NM+Why+English+Colonists+Endured+Hardships

The colonization of the New World by England was neither forced because of Spain’s success nor other factors, but in fact it was a combination of the two. The English were desperate for a better way of life in many ways but it took the Spanish to speed up English colonization of the New World. During the 15th and 16th centuries, England was going through an economic depression. Many people were losing their land as well as the Enclosure movement began which separated common land into smaller grazing fields for their animals. The rich land lords began reclaiming their land from the people who rented it. Also, during this time there was a population boom occurring within England which increased the population in England from 3 million to 4 million in only 50 years. The combination of the lack of work available and the overpopulation created the problem of beggars lining the streets because they had no homes. As a result of these poor living conditions in England, people began to become desperate for a better life and the New World offered this to them. However, the only reason they believed the New World would bring a better life to them is because of the stories they hear of the Spanish conquests and the gold they find. If the Spanish had not first explored the New World, the English would have started colonizing the New World much later because the people would not have heard about the stories about the gold and open land there. In this way the English were trying to keep pace with Spain as they wanted to take advantage of all the gold, land, and raw materials that could be used in the factories in order to increase production and get them out of their depression. Many Englishmen were also looking for religious after King Henry VIII created the Church of England which was a Protestant religion and no longer allowed the practice of other religions such as Puritanism, Catholicism, and Quakers. These groups of people were all looking for religious freedom and after learning of this New World with no established governments to tell them what to do; they could establish their own communities based on their religious beliefs. However without the Spanish going there first, these groups of people would have taken much more time to go to the New World. Instead of taking about ten years to get the charter and money, it would have taken many more since the King’s charter was signed impart from hearing of the success of Spain in the New World and then he began to want to take advantage of these resources as well. Once the colonists reached the New World and settled there, they were faced with numerous hardships such as starvation and attacks by the Indians. However, even after so many colonists died or were killed in the colonies, people continued to come to the New World and did not leave. They did not leave because even as bad and hard as their lives in the New World were, they had more opportunity to improve their lives there than in England. In England they were trapped in a system that did not allow for much improvement in their lives but in the New World they were able to start over again and start fresh and create a better life for themselves and their families.