Early America is a story of misunderstandings, mainly because of the man different cultures and types of people that have inhabited the region. The territory of America was first inhabited by Native Americans. They were heir to a particular way of thinking about the world. However, with the arrival of Europeans, these groups did not understand each other. This pattern was repeated between different Europeans, such as the French, the English and the Spanish.
For example, French people were generally more willing to engage with Native Americans, and did not have such a strong desire to change their ways. On the other hand, Spanish people were more interested in changing their lifestyle, but they approached the subject from a religious perspective, and wanted the indigenous people to be equal subjects of the Crown. However, the English, although they cooperated with Native Americans, had much less of a desire to engage with them, and instead preferred to live apart from them in different land.
Settlement patterns were different too. French people generally settled in areas where fur trade was successful, such as the Hudson Bay. Spanish people settled in areas that were politically important for Native Americans, such as Mexico City or Lima, Peru. English people, on the other hand, settled in fertile areas for agriculture, such as the Thirteen Colonies.
Finally, religion was an important factor in colonial times. French and Spanish settlers were quite homogeneous. They were mostly Catholic and did not believe in freedom of religion. On the other hand, English people had a greater mix of religions (Protestant, Lutheran, Calvinist, Catholic, etc.) and many of them supported the idea of religious freedom. Moreover, they were less interested in converting the indigenous people when compared to Spanish settlers.
