During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the English poor increased rapidly in number. As a result of the enclosure of traditional common lands (which were increasingly used to raise sheep), many common people were forced to become wage laborers or else to support themselves hand-to-mouth or simply as beggars. There was much unrest during this time in England that can be traced to wars and dissatisfaction regarding the cruelty of the laws, the severity of the punishments, the plagues, food shortages, and the breaking away of the church from Rome by King Henry VIII, and the start of the Church of England, This in affect drove a faction of English to separate, they became known as the Separatists. Their beliefs were based on biblical doctrine following the teachings of Martin Luther.
The New would also functioned as a place to send the English poor, where they could assist in the start of the colonies through indentured servitude, while contributing to the nation's wealth. The above are the reasons for the push of the settlers, from England to the New World.
The pulls that drew the English to settle the New World were related to the pushes, but on the flip side of the coin. Some settlers came for profits; as the Spanish had done for gold and silver. Natural resources were also sought and still others came in search of religious freedom, to spread their religious beliefs to the natives, to be landowners, and the opportunity to settle and govern a new land.
With the exception of John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland in 1497, the English showed little interest in the New World until the reign of Elizabeth I. After unsuccessful attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland and at Roanoke, the famous "Lost Colony," off the coast of...