What was one reason the European settlers came to America?

One of the major reasons that European settlers came to America was to get rich. One should also count the Caribbean settlers as American settlers since they were the first European settlers of the New World. Columbus came to America accidentally, on his way to India in search of spices. The early explorers of America hoped to find a Northwest Passage to reach valuable Asian markets. The Spanish hoped to find the Seven Cities of Gold but instead took Aztec gold back to Madrid. The English settlers of Jamestown hoped to find gold as well; it was not until later were they forced to grow tobacco. The settlers of the Caribbean islands became wealthy sugar planters—no one intended to live in the islands for a long period of time, as the idea was to get back to Europe in order to spend the money in "civilization." The French came to America and found valuable furs which fetched good prices in Europe. The New World's early value was in its wealth of natural resources and the promise of eventually getting to rich Eastern markets.