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English colonization of north america essay
English colonization in north america
English colonization in north america
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The English began colonizing North America for economic, social, and religious reasons. In the 1600s, there were many tensions rising in England. There were disputes over land. At the time, there was simply not enough land to sustain the population. During this time, many people were also looking to move up in social status. They were no longer satisfied with where they were. There was also mounting religious conflict during this time. England implemented a nationwide religious policy. Many people disagreed with forcing a religion on people; therefore, they chose to leave England in search for religious freedom. For these reasons, people chose to migrate to North America. In the 1600s, the population of England was growing rapidly. At the same time this was occurring, they began to develop the notion of private property in law and politics. This began to cause shortages of land. This lead to people such as the West Country Men to leave England in search of land. They could achieve this goal because they knew people in …show more content…
This left a lot of single young men with no property and no chance of getting married because they had no land. They saw moving to North America as an opportunity to gain social status and make a name for themselves. Many people sold themselves into indentured servitude. They would serve a set number of years, and when their time was up, they would be set free and would gain a set amount of land. In William Moraley’s book, The Infortunate, Moraley explained how he was not in a favorable trade. People of a favorable trade would “bind themselves for four years; but if I would consent to bind myself for five, he said he would undertake to get me admitted” (Moraley, 16). William Moraley, like many others, sold himself into servitude to make a better life for himself. Because once he finished his contract, he would be set free and given land of his
The availability of inexpensive land in the American West provided opportunity for many Americans to fulfill the American dream of individualism, economic opportunity and personal freedom. Immigrants, former slaves and other settlers moved across the country to become western farmers and ranchers to make a new life. One of the reasons why the west was a land of opportunity for the farmers and ranchers was the large quantity of cheap available land. This allowed for many Americans, both rich and poor, to buy land for farming and raising cattle. The Homestead Act of 1862 aided the process. The Homestead Act gave title to 160 acres of federal land to farmers who staked a claim and lived on the land for five years. Alternatively, a farmer could buy the land after six months for $1.25 an acre. Many blacks and immigrants joined the westward expansion, looking for a better life. Immigrants saw the land as opportunity because many could not own land in the countries where they were born. For example, in Nebraska, a fourth of the population was foreign born. These immigrants transformed...
Throughout the history of mankind, numerous events such as the Crusades, have occurred in the name of religion and religious freedom. Sadly, motivation for the early settlers coming to America wasn’t strictly about finding religious freedom. It was actually deeply rooted in the desire for economic growth and new trade opportunities. The New world presented itself as an opportunity for many to gain higher social economic status and growth in their business ventures. A number of known historical facts, including: hunger for new trade, poverty of many English inhabitants, and the rivalry between Spain and England, contributed and fostered the foundation and settling of the American Colonies.
I believe many of the motivators for the Europeans to move to and colonize North and South America was due to material gain and religious freedom. First I would like to talk about several of the material gains that were either made or expected to be made in the move to explore North and South America's. When the plans were being set out for the new colonies and the different propels that were laid out some of the ideas that were look at heavily were the material gains. One gain was the level of workload in some areas. It was believed that by moving to the United States that farming living conditions and making a living for themselves would be made much easier. An example of this was the Holland plantation. The settlers of that area could see their lives and the life of their colony decreasing severalty due to the heavy amount of work required and only made harder by area that they lived in. They finally made the decision to leave Holland for the United States after seeing that a lot of their children were becoming decrepit at a young age because they had to take on their own work load but also that of their parents which was too much of a burden for most of them to handle. The also had a problem with their youth for several different reasons would decide to leave their colony and peruse their own goals or just move into a larger city usually getting into trouble and going against most of what they were taught by their parents and their families. The situation that this colony was in though was not felt by most of settlers that chose to explore and colonize the Americas. Some of the other material gains that were looked at and therefore a driving force for some people moving to the Americas were farming. It was known that unlike in most of the other regions at the time land was amply in the Americas at that time. With a lot of the new settlers being farmers this was a great thing for them because it gave them a great chance to buy a large enough piece of land for them to sustain themselves as well as a family at the same time being able to look ahead to their children's future knowing that they would be able to do the same and not have to worry about being able to get land.
I believe many of the motivators for the Europeans to move to and colonize North and South America was due to material gain and religious freedom. First I would like to talk about several of the material gains that were either made or expectect to be made in the move to explore North and South America's. When the plans were being set out for the new colonies and the different propels that were laid out some of the ideas that were look at heavily were the material gains. One gain was the level of workload in some areas. It was believed that by moving to the United States that farming living conditins and making a living for themselves would be made much easier. An example of this was the Holland plantation. The settlers of that area could see their lives and the life of their colony decreasing sevearly due to the heavy amount of work required and only made harder by area that they lived in. They finially made the decision to leave Holland for the United States after seeing that a lot of their children were becoming decrepid at a young age because they had to take on their own work load but also that of their parents which was too much of a burden for most of them to handle. The also had a problem with their youth for several different reasons would decide to leave their colony and pursue
The English wanted to establish settlement to own more land, which leads to more power, and follow the idea of merchantism. In chapter one, the English wanted to go to the Americas not only for religious freedom, but to practice the idea of merchantism. During the time of English’s exploration of the Americas, the country was one of the last European countries to explore the “New World. Such items the colonists began to trade were furs, animal skins, meat, and crops such as: wheat, barely, and oats. In contrast, the colonists came to North America to have religious and economic opportunities, and freedom. What the colonists do not seem to realize is that England was using the colonist to gain power over the “New World” and to gain profit from foreign trade.
In the seventeenth century many of the men and women who came to America as indentured servant had done so under duress. Many were exiled by the English government, some by kidnapping, lies, many were lured into what they felt would be a better life because they were desperate to escape the one they were in. Upon signing the agreement to be an indentured servant, which would have stated that the person agreed to work for the master for 5-7 years in exchange for the master paying their fare to the United States. In many cases there were then imprisoned in the ship in order to guarantee that they would not run away. Whatever the reason for the people becoming indentured servants, they became a great source of profit for “the merchants, traders,
The English colonists came to northern America to escape the rapid growing population and economic recession that was leaving many with no works.
English people settled in American between 1500s and 1600s to locate lands and build the colony in the New World. The priorities were to find available resources, build the colony for its country, and establish trade with Native Americans. But the Spanish intended to drive the English off the New World in order to remove Queen Elizabeth off the throne; English had several reasons to settle in America, one of the reasons was economy because of the new colonization to the New World indicated the best plantation for settling. English people settled in North America to established new economy in the New World and began economic competition to other countries.
Why did English men come to North America? There are several reasons why the Englishmen came to North America. I think the most important reason they decided to come settle in North America is they finally wanted to have their own freedom. Freedom was a big thing at this time. They knew if they came over here they would have more freedom and have more opportunities. I guess they got tired of it and decided it was time to make a change. By them having more freedom they could experience more and now they could possibly make their own decisions.
People have been moving over to get a better life Shortly after Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic trying to get to India and unknowingly bumped into South America. People started moving over very quickly after finding that gold was present in South America. Several countries moved into various parts of South America, Central America, what is now Mexico, North America, and Canada. This new place was ripe for the taking there was gold, plenty of game and a lot of farmland. In 1620, a group of Separatist Puritans called Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in the Mayflower seeking religious freedom.
The American colonies were settled and made successful not only by the multitude of leaders who we remember even to this day, but also by thousands of families and individuals who took the risk of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and were determined to survive and prosper. Settlers had many different reasons for coming. A common one was the desire to enjoy religious freedom in the New World. The colonies offered a haven for many believers, which was rare of that day. Religion was of utmost importance in the colonies. Faith in God defined the nature and practice of the Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland and Pennsylvania colonies and had a strong influence in all of the early English settlements. Most of the people who came to the New World brought
1607 marked the year of the first english settlement to be founded in what we now call, America. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries thousands of settlers were united by their desire to come to the New World. Nevertheless, not every colony shared fundamental values, specifically regarding their religious beliefs. Although many colonists settled to escape religious persecution, many of the colonies prime motivations to settle included diversity, profit, and demographics. As life to many settlers revolved around these motivations, and the extent to which they honored them, colonies with common motivations for settlement shared the same foundational religious principles as well. The English settlements that incorporated religious freedom into
In the early 1600’s England need money once again, and this time it decided to by settling the new land to the west of them. Instead of actually funding these colonial expeditions, England would issue charters to joint – stock companies. These companies consisted of wealthy English investors who would all give some money to finance the trips and would share in the riches if they succeeded or lost their money of they failed. Most of the time the benefits of their investments would outweigh the risks. For England, this was a win-win situation. Since England did not pay for the voyages or the colonies themselves, England wouldn’t lose the money if they failed. If the companies succeeded, England was entitled to a percentage of the profits and became its ultimate authority.
There were many European people that decided to come to America to gain new territory. These people included Spanish explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes and English explorers such as John Cabot. All three of these explorers sailed to America in between 1490 and 1550. They helped create the country that we live in today and changed the culture of America drastically. Christopher Columbus first voyaged in 1492 thinking he was sailing to Asia. He wanted to trade with the natives for spices and gold but he also wanted to convert them to Christianity. John Cabot like Columbus was trying to find a water route to Asia but landed in Canada instead. Cabot was an English sailor looking for trade routes and trying to find new lands
The English wanted to colonize as much of America as possible in order to add to its increasing Empire. Unlike France and Spain, this European country had no intention of spreading religion. Instead, England wanted to migration into the New World in order to escape its current state of religious turmoil. England’s expansion was largely driven by economic and political reason.