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Why did European countries built colonies in the Americas?

Why did European countries built colonies in the Americas?

Colonial America (1492-1763) European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620.

Why did Europeans make empires?

In the 15th century, Europe sought to expand trade routes to find new sources of wealth and bring Christianity to the East and any newly found lands. This European Age of Discovery saw the rise of colonial empires on a global scale, building a commercial network that connected Europe, Asia, Africa, and the New World.

Why did the European countries want to build colonial empire?

In the 19th century, energized by the industrial revolution and under pressure from a rapidly growing population, Europe launched a new period of colonial expansion, inspired by the discovery of new markets, new areas for the settlement of Europe’s poor migrants, and the desire to “civilize the barbarian nations “.

What are the reasons for America’s colonial expansion?

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REASONS: A BETTER LIFE Most colonists had faced difficult lives in Britain, Ireland, Scotland, or Germany. They came to the Americas to escape poverty, warfare, political turmoil, famine and disease. They believed colonial life offered new opportunities.

Why did Spain want to colonize America?

Motivations for colonization: Spain’s colonization goals were to extract gold and silver from the Americas, to stimulate the Spanish economy and make Spain a more powerful country. Spain also aimed to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

Where did the idea of a colonial empire come from?

Modern colonial empires first emerged with a race of exploration between the then most advanced European maritime powers, Portugal and Spain, during the 15th century. The initial impulse behind these dispersed maritime empires and those that followed was trade, driven by the new ideas and the capitalism that grew out of the European Renaissance.

Why did the Europeans want to colonize the Americas?

Europeans colonized the Americas to enhance their power and influence over world affairs, as well as ease their hunger for gold, silver, and other precious metals. The History Of European Colonization Of The Americas Sometime during the 11th century was the first of many European colonization endeavors.

Why was the expansion of the European empire important?

Thus, the issues of national power, national wealth, and military strength shifted more and more to the world stage as commerce and territorial acquisitions spread over larger segments of the globe.

Who was involved in the colonization of the Americas?

During this time period, several European empires —primarily Spain, Portugal, Britain, and France —began to explore and claim the natural resources and human capital of the Americas resulting in the disestablishment of some Indigenous Nations, and the establishment of several settler-colonial states.