Final answer:
The initial English settlements were funded through private investment and joint-stock companies. Investors, including the growing English merchant class, pooled their resources and assumed the risk of the enterprises in return for potential profits. This method was critical in gathering enough capital for the expensive task of establishing overseas colonies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The initial English settlements were primarily funded through private investment and joint-stock companies. In the early 1600s, wealthy English merchants and the landed elite began to pool their resources to create these companies, which functioned as the predecessors to modern corporations. Investors provided capital and assumed the risk of the venture with hopes of substantial profits.
These joint-stock companies were significant in that they allowed the pooling of large sums of money, essential for the expensive endeavor of starting colonies overseas. Shareholders benefited from limited liability and the potential for high returns, which attracted investments from England's burgeoning merchant class.
The establishment of colonies also had religious and political motivations for the English, but the practical need for funding steered these efforts towards activities that could be profitable.