Motivations and Challenges for English Colonization of North America
The first English colony in North America was founded in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. By 1650, England established a dominant presence in the North America region with initial settlement on the Atlantic Coast. The factors that motivated English to this region included economic prosperity, religious motives, and social and political motives. The economic considerations of the English colonization of North America included the desire to accumulate surplus capital and attain wealth. The wealthy English businessmen sought investment opportunities in North America to earn huge profits. Furthermore, England’s interest was to secure important raw materials for their industry and seek new markets for their products. The religious motive was another factor that motivated English to settle in America. During the period, the non-conforming religious groups were persecuted by the king of England. As a result, this group sought to escape North America to enable them to follow their own religious beliefs. With regard to social and political factors, the vast lands in North America ensured that the unemployed English population has a place to settle and work. Besides, some of the English colonists were interested in adventure and the opportunity for new experiences. For political reasons, the England government wanted to weaken Spain who was the initial colonist in America by establishing naval and military outposts.
The early colonies overcome several problems in seeking permanent settlements between 1607 and 1700. The first challenge faced during the period was the laziness of the English colonists. As an example, the laziness of leadership was evident when Captain John Smith who was only 12 years old was made the president of the colony to save it from failure despite having adult settlers. There was also a lack of adequate incentives for the individual empowerment since all the settlers shared profits in the organizations regardless of their contributions. This led to the collapse of many companies run by the English settlers in the region. For example, the Virginia Company collapsed in 1616 and its land granted to the private owners due to a lack of incentive to produce by English settlers. The starvation and diseases also led to the death to the majority of the colonists within the first few years. For example, 80 % of the settlers were killed by diseases and starvation in the first year.