English Motives for Colonization in North America Essay

Before 1600, many countries were looking to colonize the New World and one of those countries was obviously Great Britain. In an informative research paper called “The First Colonies North of Mexico”, it states, “Richard Hakluyt, a Protestant minister and geographer, wrote books urging colonization to accomplish five goals: (1) extend Protestantism, (2) expand trade, (3) increase England’s markets, (4) reduce unemployment, and (5) provide bases in order to attack Spanish ships in case of war.”(paragraph four) England’s first attempts of establishing colonies failed for multiple reasons, but

1. The main contours of English Colonization in the 17th century were Protestant motives to strike Catholicism, along with solving England’s social crisis. With the rumors of the Spanish Empire’s atrocities reaching England, one motive to colonize the America’s was to strike the Catholics, and save the natives from captivity (Foner 51). This shows an interesting aspect of the English Colonization: the English allowed their people to go colonize just to strike the opposing religious country. Along with this, England sending emigrants over solved their social crisis. Because of England’s growing population and economy, the amount of peasants in cities grew. This is because of landlords using land for sheep, which kicked out peasants from their land (Foner 51-52). England hoped that some people of the lower classes would then go to America: to be out of the big cities where important people were, while still helping England in it’s economy.

This caused a trade imbalance, thus hurting the Spanish economy and making it harder for the colonies in the New World to become successful settlements. Because the Spanish Crown had little interest in creating long-lasting colonies in New World for any purpose other than to gain wealth for the mother country, the group of Spaniards that came to America only consisted of conquistadores, missionaries, and soldiers. It is important to note that no Spanish women made the journey to the Americas, which contributed to Spain’s issue with founding substantial settlements. All of these factors made it difficult for Spain to benefit off colonization because the country lacked a strong, stable economy in the New World. On the other hand, England was able to establish permanent settlements in the Americas more efficiently than the Spanish because the purpose of colonization was not solely to acquire wealth, but also to flee religious and political persecution. Since British colonists had a comparatively more compelling reason to inhabit the Americas than the Spanish, they were more likely to permanently settle and contribute to the economy through commerce and agriculture. Their economic situation differed from the Spanish because instead of earning wealth through conquest and exploitation, industry in English colonies was based on farming, fishing, and exports like tobacco and lumber. The economy was also more

After the failure of Roanoke in 1587, the English decided once again to try to establish a permanent colony in North America. Major changes in the social and economic life in England caused more people to want to come to America. After new, more nutritious crops, were brought back from the Americas, the population of England doubled. This increased the demand for more food, clothing, and other goods. The gap between the rich and the poor also increased, leaving those with little land in poverty. Religious freedom was also becoming an issue for people in England, as the Reformation began in 1533. Those who wanted to break away from the Catholic Church could not when divine right monarchs believed they had the power to enforce a particular religion on their people. It was these factors that caused the first settlers of Chesapeake and Plymouth to leave in search for a better life and to find new opportunities. The early English settlements of Chesapeake and Plymouth differed as well as resembled each other in trade and work, government, and communal and family structure, which affected the quality of life in these colonies.

The English Colonies were developed for cultural reasons even before they left England, they were finding a haven for their religion. They were also established for a profit as in the case of Virginia, the main reason it became a permanent colony was because it was a good area for tobacco. The Appalachians prevented the colonists from moving into the Ohio River valley.

It was the age of discovery that first provoked intrigue and curiosity of new lands, particularly the Americas, and how the Europeans could expand to fit their society within the borders of this unknown and unexplored land. By the 1580s, more had been learned about the Americas, but any colonization until this point had not even been attempted. And so it was the English, under Queen Elizabeth I's rule, that were issued to establish a colony along the east coast of North America. However, when this great accomplishment was finally made in 1587, it was not long founded until its ultimate fate ended in the disappearance of the colony three years later, instantly creating one of the greatest

In the late 16th century, European nations were notorious for colonizing other nations. Their main motivation was seeking wealth in terms of valuable minerals, land to perform agriculture, and an additional market for their products. America, which was newly discovered at the time, did not escape their eyes. Of all the European nations, the British sent numerous groups on an expedition to the east coast of the Americas to establish colonies. The colonies expanded along the shoreline of the east coast of the Americas and grew to consist of four regions. Chesapeake and New England were among the two colonies, and they exhibited some similarities and differences.

When Great Britain defeated Spain in the Spanish Armada for control of the Atlantic Ocean, this allowed Great Britain to finally begin to colonize the New World. In 1607, the British settled the New World with their third, but first permanent colony called the Virginia Colony. Even though the Virginia Colony was Great Britain’s first colony in the New World, it was not easy trying to keep the colony up and running. The colonists did have hardships during their colonization which made living in the Virginia Colony very difficult but overtime the colonists made the Virginia Colony into a very profitable colony after defeating majority of the hardships that it faced.

In the 16th century the Spanish had acquired wealth on account of South America. Since England had recently switched over to the Protestant church, Spain wanted to get enough money and a big enough army to defeat England and change it back to the Catholic church (Horn). Once England realized their plan they tried various ways to get the wealth they needed to dominate Spain. However, none of these ways resulted in the wealth they needed until they had realized they could colonize the New World. Sending the poor to the New World to colonize would solve England’s problems of overpopulation and a need for wealth (Horn). After multiple failed attempts to colonize the New World they finally reached success with the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia

On 1585 the Roanoke island also known as the lost colony was discovered . The England's first attempt to colonize the new world. Walter Raleigh sent them to settle in Chesapeake bay but the ships captain took them ashore to Roanoke. Other settlers have tried to land there but always failed. The Aquascogocs were angry because the colonist had attack, Then they received a call from sir Francis drake to return to England , they left the island.

There are many reasons why we should or shouldn’t colonize in the New World. But, in my opinion we should colonize in the New World so we can conquer land and become a powerful nation. Another reason we should colonize in the New World is so then we can get gold and other materials which are worth a lot that you can’t get in Spain. For example, when Columbus sent us a letter it also talked about how the Native American’s are inclined to follow us and become Christians and how they will exchange valuable items for trifles. One reason we should colonize in the New World is so we can conquer land and become a powerful nation.

(http://www2.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=5158&) England became a leading world power between 1450-1750 greatly due to how they were affected by the Chinese and how they affected the natives of North America. England's Naval prowess allowed them to affect territories in the Americas and in India through colonization. In 1585 England took its first stab at colonization with the city of Roanoke, off the coast of present day North Carolina. Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth to travel to the new world and establish a colony. (http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html) The colonists were not prepared for the struggles and hardships that starting a new colony implied.

English were slow to colonize in the New World was because of the critical; religious changes that took place in Europe. It wasn’t until much later did England began to take interest in colonizing in the Americas. At first, England’s interest in the far side of the Atlantic centered primarily on fish because fish was a big part of their English diet. However, as their continental market for English wool began to fail because of the continuous religious conflicts in Europe, English people began to look towards the Americas for new opportunities. England knew that the Spanish and the Portugal had claimed all of the Americas through the Treaty of Tordesillas. However, the English ignored the treaty and began to make attempts to settle in the Americas.

When King Philip II of Spain sent Spanish Armada to attack England in 1588, many of the English took advantage of its maneuverability and defeated the armada, resulting in naval power across the Atlantic. Since England gained power over the ocean, many also gained interest in colonizing the New World. However, many pioneers, including Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Walter Raleigh, and John White, have failed in the expedition to the New World. In 1578, Queen Elizabeth offered a six-year patent to Gilbert, which granted him the right to possess any inhabited land. Then, in 1593, Gilbert, on his expedition to the Newfoundland in hopes to build a profitable colony, has stumbled upon a storm which sank his ship and was lost at sea. In 1594, Sir Raleigh was granted the same offer and led an expedition of a small group of men to the North American Coast. Upon returning, Raleigh names the coast he and his men explored, “Virginia,” in honor of Queen Elizabeth, who was known as the “Virgin Queen.” In 1585, Raleigh hired his cousin, Sir Richard Greenville, to lead an expedition to an island of Roanoke, an island off the coast of modern-day North Carolina. Greenville successfully established a colony after destroying an Indian village. After establishing a colony, Greenville then leaves his men at Roanoke until Sir Francis Drake unexpectedly arrives at the

During the 1600’s the English decided to have people colonize in the Americas for the