Read the online article at http://www.americanyawp.com/text/04-colonial-society and provide two separated peer reviews of 2 sample answers below.
1) Both the French and the Dutch explored the Northern coast of the Americas, settling down respectively on the St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River. Given the fact that the weather wasn’t suitable for growing crops, the colonies became lucrative trading posts. The first French colony was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, who was sponsored by a French fur-trading company. The Dutch West India Company ran the first of their settlements, controlling all trade in and out of the Netherlands. Both colonies remained small colonies and, as a consequence, were not in conflict with local Indians over land and resources. In particular, the French and their Indian partners were mutually dependent on each other, as the Indians would hunt for fur and in exchange, they would receive tools and weapons.
One big difference between the two colonies is their position on religion. Many French Jesuits moved to the colonies and their approach to the Indians was noninvasive, not demanding them to convert or fully adopt their religious practices. Instead, Jesuits learned native languages and translated the Bible. On the contrary, Dutch people embraced religious freedom and didn’t have any missionary goals.
As far as the population of these colonies, the French people who arrived to what is today Canada were mostly young men. This led to a significant mixing with the native people and mixed-race kids represented an important bridge between the two worlds, often acting as interpreters and guides. On the other hand, many Dutch women migrated to the colonies, providing social stability and population growth.
2) When America was first discovered different empires sought different motives and methods and establishing their colonies. The Spanish and French colonies had similar goals when it came to religion, both colonies wanted to convert American Indians to Christianity. Although, by achieving this, they both took a different approach. The Spanish were eager to convert American Indians to Catholicism by forming missions and conforming them to their cultural standards. The French had Jesuits who mastered the native language and taught religious beliefs to villages. Another similarity between the Spanish and the French is their intermixing with the American Indians. The Spanish mixed race offspring were known as mestizos while the French mixed race offspring were known as metis.
The treatment of American Indians established a strong difference between the Spanish and French colonies. The Spanish were harsh to the American Indians and forced hard labor to farm and ranch on haciendas. An example of their cruelty was in 1598 when Juan de Onate sacked the Pueblo city of Acoma and slaughtered half of its population including women and children. He ordered to cut one foot off of every surviving male and took slave to the remaining women and children. The Spanish subjugated American Indians and enslaved them to mine gold. American Indian villages were also required to pay food, metals and labor to their Spanish landlords.
On the other hand, the French had a much better relationship with the American Indians. In contrast to the Spanish, the French relied on the American Indians for fur trading as fur became one of the major factors of what set the French colonization. In fact, the French colonies were developed through private investment companies. In 1603 Port Royal was established in Arcadia where traders set an expedition along the Atlantic coast as far as Cape Cod. The French and American Indians looked to one another as military allies against neighboring Indian societies such as the Iroquios. Both the French and American Indians adapted each other’s culture and trading protocols in order to maintain a friendly trading relationship.
