Final answer:
The English justified their conquest of neighboring lands through religious and moral claims of doing God's work, economic intentions of trade and resource extraction, and beliefs in Anglo-Saxon racial superiority.
Step-by-step explanation:
The English justified their conquest of neighboring lands based on several pretexts, mostly rooted in religious, moral, economic, and cultural arguments. By claiming they were doing God's work, the English posited that colonization would not only glorify God and Protestantism but also serve to Christianize the pagan peoples of the New World. The notion of racial superiority also played a part, with beliefs that their Anglo-Saxon race was tasked with a moral responsibility to spread liberty and Christianity. Economic motives were also significant, as figures like Richard Hakluyt believed colonization would open up new avenues of trade and resources which could enrich the English nation. During the period of the English Civil War and following the Glorious Revolution, the expansion of the empire and mercantilist policies further reinforced the drive for conquest as a means to economic growth and population dispersal.