“Why Did Europeans Want to
Colonize?”
It was not an easy task colonizing in America. First colonists had to cross
the ocean in less than ideal conditions. The ships were rather uncomfortable and
the ocean was rough. After making such a crossing, many colonists faced hunger,
sickness, and the cold and any and all dangers the New World possessed. Despite
the risks, thousands of English men and woman made the trek to what we now
call the United States to settle and make for a new home and a new life. They had
their reasons for going.
As you know from previous study, if you had money, you had opportunities.
Nobles owned most of the English land. Very few people owned land unless they
had money or a bloodline to money. In the late 1500’s, a new demand for wool
turned the tide on the farming peasants of the English land. Many nobles, eager
to make more money, turned their farmlands into pastures for sheep to herd and
graze. The nobles now had less need for workers and as a result thousands of
farmers lost their jobs and the means to provide for their families.
With the demand for farming decreasing, many farming families moved to
the cities in hopes they would find work and better living conditions. The city of
London grew in population from 150,000 in 1595 to more than 330,000 in less
than forty years. As a result, the cities became overcrowded, dirty and unhealthy.
When word spread of the New World and the opportunities that came with it,
rich forests, plentiful fish and wild life, people began to rethink their lives.
During the 1600’s, religion became a very confusing and dangerous matter.
The official Church of England was the Anglican Church, which had broken
from the Roman Catholic Church in 1535. Those who wanted to remain members
of the Roman Catholic Church were often persecuted –mistreated- by the
English Monarchy. The same can be said for people who were Separatists,
Puritan or any other religious faith. Protestants from France received the
same kind of treatment from the Roman Catholic Church. Of course the same
can be said of Catholics in Protestant countries. The New World offered an
opportunity for religious freedom.
English citizens had probably more voice in government than in other
nations in the 1600’s. However, many citizens resented the fact that a king would
have so much power over their lives. A monarchy was said to rule by divine
right, which meant God gave them authority to rule. At times, monarchs would
ignore Parliament, collect harsh taxes and of course restrict religious freedom
for fear of losing control. Most English citizens who chose to colonize the New
World saw the New World as a means to release them from the immediate leash
of tyranny and strict hold of the English monarchy. 1
1
The above is a summary of pages 73-76 of the textbook, America’s Story.
The Roanoke Colony, 1578
In 1578 I set out as a crew member on a voyage to the Americas. I
knew only that in 1578 Queen Elizabeth gave a man by the name of Sir
Humphrey Gilbert permission to found an English settlement in North
America. Gilbert would make two attempts, but on his voyage home
from his second failed attempt, his ship and crew were lost at sea.
Gilbert’s half-brother, Raleigh, was our captain. We set out in
1584 with two ships. After two months at sea, we would find Roanoke
Island off the coast of present of the Carolinas. The Native Americans
were friendly and the land was abundant in deer, fish, fowl, grapes and
sweet smelling trees. When we returned to England, the newly
knighted Raleigh was granted control of seacoast territory north of the
Spanish controlled Florida which he later named Virginia.
Eventually we would embark on a second voyage. 7 ships with
more than 700 men set out to establish the first English settlement in
North America. Because supplies were running low, many of us
became discouraged. We stayed only a few weeks leaving 107 men
behind to establish the colony. From what I heard, these settlers built
a fort and started to explore the newly acquired territory. However
after year, with troubles brewing from both Native Americans and the
Spanish settlers, these men too set sail for home leaving their failed
military post behind.
In the spring of 1587 a return to Roanoke was planned. This time
my captain was a man by the name of John White. We would set sail
this time with 120 other men, women and children. Upon arrival we
quickly repaired the cottages left by the previous settlers. John White
would eventually return to England to report his success. Because
England was warring with Spain, it would not be until 1590 that White
would return to the colony. When we arrived we were shocked to find
the colony completely abandoned. All of the settlers had vanished.
Some clues were left behind in the form of the letters “CRO” carved on
a tree and the word CROATIAN on a doorpost. White had assumed the
settlers had gone to the neighboring island where friendly Croatoans
had lived but was unable to reach the island because of heavy storms.
We returned to England discouraged not knowing what ever really
happened to the lost colonists of Roanoke Island. 2
2
The above information has been summarized from the text, America’s Story. Pg. 60-62
The Jamestown Settlement, 1607
In April of 1607, I, an English citizen, took off with ninety-nine
other men on what would be the biggest adventure of my life. On three
big ships we set sail for the New World hoping we would find our way
safely.
We reached the Chesapeake Bay between what you would call
Virginia and Maryland. We chose a spot and began our settlement.
Oh…before I go too far I guess I should tell you why we went. King
James I of England had granted the London Company a land charter,
which meant we could settle the land to mine gold and silver. In honor
of the king, we named our settlement Jamestown, not a terribly clever
name mind you.
We faced many hardships while trying to settle in. The site we
settled on was actually a swamp full of mosquitoes. Many people fell
ill, and the river water was not drinkable. We also feared the nearby
natives who were well organized and quite powerful. In our first year,
our food supply ran low and we lost two-thirds of our original group.
If not for Captain John Smith, we surely would have perished. He
organized a defense system against the local natives and solved the
food shortage problem by getting the natives to trade corn with us. He
also put into place a “no work, no food.” policy. He was later injured in
a gunpowder explosion and sailed back to England. Things continued
to get worse for us after his departure. We struggled through another
tough winter and decided we had had enough. The remaining
survivors went back to the mouth of the bay ready to give up on this
dream only to find more English colonists and supplies sailing in. We
decided to stay.
By 1619 women finally arrived, and our settlement began to
flourish. We started to grow tobacco, which became very popular back
home in England. We made lots of money, and we became the first
successful settlement in the colony of Virginia. We even set up a
representative government where we elected people to be our voice
throughout the land. We began to govern ourselves and I must say life
became a whole lot better. I even married and now have four little ones
whom I hope will grow big and strong. 3
3
The above information has been summarized from the text, America’s Story. Pg. 77-79
The Plymouth Colony, 1620
For religious reasons, I plan to settle in the New World. We tried
to separate ourselves from the Anglican Church and live in Holland,
but after several years we were not happy with our new home. For this
reason we chose to set sail for the New World. We called ourselves
Pilgrims, which are religious people who go on a journey for religious
purposes.
In order to go, we had to receive a charter from the London
Company. They would supply us the ship and supplies as long as we
would agree to work for the company for seven years. We became
known as indentured servants which means we agreed to work off our
debt until it was paid in full. Thirty-five of us and sixty-six other
colonists, made up of men and women, set sail in September of 1620.
We called our ship Mayflower. I guess a storm blew us off course from
our original destination, but that was OK because that meant we were
no longer under the obligation of the London Company. We landed in
a place you would later call Cape Cod.
One of the first things we did was set up a simple plan of
government called the Mayflower Compact. It was an agreement
between all colonists that any decision would be made in the best
interests of the entire settlement. We named our new settlement
Plymouth after the town we had set sail from. I know it is not very
original, but we had a lot on our minds at the time.
The first winter we were there was rough. Our food supply ran
low and we lost almost half of our group. The local natives were nice
and taught us how to plant corn and trap animals and fish. One of the
natives was named Squanto, who actually spoke English, which proved
to be very helpful. We also learned how to hunt deer and harvest
lobsters and clams.
Things continued to be tough, but we persisted through. After the
first harvest of the year, we decided to set a day aside to celebrate our
survival. We invited our local native friends to join us and we had a
huge feast. Do you know what holiday I am referring to? Our
settlement never grew all that big, but strong and fair leadership
helped us to be successful. Our success would later pave the way for
other settlements to occur along the east coast of the New World,
America. 4
4
The above information has been summarized from the text, America’s Story. Pg. 79-80