“The principal cause of this unhappy war between the English and the Indians is the constant encroachment of our people upon their ancient territories. Under the pretense of purchase or default of debt, the English have daily extended their plantations, turning their cattle into the cornfields of the natives and forcing them from their customary fishing and hunting places. While the French seek only the trade of furs and are content to live in small numbers among the forest dwellers, our people desire the land itself, which they enclose and cultivate, thereby excluding the natives altogether from their inheritance.”
— Adapted from an English colonial observer's report on Indian relations, late seventeenth century
The patterns of interaction described in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following differences between French and English colonization models?
- AEnglish colonizers adopted the Spanish encomienda system to grant land tracts and Native labor directly to individual settlers, eliminating the need for territorial expansion.
- BChesapeake and New England colonizers relied on identical economic systems based on family-run Puritan farms that shared agricultural land equally with local Native American tribes.
- French colonizers relied on trade alliances and intermarriage with Native Americans to secure furs, whereas English colonizers sought to acquire land and establish agricultural settlements that excluded Native populations.Answer
- DThe rapid growth of English settlements was made possible because English colonizers immediately transitioned to hereditary chattel slavery in 1607, which resolved all disputes over labor and land.