England faced many problems in 1584 The country was crowded with people and it was fighting an undeclared war on Spain The two countries followed different religions which caused tension Spain had many advantages because of the wealth from its colonies in the West Indies a chain of islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean Spain had also started settling colonies in mainland 5 CHAPTER ONE Queen Elizabeth of England wanted to earn more wealth for her country by establishing colonies LEAVING ENGLAND
Privateering The Work of Pirates Privateering was a way for countries to attack other countries ships without declaring war Privateering was a legal term that meant the people stealing were doing it at the instruction of their governments Regular pirates worked for themselves But they did the same thing It was usually done as a way to steal other countries wealth Many countries did this during the 1500s because of the gold and other goods found in the West Indies One of the reasons the English wanted a colony on the coast of America was to easily reach Spanish ships returning to Spain from the West Indies The English felt this was the best way to keep Spain from becoming too wealthy and powerful North America England’s Queen Elizabeth and her advisor Sir Walter Raleigh also wanted to build colonies in America If England had colonies it could stop Spanish ships from returning to Spain with gold and other goods England sent two ships to explore America in the spring of 1584 The ships arrived in July at what is today known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina The English explorers had been in America three days when Native Americans of the 6
Atlantic Ocean Azores England Spain Shipping Route North America Roanoke Colony Havana Cuba Shipping Treasures from the West Indies Spain became wealthy from buying and stealing spices and gold in the West Indies Spanish ships risked being attacked by pirates on the trip back to Spain The Spanish decided to set up colonies in America to help defend their ships How do you think the Spanish could protect their ships by having North American colonies Why would the English try to stop them from having colonies Algonquian peoples came to visit them The first meetings were friendly The Englishmen saw there were plenty of animals to hunt and good lands to farm The explorers returned to England in August to report what they had seen After hearing the positive news Sir Walter Raleigh urged Queen Elizabeth to 7
