AS+August+30,+2009


 * Question:**

English colonization was a difficult and deadly process throughout the Jamestown settlement. Why did these colonists decide to collectively endure the hardships? Was the need to keep pace with Spain on a Global scale the primary motivation or were other factors throughout England forcing the colonists to make the new settlement work?


 * Response:**

At the very beginning of the 17th century, the Jamestown colony was founded. Although the size of this colony was miniscule, the impact that it would have on the history of America would be quite large. The few people that first colonized the New World had a mission, and that mission had a drive behind it. Some people could argue that England only continued their efforts to colonize America because Spain had much success in the South, but I think that England endured the hardships for its own success and to solve some problems that needed to be worked out.

The rumors of the astronomical amounts of gold that Spain was getting form the New World definitely did spark a lot of interest in the exploring side of England, but I do not think that that reason made England settle America. I do not think that it was some competition to see who could get more Gold. I think that England wanted to be successful for it's own benefit. Severe economic depression ravaged a lot of England, and England saw the New World as a commercial investment.

Disease, cold, famine, and lack of discovery of gold were just some of the few things that the Jamestown settlers endured in the first years of the colony. Why they did not give up and go home? I think that they wanted to prove to the world that England was a strong nation. As mentioned above, England suffered some extreme economical problems during the Jamestown era. If people could chose and work toward a better life away from the troubles and in a new land with hope and adventure, I think that they would definitely chose to come to the New World. A place where they were sheltered from the problems with England, but yet also working toward a better future.