The motivations for the first wave of colonial expansion can be summed up as God, Gold, and Glory: God, because missionaries felt it was their moral duty to spread Christianity, and they believed a higher power would reward them for saving the souls of colonial subjects; gold, because colonizers would exploit resources ...

What are 3 reasons for colonization?

Historians generally recognize three motives for European exploration and colonization in the New World: God, gold, and glory.

What was the reason for colonization?

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REASONS: A BETTER LIFE Most colonists had faced difficult lives in Britain, Ireland, Scotland, or Germany. They came to the Americas to escape poverty, warfare, political turmoil, famine and disease. They believed colonial life offered new opportunities.