THE FIRST NON-SPANISH/HISPANIC SETTLEMENTS



THE FIRST NON-SPANISH/HISPANIC SETTLEMENTS

The earliest attempts at settlement by other European nations were made in the GUIANAS (WILD COAST) of South America, between Spanish Venezuela and the Portuguese colony of Brazil. It was called the Wild Coast because it was so inhospitable. The mangrove swamps of the shoreline were backed with dense forests. The swamps bred mosquitoes and other insects and the climate was hot and oppressive. However, this Wild coast was reputedly rich in gold which attracted Dutch, English and French adventurers and settlers who built rough houses and planted crops such as tobacco, cotton and corn or maize. This was done on the banks of rivers such as the Orinoco, Demerara, Courantyne, Essequibo, Suriname and Oyapock.

THE ENGLISH IN THE GUIANAS

There were THREE serious attempts by the English to build colonies in Guiana. Charles Leigh started a colony at Mt. Howard on the River Oyapock in 1604, but it was abandoned within a year.

In 1609, Robert Harcourt restared the colony on the same site which lasted for four years(1613). Then in 1620, Roger North started a third colony in the Oyapoc region. It was abandoned. Other attempts in 1629 and 1643 were unsuccessful. Success was difficult to achieve because supplies were difficult to maintain and the Indians were hostile. After the failed attempts by the English, they turned their hopes on more hospitable sites.

THE DUTCH IN THE GUIANAS

The Dutch were the most successful in the Guianas, establishing permanent settlements on the Essequibo in 1616 and on the Berbice in 1624. William Usselinx was the force behind Dutch colonization in the Guianas. River sites were chosen because of the inhospitable nature of the terrain.

The government in Holland was only concerned about trade and the creation of wealth. Settlements should only be considered if this meant creating more profitable trade. The Dutch West India Company was established in 1621 on the advice of William Usselinx ,who felt that wealth would come by establishing settlements. However, the Dutch company was concerned primarily with developing trade in the Caribbean and building settlements would take a secondary role.

The Dutch were the most efficient and effective European traders in the world. The Dutch became the ‘foster-father’ of the early West Indian colonies.

The Dutch were successful in the Guianas because the developed a good Dutch-Indian relationship, they engaged in subsistence agriculture( growing their own food) but also selling tobacco and finally they worked hard.

THE FRENCH IN GUIANA

The French also gained territory on the mainland, establishing a settlement at Cayenne in Guiana in 1674.

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