As England became more and more populated, there became more incentive for exploring the New World. With an increase in population and a decrease in food supply as a result of the wool-cloth market, the English began to look overseas for solutions for more land, less reliance on foreigners for staple products, jobs, and profit for those with money invested in small companies of merchants. Due to all the "perks" of exploration, it is fair to conclude that the exploration of the New World for the English was a result of economic betterment.
As a worldwide demand for wool increased, land in England became more and more scarce. Farmers with fields for crops began to quickly convert their farms into pastures for sheep, which led to a substantial growth in the wool trade, and for all involved was a profitable endeavor. However, with more fields being used as pastures, less fields were being used to grow food. The decrease in farmers lead many farmers, who, now out of a job, to begging and burglary as a way of survival. As the food supply declined in England, England's population continued to grow. In less than one hundred and twenty years, the population increased by one million people. To some of the English, the New World simply offered land, a source of food and work, which was now a rarity in England.
Simultaneously, entrepreneurs were gaining much success by selling products of the new booming wool-cloth industry. Initially, the merchants did the work individually, but eventually individual merchants formed larger companies supported by the king or queen. These small companies received monopolies from the monarch for trading the wool in certain areas. Investors in these companies soon spread from the monarchs to nobles as well, and both investors and merchants were making large amounts of money. Since the business was so profitable, monarchs and nobles alike were eager to expand their advantageous business towards the New World.
