Question

What did England and the English settlers really want from colonization? Did they want national glory, wealth, adventure, a solution to social tensions, and/or new sources of goods and trade? Did they get what they wanted?

Answer 1

I think many people make the mistake of thinking the early settlers were escaping England to create America because they hated their country and they wanted freedom, etc. That isn't true at all. In fact, if you do some research about the time NONE of those people even considered breaking away from England and many had never even considered freedom or independence until Thomas Payne published "Common Sense". These people had no common sense. They were actually just trying to escape social tensions, probably famine, and religious tyranny.