The Spanish government in fact created a settlement system known as the encomienda in which large grants of land were dispersed together with the right to enslave and work the Indians within the territory. This obviously created tension between the natives and the Spanish which later then caused the killings of millions of Indians. The French realized early after the failed Spanish colonization that peaceful relations with the Indians was more productive. Spanish priests made halfhearted attempts to convert Indians to Christianity, but were more interested in destroying Indian religious artifacts as "pagan," the end result of which meant that much of Indian culture was lost forever and when the Indians started realizing this they tried to fight back. Although the French tried to convert the Indians it wasn’t as harsh and inhumane as the Spanish, instead of destroying Indian tradition, French usually adopted Indian customs, wore Indian clothes, often married Indian wives they thought the Indians new tools and help local tribes fight battles with rival tribes. this earned the trust of the natives which made the French’s encounter with the natives less …show more content…
The French wanted to established a livable colony and they saw the Indians as their future neighbors and instead of causing mayhem they built relationships. The Spanish colonies were much more intensively settled and a much more developed economy was created there than in French colonies. French colonies were sparsely settled and were used mainly as ways to trade with the Indians for furs the Spanish were looking for more while all the French wanted was fur. By contrast, Spanish colonies had big cities, large farms, mines, and other such things. Spanish settlements in North America had one purpose only: to protect their shipments of gold and silver from competing European powers. as a result, they never attempted to set up permanent colonies. French traders exchanged textiles, weapons, and metal goods for the furs of animals such as beavers, bears, and wolves. The trade strengthened traditional clan leaders' positions by allowing them to distribute these trade goods to their clan members. Each countries’ purpose determined their encounter with the