Spanish and the English motives for colonizing the “New World” in the 16th and 17th centuries?

Question

For what reasons did Spain and England colonized North America? Similar or different, any motives are fine. Websites that point these out would be great.

Answer 1

Well they were seeking resources. Before discovering the Americas they discovered India. And there were resources there lots and lots of. so they went t the West Indies. Anyway when explorers arrived in the americas they saw a land with very rich soi, inhabited by very prosperous people, the natives, there were lots of books that werre written describing the wealth of the natives, gold, precious metals. So these lands were full of resources. And think that Spain and England arent very resourcefull countries at all. No rich soil.  So the riches in the americas could make them great wealthy powerful countries, wich it did. And they easy conquered the continents. Tho I quite dont understand why the english colonized Canada. Probably for the whiskey ;)))

And this is a website with an essay on that

http://www.cyberessays.com/History/145.h...

I hope it helps

Answer 2

greed

Answer 3

The English were originally inspired by the gold and silver that Spain discovered in the New World in Central and South America. England was looking for the same thing in North America, which they didn't find. They did discover a country rich in timber, which England needed badly. Colonies were chartered to create new markets for English goods, as a source of raw material with which to make those goods, and an outlet for troublemakers, criminals, and religious dissenters.

The Spanish mainly just wanted quick wealth in the form of gold and silver, which they had discovered early and sought eagerly. Their American colonies existed largely to support gold and silver mining and to serve as ports to ship mined and pillaged gold to Spain.