The Spaniards were the first to come to the Americas, They were not certain what they had found, but they knew it was a new land. They sought riches of gold and silver, and an opportunity to bring the natives to Christianity. The Portuguese, French, English, and the Dutch came later. What they really found was a land peopled by natives with a civilization that at its highest had risen to the level of the Egyptians. They found a land rich in forrest's and soil, and great rivers and mountains. St Augustine was a Spanish settlement in Florida. The Dutch settled in what is now New York. They called it New Amsterdam. The English settled along the East coast of what is the US, and the French settled in what is now Canada. All these countries except Portugal settled in various islands of the West Indies.. Spain and Portugal settled South America; and Spain settled in Central America and Mexico. Most colonies were ruled by royal decree from the mother country, but the English colonies had a certain amount of self governance, and often imitated England by having their own legislative bodies. The English colonies were usually founded by some business corporation with a profit motive. These were among the first to have their governors elected by the colonists, rather than selected by a royal appointment. English colonists became expert at solving their own problems without the help of the crown. Thus, the English colonists were emboldend to be the first to break with the mother country
