Colonialism: 1600-1750

European Motivations After hearing the tale of Marco Polo, the Spanish and other European Nations wanted to find a faster route to Asia. Crossing over land was too slow and you couldn’t bring back materials in large quantities. They searched for a water route to Asia. They didn’t know that North and South America existed. They wanted to sail West towards Asia. They found riches, but not the destination they were looking for. They found people like the Aztecs and Native Americans.

Exploration Routes

Religious Rumblings in Europe In 1517 a German Priest named Martin Luther nailed a list of complaints on the door of a local catholic church- questioning the power and authority of the Catholic leaders- including the Pope. This was the start of the Reformation- a sixteenth-century religious movement rejecting or changing some Roman Catholic teachings and practices. This change led to Protestanism. A form of Christianity that went against some of the teaching of the Catholic Church.

English Motivations (Standard 8.1) The English had three primary motivations for colonizing North America: The Search For Religious Freedom Economic Opportunities Find Work

The Search for Religious Freedom England had a been a Protestant Country since 1534 when King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and formed the Anglican Church. Not all citizens were happy with the new church. They dissented (to disagree with or oppose an opinion) with the new church. Some citizens were still Catholic, others wanted to reform the Anglican Church. Other citizens wanted to break from the Anglican Church entirely.

Martin Luther The citizens who wanted to reform the Anglican Church were called Puritans. The citizens who wanted to set up their own churches were called Separatists.

The Search for Religious Freedom The Separatists and Puritans were persecuted (to mistreat a person or group on the basis of their beliefs) in England and wanted to find a place to practice their religion without interference. The New World offered that as an opportunity.

Economic Opportunities During the late 1500s and early 1600s, England experienced a large growth in its middle class citizens. These citizens had some wealth, and saw opportunities to become richer on the horizon. These people wanted to invest in what was called a joint-stock company (a company in which investors buy stock/ownership in return for a share of its future profits).

Economic Opportunities Investors bought shares of the companies hoping that the company would make money and they would share in the profits. The plan was for the company’s settlers to find gold and establish trade in fish and furs. Hint for tomorrow: It wasn’t as easy as they thought it was going to be!!

Find Work As the colonies grew, the demand for workers was high. Some people decided to come on their own, others were brought to the New World against their own will. Some English people were able to pay for their own transportation to the New World aboard ships. They were looking for their own land to farm and trade. However, many people came to the colonies as indentured servants (laborer who agrees to work without pay for a certain period of time in exchange for passage to America).

So what motivated England to colonize the New World? The opportunity to practice your religion the way you wanted to!! The opportunity to make money through investments in joint-stock companies!! The opportunity to find work and own land!! These are still reasons why people move today!!!

The Mystery of Roanoke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofhIJ1wMKtc

The Founding of Jamestown