There are many reasons why. The Spanish were out looking for gold and silver. France came for the fur. The Dutch wanted to have an international trading city. The English colonized here for the farm land, timber, and easy-to-grow tobacco. There is an entire document I had to do for 5th Grade for this stuff, I still got it. If you need help DM me on Discord at XxMadDogGamerxX#8754.