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Why the English Came to America? 1. Economic Reasons: - Inflation- The Spanish drove prices up because of their wasteful spending. - Unemployment- There were not enough jobs in England and debtor prisoner were becoming overcrowded. - Businessman looking for investments, raw materials, and new markets. – Mercantilism- an economic system where a nations power is measured by its wealth in gold and silver. In order to make mercantilism work, countries competed with one another to acquire gold and silver. The colonies were very important to mercantilism because they supported their mother country by becoming a source of raw materials to create a favorable balance of trade by allowing England to export more than it imports. - England desired self-sufficiency. In order to accomplish this they needed more raw materials. The colonies were a new and large source of raw materials 2. Social Reasons: - Primogeniture- the tradition in which the oldest son of a noble family inherits all of his fathers estate. Since second or third born sons did not receive any inheritance, they decided to travel to the New World, in search of land and wealth. Nobles were capable of making large land claims