--Gold, silver, and furs attracted European exploration, colonization, and competition in the New World.
--Rivalries between European nations were often rooted in religious or political feuds taking place in Europe, yet these tensions played out in the theater of the New World.
--The Spanish lost their stronghold in North America as the French, Dutch, and British began to explore and colonize the Northeast.
The liberation of slaves delivered a serious blow to the South´s economy. It was based on slave labor and it was mostly agricultural. There were no black men for harvesting in the fields.
