There were various reasons why the American Colonies were established.

The three most

important themes of English colonisation of America were religion, economics, and
government. The most important reasons for colonisation were to seek refuge, religious
freedom, and economic opportunity. To a lesser degree, the colonists sought to establish a
stable and progressive government.
Many colonies were founded for religious purposes. While religion was involved with all of
the colonies, Massachusetts, New Haven, Maryland, and Pennsylvania were established
exclusively for religious purposes.
Massachusetts's inhabitants were Puritans who believed in predestination and the ideal
that God is perfect. Many Puritans in England were persecuted for their nihilist beliefs in
England because they felt that the Church of England, led by the King, did not enforce a
literal enough interpretation of the Bible. Persecution punishment included jail and even
execution. To seek refuge, they separated to go to Holland because of its proximity, lower
cost, and safer passage. However, their lives in Holland were much different than that of
England. The Separatists did not rebel against but rather preferred the English culture. They
did not want their children to be raised Dutch. Also, they felt that Holland was too liberal.
Although they enjoyed the freedom of religion, they decided to leave for America. Pilgrims,
or sojourners, left for America on the Mayflower and landed in Cape Cod in 1626. They had
missed their destination, Jamestown. Although the climate was extremely rocky, they did
not want to move south because of their Puritan beliefs. They thought that everything was
predestined, and that they must have landed on this rocky place for a reason. They moved
slightly north to Plymouth Rock in order to survive more comfortably. Also because of their
Puritan beliefs, they had good relations with the Native Americans. Their pacifist nature led
the Indians to help with their crops. In thanks, the Pilgrims celebrated the first thanksgiving
in 1621. A second group of Puritans in England, the Massachusetts Bay Company, came to
Massachusetts for more economically motivated purposes due to their non-minimalist
beliefs.
New Haven and Connecticut were two other colonies founded exclusively for Religious
purposes. Many of the Separatists in Massachusetts felt that the religion was too liberal
inside of the colony. They felt that the beliefs were not being enforced enough and that the
people were not living through literal interpretations of the Bible. These Separatists further
separated themselves from Massachusetts and formed a new colony, New Haven.
Connecticut was founded by those separatists in Massachusetts who felt that the religion
was too strict.
Yet another colony established for exclusive, religiously motivated purposes was Maryland.
Roman Catholics, under George Calvert, the First Lord Baltimore, fled religious persecution
in England from the Protestants. Due to the immediate wealth from tobacco harvesting,
Protestants came over to the new colony seeking some of the wealth. Ironically, the
Protestants began to outnumber the Catholics, therefore once again making them a
minority although the Catholics had been trying to flee from the Protestants. In immediate
response to the Protestant immigration, the Catholics set up the Maryland Toleration Act,
which stated that all Christian religions would be tolerated. This was to ensure the survival
of the Catholics in Mary land.
Pennsylvania also was founded for the sole purpose of religion, but unlike the other
colonies, it began to increase toleration of religious diversity later on in the progression of
its settlement. King Charles owed William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, a favor. Penn
asked the King for some land in the colonies, in return the King gave Penn a piece of the
woods (Sylvania) in the New World.
The Quakers, like the early Puritans, were pacifists and minimalists. They believed that God
is perfect and had a strict interpretation of the Bible. Their beliefs included that mankind is
evil and that every man is born a sinner. At the start of their settlement, they only accepted
Christian beliefs. However, once settled in, they quickly proclaimed that all religions would
be tolerated in Pennsylvania in order to populate their colony.
Many colonies were founded upon diverse religions because their primary focus and
purpose was to make money or to populate the country. These economically motivatedA