Reasons for the Colonisation of America

What were the reasons for migration from Britain to America?

The early colonisation of America happened for a variety of reasons, which changed over time. These included economic, religious, political, and even military reasons.

What were the economic reasons for migration to America?

There were various economic reasons why people started to colonise America.

• ❖ To begin with, the success of Spanish and Portuguese exploration in South America convinced people that there was a fortune in gold to be discovered in America.
• ❖ It was soon discovered that there was little gold in North America. However, it was a vast, unclaimed land where people could farm and grow crops, especially tobacco, which could make vast profits.
• ❖ Bad harvests in England meant that there was not a lot of work for farmers and many would often find themselves in poverty. There was a lot of unclaimed land for farming in America.
• ❖ The development of companies such as the Virginia Company, and the Plymouth Company, meant that people could travel to America quite cheaply, or as indentured servants. This enabled many poor people to migrate.

What were the religious reasons for migration to America?

There were a number of religious reasons why people migrated to America.

• ❖ Dissenting Christian groups, such as Puritans, Quakers and Catholics, wanted to escape persecution in England. Going to America would give them land where they could live and worship freely.
• ❖ Some of the early colonists also saw it as their Christian duty to convert the native peoples to Christianity. For newly Protestant England, this was a way to prove that God was on the side of the Protestants.

What were the political reasons for migration to America?

There were political reasons why people migrated to America.

• ❖ The English government was persecuting religious minorities under treason laws. Therefore, people of dissenting religious convictions were under threat from the government.
• ❖ In the 1650s, Oliver Cromwell got rid of prisoners of war from his Irish campaign, by sending them to America.

What were the military reasons for migration to America?

The earliest attempt at colonising America was to create a base from which to attack Spanish ships in the Caribbean.