The Importance Of English Settlement In America

Thanks to men like Christopher Columbus the world became an explorer's oyster. The findings of new created much curiosity in Europe to explore and conquer new lands in order to expand their empire. In the early 1600’s a surge of motivation to explore and settle new colonies came over England. The Result of this was the New England and Chesapeake colonies, who were both settled by immigrants from England. Many people decided they needed to escape England due to religious persecution and poverty. Hundreds of families, men, women, and their children, came in search of a New World where they could have a new start. Despite the striking similarities between the two colonies they grew

During the 17th century, British sailors and citizens set sail for the New World. After discovering what now is America, the British along with other countries decided to settle down and colonize there. By doing this, they could expand the area of land they owned and make money off of the natural resources. However, the British did not expect the wave of new diseases and conflict that were waiting for their arrival.

From the mid 1500’s to the 1700’s, people from all over Europe flocked to the vast lands of North America. Spain and England quickly became the most dominant European presences in the Americas. Citizens of the two countries had very different experiences in the New World. This was partially due to their different interactions with Native Americans, religions and their different motivations for coming to the New World. Although rivals at the time, Spain and England’s colonization efforts shared many similarities.

In 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World. This “discovery” led to the colonization of the New World by several European nations. European nations, such as Great Britain, started colonization for a variety of reasons.

During the 15th through 17th centuries, advancements in technology and the desire for new resources spurred the exploration of the New World for both Spain and England. Spain's interest in exploration soon surpassed the rest of the countries in the Old World and the nation began to claim the majority of territory in Central and South America. Spain sent conquistadores to assert their dominance in the New World through violent conquest which resulted in difficult relations with native populations. Although the English did not settle in North America until the early 17th century, well past the period of the Spanish conquest, their methods of colonization were more successful in the long term. The English were able to find economic success

The English had similar motivations to that of the Spanish, and were even inspired by the success of the Spanish conquistadors to come to the New World and settle on new land. However, the motivations differed greatly as well. The English hoped to provide jobs for people in the New World that could not find them in England, also in hopes of helping England’s economy.

Christopher Columbus's accidental find of an entire continent, completely altered the way Europeans viewed the world. Thus a quest was set out by each country for three things: gold, god, and glory. Established in 1607 as the first colony of the new world, Jamestown's main purpose was to pull profit into England. Despite struggling in its early stage, Jamestown completely stabilized itself for years to come. Established in 1620 as the second colony, Plymouth brought many Puritan Separatists who were trying to find freedom for their religion and escape religious persecution in England. The Virginia Company took this place over until the throne decided to charter the area, which finally allowed for Plymouth to be established as its own colony.

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

As a result of the Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the ‘New World,’ it was soon bombarded by wealth seeking explorers and conquistadors from all over Europe. The Spanish explorers first came and soon the English, but it wasn’t until 1607 that English colonization began with the settlement of Jamestown. Jamestown was not a perfect establishment at first, it failed but through many attempts it strived. Similar to the attempts needed to make Jamestown successful, following colonies had to establish their own beliefs and systems. Prior to 1700, both the Massachusetts and Virginia colonies were essential to the growth of English development by achieving economic growth through indentured servitude and later, slaves. Massachusetts made way for a more peaceful, diverse and respectful colony as Chesapeake Bay was violent and mainly centered around the separation of whites and heathens, achieving a ‘safer’ colony.

In a time when the Columbus settled on, what is now America, land and created the Columbian exchange, which effected the New World and the Old World. After a couple of hundred years that's when the British colonized Virginia, naming it after King James. Jamestown's environment evoked the harsh living conditions and The Starving Time. The Starving Time was when colonist in Jamestown had no food, water, and no supplies. Population dropped from 300 colonist to only 60 colonist left. After this the English settled in the New World to search for gold and silver. Columbus encouraged more settlement, since he was from Spain. The Spanish came over and settled in the New World to spread and convert the spanish beliefs of catholicism to others. The similarities and differences between Spanish and New England colonies differed in terms of, role of religion, economic basis, and treatment of indigenous people.

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.

In the early 1600’s English traders embarked in the Americas not only in search of a new trade route to the east, but used this land discovery as an opportunity to expand their European empire. They came to settle in the Americas to start up

In 1588, the defeat of the Spanish armada by England's Sir Francis Drake signaled the slow decline of Spain. But while this was happening the first permanent settlement of the English in the New World on Reannex Island fails. It was then almost two decades later till they tried again (Todd & Curti, 1968). However, Spain was different from the English, in that what their explorers did was under government supervision; it was all done in the name of Spain. England was not a wealthy nation, so they could not finance groups like Spain had done. However, they did promise land to those who were willing to adventure out to the New World. Trade companies then took it upon themselves to finance and establish land out-posts in the New World. Therefore, the control of the New World would be that of those from the Old World.

When traveling to London from urban areas created overpopulation in the city, and increasingly horrendous conditions, the move to a more prosperous land seemed more and more inviting. This idea was further enhanced by the works of English Richard Hakluyt in novels such as The Principal Navigations, Voyages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, and Voyages, where readers were given false insight into a vastly successful New World, theoretically open for prosperous settlement. Those which moved to London with abortive attempts to find work, or which experienced the scarcity of food/land supplies between 1580 and 1650, found these inviting opportunities as an escape to otherwise, inevitable poverty. Conversely, those living in stable, prosperous societies, with satisfactory social statuses, were less likely to be motivated by the influential works of Richard Hakluyt and the overall conquest of America.

The first colonization of the English was not in the New World but rather in Ireland. However, they have come in contact with the New World when King Henry VII sponsored John Cabot to sail to the northeastern coast of North America in 1497, only five years after Spain’s. Unlike Spain, English’s main interest in colonization was land instead of gold or silver. In addition, many people developed an interest of colonization as a response to social, economic, and religious problems in the sixteenth-century. Much of the English colonization and settlement was rather difficult due to the unusual and new conditions of the land. However, with the help of the natives of the New World, many people survived such conditions regardless of their scarce resources.