With that the smart guys in Spain drew up the Treaty of London (1604) and Philippe II/III crammed down Spain's preferences.
First he gave Acadia to his childhood playmate, James of Scotland. Secondly he gave his French cousins the watershed area for Hudson's bay, down to the Great Lakes, and East to a line drawn separating Acadia from what would be New France. Third, he recognized his Russian cousin's claims to Alaska and set the drawing of a line between that territory, New Spain and New France pending further explorations ~ which entailed finding the entry at 54/40 to the Inside Passage. Everything to the South was New Spain all the way to a line drawn from peak to peak in the Eastern Cordillera's highest elevations.
He set aside a place for EVERYONE ELSE IN EUROPE. It was bounded on the North by Acadia (at today's NY-PA state line) It was bounded on the South by Carolana (at today's VA-NC state line) and bounded in the West by that line through the mountains.
He called it "VIRGINIA" ~ after Elizabeth of England.
Then he set some fairly simple rules for Catholics and Protestants to follow when living in areas occupied by those of the other religious preference.
From that the English determined that Protestants could settle in Virginia and they proceeded to make their plans. Still the earliest census at jamestown reveals that a broad array of people from throughout Europe came to Virginia, not just Englishmen.
But then, through the turmoils of the late 1400s and 1500s, England had become a land of immigration. We often think of our America as being that place to which persecuted people fled, but it was England first ~ which was, at the time, a fairly decent place to live compared to most other places.
Spain could then focus on other things with higher paybacks ~ like silver mines in mexico and peru.
Eventually history happened and things changed ~
But then, through the turmoils of the late 1400s and 1500s, England had become a land of immigration. We often think of our America as being that place to which persecuted people fled, but it was England first ~ which was, at the time, a fairly decent place to live compared to most other places.
yes, french, germans, spaniards etc. But I disagree with your last point -- England was climatically and culturally lower than mainland europe, especially the lowlands of Belgium-Holland-Luxembourg and Italy etc., but it was safer from strife as you point out.