Puritans Vs. Spanish Settlements In New England

Although many people think of the seventeenth century as having no variation from place to place, this is not true. Many settlements during this time were different in several ways, such as the English colonies in New England and the Spanish settlements in the southwest. Economic development and religion proved to be a key difference between the Spanish settlements in the southwest and the English colonies in New England during the seventeenth century. The two main religious groups in New England were the Puritans and the Pilgrims. The Puritans, a strictly religious group of the Anglican church, were bound together by a covenant. This caused all residents of this community to be tightly knit together in a religious and social commitment. They used theocracy as their form of government, which meant they saw God as their absolute ruler. Also in New England’s religion were the Pilgrims. They, also, were a very religious group, but they wanted to separate from the Church of England. They sought religion by moving from place to place. The Spanish settlements in the southwest, however, had a much different religious system. First of all, they practiced Catholicism very heavily. One of their biggest goals was to convert the natives to Catholicism. To help in their persistent efforts, they
created missions; through the work of missionaries, they were enabled to spread Catholicism rapidly throughout South and Central America, Mexico, and into the south and southwest region of present day United States. Another major difference between the Spanish and the New England colonies was their varying economic development.
Mercantilism was huge in the New England colonies. The major trade nations used mercantilism to gain national wealth and power by vastly increasing their exports and receiving precious metals in return. Also, New England had Navigation Acts which limited the colonies control over their economy. These acts were set into place in order to regulate colonial commerce more strictly. In 1660, the first Navigation Act closed the colonies to all trade except for goods carried on English ships. These acts formed the basis of England’s mercantile system in
America. The economy of the Spanish settlements was far more simplified than that of New Englands. The Spaniards main goal was to come to America to find gold and riches. Many of them fled to find these riches when news that silver had been discovered in Mexico reached them. The first Spaniards to reach the New World were the conquistadores; they were consumed by the thought of getting rich in this new land. They were very successful at finding all these riches they set out for. For three hundred years the mines of Spanish America yielded about ten times as much silver and gold as the rest of the world’s mines combined. Needless to say, the Spaniards had found and economic system that worked to their advantage. The Spanish settlements in the southwest and the English colonies in New England had many noticeable differences. For example, the religion of the New England colonies was centered around the Puritans and Pilgrims, while the Spanish religion was solely centered around spreading Catholicism throughout the New World. Another key difference was their economic development. The New England colonies were consumed by the idea of Mercantilism, while the Spaniards main goal was to simply get rich off silver and gold in the New World. Thus concludes that during the seventeenth century, there were many variations between the Spaniards and English in terms of economic development and religion.