The 19th Century - 1724 Words

The Seventeenth Century would prove to be one of the most important eras in the shaping of the America. Both the English and the Spanish would vie for dominance of the uncharted continent with the establishment of colonies on American soil. The Spanish would try to colonize the American Southwest and the English, the Northeast. Indelibly, both cultures would leave their mark on the American landscape, especially within the context of religion and politics. Spain first set up an outpost in what would become New Mexico, just North of the Rio Grande River. Led by the enterprising and dramatic Juan de Oà ±ate, who had been appointed the founding governor and adelantado by Felipe II, a large group of Spaniards and Franciscan monks made their†¦show more content†¦Amen.’ (Colonization Arizona pg. 36) Indeed, the Spanish would come to rule a Southwestern colony where political and religions institutions had little delineation and all was one under the watchful eye of the Catholic Church and the King. The English, though not arriving to the American shores in as dramatic fashion as the Spaniards, would come to shape colonial life just as thoroughly. Though not the first English colony to be settled in America, Plymouth Plantation would be the first to establish a rich political and religious tradition within America. Founded in 1620 by a group of English pilgrims, their purpose for fleeing to North America was for that of religious freedom. 1630 would see a group of Puritans from England establish the Massachusetts Bay colony, with the main purpose of the establishing a purer religious doctrine that that of the English Church. These pilgrims and puritans would eventually spread out over the Northeastern American landscape, and to some degree would establish religious and political institutions that seemed to cross the boundaries of one another. Religion in the Spanish colony of the Southwest was one of total obedience to the Catholic Church and His Holiness the King of Spain. Spain’s deep ties to Catholicism flourished in the seventeenth century, a beacon on