The history of colonial north America//// centers primarily around the struggle of England, France, and Spain to gain control of the continent. Settlers crossed the Atlantic for different reasons, and their governments took different approaches to their colo- nizing efforts. These differences created both advan- tages and disadvantages that profoundly affected the New World’s fate. France and Spain, for instance, were governed by autocratic sovereigns whose rule was absolute; their colonists went to America as ser- vants of the Crown.