Final answer:
Spanish and English colonization differed in governance, economic activities, and relations with indigenous populations. Spain had direct control and integrated natives through tributes, while England favored self-governance and excluded natives, leading to distinct colonial legacies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Spanish and English colonization of the Americas shared some similarities but also exhibited many differences. While both empires sought to expand their territories and extract resources, the nature of their interactions with indigenous peoples was distinct. The Spanish, for example, enforced religious conversion and incorporated indigenous people into their colonial system through practices like the encomienda and later the repartimiento, which demanded tribute and labor. Conversely, English colonists generally pushed Native Americans out of the settlements and used land extensively for their own economic activities, such as farming and settlements.
Governance was another major point of divergence between the two. The Spanish Crown directly controlled its colonies, assigning peninsulares to high positions and maintained strict trade regulations to benefit Spain. Meanwhile, British colonists experienced a greater degree of self-governance, with localized legislatures and town hall meetings having more say in daily affairs. This divergent path would later contribute to the American colonists' desire for independence, highlighting their valued self-governance principles.
Their economic interactions also differed significantly, with the Spanish developing massive plantations and mines that relied on forced labor from Native Americans and African slaves, while the English colonies, especially in the north, developed more diverse economies based on small farms, trade, and in some areas, industrial production.
The final answer in two-line explanation in 300 words: The Spanish and English colonial endeavors in the Americas were marked by their different methods of governance, economic goals, and relations with indigenous peoples, with Spain exerting direct control and merging natives into their system, whereas England promoted self-governance and generally excluded natives from their settlements.