THE BRITISH THE FRENCH AND THE

DUTCH

CURRENT EVENTS

OPENING QUESTION•What do you do if someone has something that you want?

W H A T D O E S S P A I N A N D P O R T U G A L H A V E T H A T O T H E R S M I G H T W A N T ?

Thee Northern

European countries

of Britain, France

and Holland were

quick to follow the

lead of Portugal and

Spain in overseas

exploration and

trade.

Under the encouragement and

support of the King of England,

explorers like the Cabot, Baffin,

Frobisher and Drake sought out

new lands and even acted as

pirates raiding Spanish and

Portuguese ships and colonies.

Francis Drake was one of the most notorious of the English privateers. Privateers

were pirates that were given permission by their King or Queen to war on enemy

ships and colonies.

Sir Francis Drake

Drake was also the first British explorer to circumnavigate the globe. Along the way he raided many Spanish and Portuguese ships and colonies, taking his “booty” back with him to England.

What’s on the

other side of

North

America?

French explorers like Jacques Cartier helped explore the St. Lawrence River and helped found French colonies in Canada

The Dutch not only set out explorers but also set up trading posts and the Dutch East Indian Company, founded in 1602 took over the rich spice trade and established colonies in Eastern Asian countries like Indonesia

WORKSHEET COMPLETION