Spain helped fund Christopher Columbus for his expedition in hope that he would help them find a faster trade route to Asia and the Indies. Not only did he find them new trade routes, he also found the New World. Spain held many interest in gold, silver, spices, and valuable metals. Huge discoveries of gold was found, and allowed Spain to benefit greatly from it. Spain wanted to hold the main power in Europe and this increase of wealth helped bring Spain more power than other European country. Although, gold held a big impact, Spain also wanted to spread Christianity and present Spanish cultures to the Native Americans.
England was in a hurry to beat Spain in finding the New World for similar purposes such as gold and religion, but also because they needed more land. England face overpopulation during this time and many farmers had to give up their land and this caused many lost jobs. It became very difficult to get a profitable job, so they thought they would have a better chance of getting a job in the New World. They wanted to acquire more land and this will also help provide jobs. Europe saw a profitable future for America’s resources and wanted to use them for trade and to earn money. Many people were being persecuted because of their own beliefs and they had no choice but to be Catholic. However, the New World allowed them to have the right to practice their own religion called Puritanism and not just Catholicism. They also had to worship the king in a specific way, but in America they were able to worship in their own ways.
The Netherlands first came to the new world when a Dutch sea captain named Henry Hudson searched the East in hope to find the west of the Pacific. Instead of discovering a route to the Far East, he uncovered land around the Hudson River that led to new businesses that helped them gain a good deal of money. However, many people were not satisfied with this finding, until their fashion trend became very popular. This new fashion was a beaver felt hat that required a large supply of fur and experienced fishermen from America. Gold and new enterprises then began to stimulate