Desiring the riches and wealth other European countries had found, England began its own colonization of the New World. Previously preoccupied with the conquest of Ireland, England could now turn its eyes westward, to lands overlooked by Spanish and French mariners. Beginning in the late 16th century, England attempted to start several colonies in the Americas. Their first attempts in both Florida and Roanoke failed, but they succeeded in establishing a foothold in Virginia with the founding of Jamestown (Taylor, 118). Fleeing religious persecution and economic stagnation, Puritans, a dissident Protestant group, also started their own British colony in the New World, located in New England (Taylor, 159). Both the differences in the primary motives of settlers, and the geographical differences of New England and Virginia created two distinct societies in the respective regions.
Similar to the French and Spanish, British colonization of the Americas began through subcontracts licensed to private investors who were willing to take the risk (Taylor, 119). Because it was considered wiser to invest closer to
…show more content…
New England was a hilly land filled with dense forests, sharp slopes, and stony soil. Its colder climate also meant that the growing season was much shorter than that of southern colonies (Taylor, 159). However, this temperate environment also prevented the transmission of diseases by mosquitoes and other insects that plagued many European colonies. Still, surviving in such a land would require hard labor and showed no promise of making the colonists wealthy (Taylor, 159). Immigrants looking to “get rich quick” were forced to look southward. For the Puritans, it became their promised land, one where they could purify the Church, worship God, and create a godly society, safe from the destruction they believed would come to Europe. (Taylor,