Religion & Economic Development Essay

New World colonies located on the American Continent varied in their economic opportunities which set up the basis of what the colony would become overall. Each region differed in the advancement of their colonial system, based heavily upon on the nation that wished to colonize it. English colonies in upper Northeast New England and Spanish settlements in the Southwest regions had individual emphases both religiously and economically. Puritans from England were seeking refuge, freedom of religion, and economic opportunity hoping to establish long-rooted settlements. However, Conquistadors in the Southwest had eyes gleaming with their quest for â€Å"God, gold, and glory† and sought to lightly influence the land. Thus, these regions were driven separate directions, shaping their own religious positions and economic developments. Certainly the most distinguishing catalyst for colonization in both regions was religion. English Puritans sailed to North America’s Atlantic Coast with incentives towards escaping religious persecutions, while the Spanish arrived to convert the indigenous peoples to Catholicism. During the â€Å"Great Migration† of the 1630s, no more than twenty thousand Puritans came to Massachusetts fleeing the tendencies of the Anglican Church, and the common mistreatment against them. John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, directed the Puritans to believe in the idea of the â€Å"city upon a hill†, a guideline of a self-righteous community for the rest of the world. Their definitive objective was to protect their beliefs, doing so by forming a society on the concepts of the Calvinists religion. A select group, the Elect, would’ve had to testify a religious conversion experience to vote. Soon, it became apparent to ministers that there was a rapid decline in the amount of conversions which significantly affected the amount of church members. As a resolution in 1662, the Half-Way Covenant was devised to acknowledge a partial membership into the church to those who could not testify to the religious experience but were moral members of society. In time, the â€Å"elect† and other members of society had hardly any dissimilarity between them. On the contrary, the Spanish settlements in the Southwest were focused primarily on converting the native peoples to Catholicism and seizing the land’s material, especially precious metals. Upon their arrival to the region, the Conquistadores were troubled by the strong opposition from the indigenous people such as the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas. Susceptible to the deadly small pox and measles, courtesy of the Old World, numbers of the natives dwindled greatly. Once an iron fist of control was stabilized, the Roman Catholic mission rapidly became a central institution in the few settlements that had arisen. On the other hand, the Missionaries’ limitations on the native religious practices as well as the ruthless efforts to Christianize them led to the immediate uprising of the Popes Rebellion or the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. Pueblo rebels extirpated Catholic Churches in the province, killed hundreds of priests and Spanish settlers, which, in turn, lead to the eventual loss of Spanish control of the Southwest region for several years. Not only did New England settlements in the Northeast and Spanish colonies in the Southwest vary religiously, they differed economically as well. Primarily, New England’s Puritans center of attention around the agrarian economy all the while the Spanish Conquistadors goal was to attain material wealth such as fine metals. Preceding the French and Indian War, the policy of Salutary Neglect was practiced by the British Government with the hopes of keeping the colonists content as well as away from the idea of creating an alliance with France. Allowing the colonies to develop without obstructions from across the Atlantic strengthened their economic base. Due to the rocky soil that lacks nutrition, New England in the late 17th century relied greatly on a manufacturing economy, opposed to agrarian. The English prospered in the lumber, fishing, and shipbuilding industries. For some time, America was able to trade illegally with other countries expanding economic development, making it possible to compete in the world market. However, Spanish Conquistadores had a stronghold on the economic developments in the Southwest. Following the mercantilism theory, Spain concentrated more on exploiting the natural resources then to establish permanent colonies, delaying economic growth. Not only that, but the Hacienda structure input the class system which made the Native Americans slaves. Before long, the Spanish prestige and wealth declined causing major holes in the colonies economies in the Southwest. Therefore, the English colonies in the Northeast and Spanish settlements in the Southwest varied religiously and economically. Admittedly, members of each region mutually tried to convert the native people who thrived before them even if it was through dissimilar methods. Their purposes for sailing to the New World were the key difference. English Puritans came to establish tightly-knit communities free from the religious problems in England. For the Spanish, their goal was to laden their hands in wealth and spread Catholicism across the land.