There were numerous forces at work in England starting in the 1600s and going into the 1700s. Including the commons, lords and royal family. A majority of wealthy people sat in the house of commons, ...

Traders almost always come first. British monarchs never set out to conquer North America with their armies, but by the mid-1700s, a century and a half of trade and settlement had made the continent ...

In 1603, King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England. James I was a Protestant, but many Catholics hoped that they would be able to worship more freely under his reign.