All was not peaceful on the North American
continent prior to the arrival of the Europeans.
Tribal societies lived in harmony with land and seasons,
yet there were still struggles to survive and clashes
between groups were not uncommon. However, nothing
could have prepared these original inhabitants for what
occurred in the wake of the age of exploration begun
in 1492.

The early 1600s marked the virtually simultaneous
establishment of permanent centers of political and
cultural influence by three major European countries–
the English colonization of Jamestown (1607), the French
settlement of Québec (1608) and the Spanish
founding of Santa Fe (1609).

Hardship and dangerous conflicts ensued for settlers
and indigenous nations alike, although this time of unrest
also created new opportunities for commerce and
cooperation. In the years that followed, it set in motion
a series of migrations which forever changed the destiny
of the continent.

To commemorate the four hundred year anniversaries
of the founding of these settlements, Jamestown, Québec
and Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings tells the
stories of a century of European expansion and its wide-
ranging effects on social structures, economics, political
systems and religious beliefs.

They came to rule and claim resources, not to assimilate
or adapt. But the Europeans’ minority status and needs
for survival required them to develop relationships with
native populations and deal with multiple language
barriers. In the area around Santa Fe alone, Tewa, Zuni,
Hopi, Jemez and Keresan were spoken.

Tobacco fueled development in Virginia, fur was the
mainstay of the French trading empire and farming and
ranching became the dominant economies of New Mexico.
All were able to prosper due to an abundance of labor.
In some cases native North Americans became allies of the
colonizers, sharing their knowledge of agriculture, hunting
and community, and intermarriages took place– but a
persistent European tendency toward annexing land and
embracing slavery also created times fraught with hostility
and revolt.

This was further complicated by orthodox theologies
brought to the continent by the colonizers, with an
expectation that existing residents should accept these
unfamiliar precepts in place of their aboriginal beliefs.
Despite the persecution of dissenters, traditional practices
and identities remained strong. Many native peoples, in an
attempt to be tolerant of the new teachings, simply
interpreted them in light of their established cultural and
spiritual customs.

The Jamestown, Québec and Santa Fe exhibition
illustrates the vast complexities of this historical period
through a multicultural prism, featuring rare artifacts,
documents, maps and fascinating accounts of life in this
important and perilous era, which also saw the settling
of Plymouth, Mass. by the English and New Amsterdam
(later New York) by the Dutch.