MJ+English+Colonization+Essential+Question-

 The English Colonists at Jamestown decided to endure the hardships faced because of what they were entitled to and they feared the ridicule they would face upon returning to England. The English colonists when they arrived in Jamestown were entitled to huge tracts of land. Back in England, land was scarce and becoming scarcer. They were able to acquire these hundred-acre plantations for free; their only price was the hardships that they had to endure. The English also arrived in Jamestown expecting to find masses of gold just lying around for them to pick up. When they arrived, they had invested or been invested by powerful people with large amounts of money. If they had come home empty-handed and in debt, their situation would probably be much worse or at least seem much worse.  In addition to that motivation to make the colonies work, the global economic competition with Spain also was breathing down their necks. The Spanish were overwhelmingly successful with their search for gold in this New World. The common belief was that there must be gold all over America and if it wasn’t on the coasts, than it must be further inland. The English knew that they would soon take second to the Spanish if they didn’t get their hands on some American gold. This knowledge forced the English to continue with their colonization whether successful or not. Even if there was no gold, those outposts had to be the guinea pigs for what works and what doesn’t; so that when a settlement was able to come across gold, they would be able to survive and ship that gold back to England for a profit. The colonists may not have been making a profit in gold but they would be directly responsible for the success of anyone that did.