Final answer:
William Bradford and the Separatists saw North America as a chance for religious freedom and to spread their beliefs. They were prepared for hardships, obtained a charter, and sailed on the Mayflower, sharing motivations with earlier colonists seeking economic opportunities.
Step-by-step explanation:
William Bradford and the Separatists, including the Pilgrims, looked to North America as a place to settle due to their desire for religious freedom and the opportunity to practice their faith without interference. Bradford believed that their prior experiences had prepared them for the challenges of establishing a new settlement, conveying that they were already 'weaned from the delicate milke of our mother countrie, and enured to the dificulties of a strange and hard land.' This belief underscored their readiness to endure the hardships they might face in North America as they sought to create a community grounded in their own religious convictions, distinct from the Church of England.
After negotiations, they acquired a charter from the Virginia Company and permission from the English Crown. In spring 1620, they embarked on the Mayflower, aiming not only to find a haven for their religious practices but also to spread their faith. The Pilgrims, hoping to 'propagating and advancing the gospell of kingdom Christ in those parts of the world,' were motivated by a vision similar to that of earlier colonists, like those at Jamestown, who sought economic opportunities and were driven by the dream of finding gold or thriving through tobacco farming, even if those motivations were not always solely religious in nature.