The English replaced France and Spain as the single-most influential political and economic power in North America during the first three quarters of the eighteenth century. During that time, the North American part of Spanish Empire covered an immense but sparsely populated and economically inactive territory. The colonies consisted of several small and isolated urban clusters, mostly under the control of Indian. The colonies' dependence on trade and extraction of Indian labor, and failure to attract settlers made the colony impoverish. Florida remained a stagnant military outpost, and others were dotted by a small number of mission outposts that attempted to convert Indian. French colonies, in contrast, was able to rival the British ones. It possessed a expanding colony in Canada and continued into Mississippi River Valley. Prosperous farming communities with a vibrant and established social life developed in colonies. Though populated, the colonies were still dwarfed by the British ones, due to the dominant prejudice against emigration. Yet the French still posed a threat to British in military and trading power. However, after the power struggle in the Seven Years' War, the British obtained Canada from French and Florida from Spain, and became the dominant power in North America.
