in the Netherlands and the French live in France :)(34 votes)
- Can I have an apple?(7 votes)
No we don't have any apples here.Read the paragraph and watch the video again.(0 votes)
Which 3 present-day cities grew out of New France and New Netherland?(3 votes)- Jersey City, NJ. Albany, NY. New York City, NY. Montreal, QE,(7 votes)
was the hudson bay company and hudson bay named after Henry Hudson??(3 votes)- English explorers and colonists named Hudson Bay after Sir Henry Hudson who explored the bay beginning August 2, 1610, on his ship Discovery.(6 votes)