Colonists relied on international funds, primarily from England, for their early development. Majority of this overseas credit was in the form of a mercantile credit. The English merchants, for example, would ship goods to the American Colonies and demand payments only after six months or a year. The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. As more colonies settled in the Americas, they also funded their settlements with lottery money. Lotteries paid for public buildings, roads and canals. Influential figures like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock sponsored lotteries for specific projects.