Colonialism as a religious mission:

We talked a lot about the major differences in colonizing that existed between the three colonial empires Spain, France, and England. One of the major differences that we discussed was Spain and France went to not only trade but also to convert the natives to Christianity. However, I do not think that conversion was at the heart of their reasons for going. The idea that colonization was a ‘civilizing’ mission to save the native savages is a hoax. I think that these two countries only used this idea as a way to make the idea of colonization more popular. I think that the English was the only country honest about their true intentions in the new world. I think that the treatment of the native people by their colonizers shows their disregard for their well being. In many cases the natives were used solely for labor purposes, and while there were priest and missionaries, they were only there to take the place of military forces. By implementing a seemingly religious mission colonizing countries were able to forge a more peaceful relationship and not waste military resources.