“Instead of finding that this country is populated as it ought to be after so long an occupation thereof by our subjects, we have learned with regret not only that the number of its inhabitants is very limited, but that even these are daily exposed to the danger of being wiped out by the Iroquois."

—Louis XIV, 1663

This quotation best supports which statement about the ways Europeans competed in North America?

A. European nations fought wars to decide which of them could build colonies in an area.

B. European nations could better protect their interests in an area if they had more settlers there.

C. European nations divided up colonial territories according to which nation had been there the longest.

D. European nations had to fight and defeat any American Indians before they could compete with other Europeans.