The newly discovered continent of North America was considered to be full of resources that could make England a wealthy and powerful country. The English envied Spain monarchs who gained a lot of gold, having invested in conquistador expeditions. Building the colonies on the new continent could strengthen the positions of a country and influence the political situation in Europe to a great extent. In contrast to the Spanish exploration of the New World, which was led by the monarchy, the English campaign was mainly motivated by individuals. They were primarily companies and churches that sought wealth and workers who did not have their land in an overpopulated country. Thus, the desire to become rich and free, to start everything from scratch, was the key reason to explore the new continent.
The second major reason for the people to found colonies on the newly discovered land was political and religious instability. Certain political turbulence was caused by the desire of Protestants to rebel against the old Catholic traditions and to “purify” the Church. The rebels, called Puritans, aimed to get rid of unnecessary, from their point of view, rituals and attributes. This conflict was so serious that it influenced the politics in the country at the highest level. The Church in England has divided into two camps: on the one side, there were the Puritans, and on the other side, there were Anglican bishops. The king, James I, who was a Catholic, confronted this divided Church and aimed to force the Scots to worship according to the Catholic tradition, which caused a great protest. As a result of the mass rebel, King James I was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell, who became the Lord Protector. The supporters of the monarchy, or the royalists, fled to North America, being afraid of prosecution.
