What kind of people became colonists in America and what reasons did they leave their homeland?

Answer 1

The first American colonists were, arguably, the Native Americans. History is extremely limited here, but it is most likely that indigenous tribes arrived in North America some 7 - 10 thousand years ago.

The first European explorers to reach America were most likely Dutch, though the Spanish were the first people to properly invest in the New World's rich resources. Spanish settlers landed in Mexico and South America (modern-day Peru) possibly as early as 1200 A.D, and there lived (and fought) with the Inca and Tupi natives.

Most common knowledge of history would dictate that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, though as we've seen he was a little behind. Columbus actually discovered America by accident; the sailor believed that the world was, in fact, a quarter of the size it actually is, and that by sailing west he could find a faster route to India to improve trading. When he landed on the shore of America he realised his mistake, and that if he were to return to England without having found what he was looking for he might be persecuted or even executed. Thus each and every man on board his vessels were forced on pain of death to swear this was India, and because of this the area in which he landed became forever known as the West Indies, and all the Native people, 'Indians.'

British Colonists left England for the New World some time in the next century, many of the Puritans fleeing from religious persecution. Around the same time, however, the British had already colonised an area of Virginia known as Jamestown in search of the same gold that the Spanish had uncovered in California. Though gold was sparse, the British did discover the properties of tobacco, most likely from Natives, and quickly began trading the substance with mainland Britain and Europe.

Over the duration of the seventeenth century much controversy sparked in London society over the issue of colonisation, particularly motivated by the rush of Puritan Colonists that had landed in Virginia and parts of modern-day Connetticut and Newfoundland. Though it seems enlightened for the time, many people in authority believed the land belonged to the Natives that dwelled there, and so colonisation was immoral. Church officials, however, regarded it as God's mission to colonise the Americas and turn its natives to Christianity.

Inevitably settler numbers began to rise, and soon enough larger, more permanent settlements were made regardless of Native land ownership. The Native peoples were, in many cases, exploited and cheated out of their land, not having understood the notion of ownership. Later conflicts between Pioneers and Natives can be blamed on this exploitation.

Over the next century, the settlements in North America became so large and dense that the land was beginning to carve an identity for itself. Talks of an American Nation, although treasonous in the eyes of the British Empire, began to grow.

English King James II was loth to lose America, it being one of the largest and most resource-rich areas of the planet. Clashes began between British Redcoats and settler militia, nearly all of which were spectacular victories for the Brits. However, the tide of revolution began to turn and soon enough the settler militia became more organised, higher in number, and far more determined to gain independance.

With a crushing blow that left the British army devastated in 1781 at Yorktown, aided largely by French Naval involvement, North America became independent of British rule. Though this is determined as the end of the war, Americans celebrate their independance as having occured on the forth of July, 1776, when the declaration was officially signed.

Therefore, the colonists that landed in America may have played a critical role in the gaining of its independance, as it would have been their children and grandchildren that fought in the revolutionary war.