Moreover, it’s not a europe problem it’s a class problem. It wasn’t the builders, gardeners, and plumbers of Europe deciding to subjugate the world. It was the oligarchs. They were squeezing all they could out of Europe and it wasn’t enough for them. So they dressed it up as duty to the country/religion to expand, but it was a way of enriching themselves.
Many Scottish crofters were also forced off their land during the sheep clearances when the lairds figured out that removing the population and replacing them with sheep was more profitable. They would either buy up the land and evict the crofters or charge them for fabricated crimes and send them to Australia. The place I grew up has a population of around 10% of what it should be because of this practice (that’s after steady growth in the last few decades).
It’s also worth mentioning that a lot of the settlers from Scotland who joined the Hudson Bay company for example, did so because they couldn’t earn enough to survive at home. Both because of taxes from the lairds and low wages.
So yes Europeans moved to America, but for most of them it was a matter of survival, not greed.
Moreover, it’s not a europe problem it’s a class problem. It wasn’t the builders, gardeners, and plumbers of Europe deciding to subjugate the world. It was the oligarchs. They were squeezing all they could out of Europe and it wasn’t enough for them. So they dressed it up as duty to the country/religion to expand, but it was a way of enriching themselves.
Many Scottish crofters were also forced off their land during the sheep clearances when the lairds figured out that removing the population and replacing them with sheep was more profitable. They would either buy up the land and evict the crofters or charge them for fabricated crimes and send them to Australia. The place I grew up has a population of around 10% of what it should be because of this practice (that’s after steady growth in the last few decades).
It’s also worth mentioning that a lot of the settlers from Scotland who joined the Hudson Bay company for example, did so because they couldn’t earn enough to survive at home. Both because of taxes from the lairds and low wages.
So yes Europeans moved to America, but for most of them it was a matter of survival, not greed.