Early American Settlement

This document also informs us on the early attractiveness of the new settlement efforts. All men interviewed were fishermen who only went to the New World for a couple of months during the year. As stated in the Antonio document, Terra Nova did not possess a town; instead there was “only a harbour and beach.” According to many Europeans the New World was not fit for settlement, nor were people willing to take a risk and live in a cold and barren world without an incentive, which the New World did not provide for the vast majority of subjects. Instead, the majority of selected subjects for the settlement by Roberval were ex-convicts. This became difficult because these men were not particularly motivated for settlement. It is notable

This further supports the notion that the New World’s purpose was to supply goods to the motherland and not ready for settlement. This became especially true after the unsuccessful attempt made by Cartier and Roberval to produce a permanent settlement. This is important in later understanding why early plans for settlement went unsuccessfully, especially when referencing the efforts made by the French, because the incentive to withstand the cold climate was not there. The more attempts of settlement being made without success demoralized not only France but other countries. As noted in the Antonio document, Antonio is not hoping to create his own settlement, he is purely asking about the resources and if Spanish ships were being followed. Because of this, it suggests that there was not much of an interest from the Spanish to make a permanent settlement in the north of

Antonio de Ubilla offers multiple testimonies which add to the credibility of his writing. He covers multiple aspects of life in the New World from asking about the travel, the voyage of Jacques Cartier, the trading economy, as well as the well being of the Spanish fleet, which overall creates a successful complete image of the early days in the New World. What this document lacks is more information on the settlement itself. Some men reference that men were killed in settlement but there is not much detail as to what actually happened. One has to wonder why. Could it have been because the men interviewed did not know all the details or, since most were French, did they not want the truth to come out in order to preserve some hope of another settlement attempt? Or did Antonio himself not care about settlement and was only focused on the resources and Spanish ships? Nevertheless, there is a mysteriousness that surrounds what truly happened during the few months of