Notice where Great Britain is located on this map. Why do you think original British colonists settled and established colonies along the East Coast of the United States?

In the early 17th Century, Great Britain was under the rule of James I. After the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, and due to the fact she had no offspring, the throne was passed to her nearest relative (James, in this case). The main point is that James was Catholic, and he was ruling an Anglican country (don't forget that Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church and created his own religion). Because of his beliefs, James I begins to persecute the English puritans and Anglicans, creating chaos and bad omens among the people. Laws against non-Catholic people begin to be common, which makes some puritans leaders consider a fled from Great Britain. In 1620, a group of these people, motivated by his beliefs and the fear that the laws and persecution against them increased, they decided to take a ship and trip to the New World. The trip began in that year (1620) and finished in the next year. The puritans docked in Cape Cod in 162. There they began to establish settlements, building villages and promoting the start of colonization. What you have to remember is that they were looking for a place where they could worship God in their own way, and found in the New World a safe place.