English settlement in the Americas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English settlement in the Americas - Essay Example The colonization had made Spain the wealthiest nation, during the later years of the 1500s. The inflow of the English was triggered by the need to colonize and explore the Americas, after they saw that Spain was growing extremely rich during the sixteenth century (Benedict 1996). However, the colonization and the exploration style of England was different from that of Portugal and Spain, as England privatized its exploration, through granting letters of Marquis and charters to the individuals that captured English colonies as economic strongholds. This paper will explore the motives behind the development of English settlements in the Americas, both from the perspective of the settlers and official policy formulations (Starkey 1998). The motives included mercantilism, which is the economic outlook of integrating private and government efforts, towards fostering economic development. The aims of the system included managing all the components of American trade, including transport, pr oduction and retailing – under the control of England. ... There was also the spread of Protestantism, partly due to Henry VIII’s pursuit of getting a male child. After the death of Edward in 1553, Mary I took over, and she started killing Protestants, so that she could restore England to Catholicism. On one occasion, she commanded the execution of 300 Protestants for heresy, and had them burnt. During the time of fleeing England to avoid persecution, and after the reign of Elizabeth, the English settled in the Americas – and in the process realized the goal of expanding their religious coverage (Spielvogel 2000). The English sought to expand the coverage of their religion, as there was the common view that Spanish Catholicism was evil. As a result, the attacks staged on Spanish ships by Sir Francis, while in the American waters were hailed as a heroic act, and not pirate activity. The demolition of the Spanish armada paved way for the English explorers to colonize the Americas, which was also an effort to contain the spread of Catholicism. The development of English settlements in the Americas was also triggered by the population increase of the 1500s. During the time, England passed laws on enclosure, making all land private, which made it very difficult for commoners to feed their animals at public lands. The shift towards privatizing land resulted from the increase in the price of wool. As a result, land owners decided to stop the competition for provision of wool by increasing their farm lands and to increase their wealth through the trade. The shift increased wool production, but also led to an increase in the number of landless people, who has sustained their livelihood by grazing at public lands. Also, between 1530