England was slow to begin colonization during the 15th and early 16th century because of religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in England when King Henry VIII launched the English Protestant Reformation.
The three factors that finally enabled England to establish successful colonies are as follows:
1. They now had a strong, unified national state under a popular monarch
2. After a protracted struggle, they now had a measure of religious unity.
3. A vibrant sense of nationalism existing in the state.