Colonization in North America

What’s with England?

  • Englishman John Cabot was the first European since the Vikings to make landfall in North America ~ 1497

    • English colonization wouldn’t ramp up for many years

  • Was too much disunity in England during the 15th century to really focus ln exploration

    • When Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church to divorce his first wife in favor of Anne Boleyn, he set off a half-century long struggle between Catholics and Protestants in England

    • His daughter, Elizabeth I, was able to stabilize the country enough to fund explorations when she took the throne

The Start of British Exploration

  • Most sailors and adventurers’ interest in raiding and pillaging Spanish cities and treasure fleets in the Caribbean > their interest in establishing settlements in the New World

  • Government granted charters to Sir Humphrey Gilbert + Sir Walter Raleigh, authorizing them to establish the first English colonies in North America at their own expense

  • Both ventures quickly failed due to no support from the Crown

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

  • Raleigh dispatched a fleet of 5 ships carrying about 100 colonists to set up a base on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina ~ 1586

    • Most of the colonists consisted of families

  • Colony was meant to be a base of British ships to continue to attach Spanish cargo ships sailing back to Europe

  • Raleigh took the ships back to England for more supplies and settlers

    • Was delayed due to storms in the Atlantic and the prevalence of the Spanish Armada

  • When a ship finally returned, all of the colonists had disappeared

    • Fate remains a mystery, but it’s believed the colonist assimilated with nearby Native tribes to survive

Spreading Protestantism

  • British were also motivated by God, Gold, Glory

  • When Elizabeth I permanently made England a Protestant country, Catholic Spain became their mortal enemy

    • Became worse when the Spanish armada unsuccessfully tried to invade England ~158

  • One of England’s goals became ridding the New World from the tyranny of the Pope

The Social Crisis

  • Europe’s population exploded rapidly with the introduction of nutrient rich crops like potatoes

    • Helped the population recover from the massive loss caused by the Black Death

  • England’s economy couldn’t keep up with the increase of people

    • Many Englishmen couldn’t find work, so the government encouraged then to become colonists to start a new, better life in the New World