Why did England colonize the New World later than the rest of Europe? What political and religious conditions had created a century of conflict in England? What factors finally pushed the English west across the ocean?.
As Europe began to colonize the New World, there were many factors that determined which countries got to conquer more land. Spain and Portugal were the most powerful monarchies in this race, in part due to their association with the Catholic Church in Rome. England, however, lacked political and religious stability to compete with these countries during the early years of the 1500s.
The first recorded English voyage to the New World was in 1497 by a man named John Cabot. He, just like many of his fellow captains, joined the race to find a new pathway to Asia. He attempted a northwest passage to find Cathay. After his death, his son, Sebastian Cabot, continued these explorations. These would be the voyages that would establish England's claim to the new territory. However, their interest in colonizing the new continent was far from being the nation's priority. The people were more concerned with internal affairs.
Such internal affairs were the reason England took so long to colonize America. The country was under the rule of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. He brought peace to the people after a civil war, but was still affected by the lack of religious unity among his subjects. After his death in 1509, his son, Henry VIII, ascended the throne, and in an attempt to keep relations with Spain stable, married the Spanish king's daughter, Catherine of Aragon. This gave the English the ability to trade with Spanish colonies, but it limited their aspirations for independent colonization. .
As England became a Protestant society, the English Reformation began to take place. One of the first acts of such reformation came after Henry VIII decided to divorce Catherine.
