What factors contributed to England's establishment of colonies on the North American continent?

Answer 1

Basically Primogeniture (I think that's how you spell it) which meant that if you were the first born son you inherited everything, and if you were the second born son, well tough luck (if your interested that's why King Henry VIII was being trained for the church he was the second born son, but his older brother just happened to die leaving him the throne). The way these second sons got their fortune was they were given land in the new world and for every indentured servant they sponsored they were given 50 acres of land under the head right system. Another reason was the fact that America had so many resources it was unbelievable. England was also starting to go through what America is going through now-producing more than they could use. The way to cure that is to send people off to another country with the hope of starting a new life, all the while they need to buy things from the old world to survive. So the establishment of the colonies were a source of income for England. People in England also thought that it was becoming to crowded (imagine that now). So what do you do now? Send these extra people to the new world. Several states were founded on the principle of freedom of religion, like Pennsylvania. That's what really got the movement started. However France would not allow the Huguenots into Canada, but somehow they found a way to America. All in all, it was all about the all mighty doller...opps...I mean pound.

Answer 2

The basic premise for the initial colonisation of the 13 colonies was private enterprise. Jamestown in Virginia was Englands first settlement on the continent and was set up purely as privately funded commercial operation. People in England invested money hoping that they would get a share of the profits. The Project had no remit to become a spring board for imperialist expansion, infact the concept of the British Empire hadn't emerged yet. Cabot's expedition, like Columbus' was intent on trying to find a trade route to India, (unlike Columbus, Cabot actually landed on the continental U.S.) so England could take advantage of trade links without having to risk the route being cut off buy other expanding colonial states of the period.

Answer 3

Here's some good, basic answers from a web site:

"There were many reasons why people colonized North America. One of the main reasons is that the New World presented people with an opportunity to earn a decent living and perhaps even to become wealthy. During the time of colonization, profitable jobs were scarce in England, and land was very difficult to obtain because it was expensive. By moving to one of the colonies, an individual had a better chance to earn a living than if they remained in England. Once in the New World many settlers earned a living by becoming farmers, hunters, and businessmen. Some of these settlers became indentured servants as well.

Another reason that people traveled to the New World was to acquire land. Most settlers were given free land or land at low cost. Land not only gave settlers feelings of independence, it also provided them with status and allowed them certain rights in the community, including voting.

Religion was another reason that people came to the New World. Some settlers wished to have the chance to worship freely while others came to America to escape religious persecutions. Some of these groups were the Puritans, Quakers, Roman Catholics, Huguenots, and Jews.

In the bigger picture, kings and queens were interested in creating colonies because colonies contributed to the political, economic and military superiority of a country. As the English, Dutch, Spanish, and French strove for economic and political superiority, their quest took them into newly discovered lands. The equation Land = Power = Money was at play in this quest, and these lands became important staging areas for the military might of these European powers."

Answer 4

The primary factor was discovery of the north american continent.

Answer 5

England's monarchy was trying to take over the world. Their motto was something like the sun never sets on the empire meaning that they took over a bunch of countries all over the world so at any given time of day it was daylight in at least one of them. Why wouldn't they want another piece of land.

I am not talking about the colonists reasons for coming here as that was not your question.

Imperialism.

Answer 6

the abundance of natural resources, mostly and the sheer space available. Along with tenacity, curiousity, greed and the need for freedom of religious expression.

Answer 7

1. Desire for new and raw materials
2. Search for more room due to their growing population
3. Desire to spread religious beliefs
4. A new source of income

Answer 8

They wanted to increase the revenue (taxes) to the government. It's all about power -- more revenues could pay for a bigger army/fleet and they could inflict their will. At the time, they were trying not to get conquered by Spain.

Answer 9

a vast source of raw materials

Answer 10

slavery and murder