According to Source 4, what motivated the English to leave Europe and establish Popham Colony? A
Colonists hoped they would be free to practice their Catholic faith without persecution.

B
Colonists were coming to conquer and enslave the indigenous tribes in the region.

C
Colonists wanted to find gold and make a profit from shipbuilding and the fur trade.

D
Colonists dreamed of creating a new government in North America without a king.

This is source 4
Popham Colony

Following the loss of Roanoke Colony, the English were eager to establish a permanent settlement in North America. In mid-May 1607, settlers landed in Virginia, establishing Jamestown, and just a few weeks later, on May 31, two ships, Gift of God and the Mary and John, set sail for the coast of Maine. The tiny settlement of Popham was a direct rival of Jamestown. The all-male expedition included 120 sailors, soldiers, carpenters, merchants, and farmers. George Popham, a nobleman, served as the group’s leader, and his second-in-command was Raleigh Gilbert, the nephew of Sir Walter Raleigh. The colonists arrived in August 1607 and dropped anchor at the mouth of the Kennebec River. After listening to a sermon, they selected a spot for their settlement near the modern-day town of Phippsburg. During the next few months, the colonists started building the star-shaped fort known as Fort St. George. Popham colony was established as a trading settlement, but most of the local Algonquian-speaking natives were suspicious of the strangers. Food shortages forced over half of its colonists to return to England in December 1607, and those who remained had to survive a frigid New England winter. The colony did not suffer as much as Jamestown, which saw over half its population die in its first year, but in February 1608, George Popham died of unknown causes. The settlers continued on for the next several months, completing a shipbuilding project and trading with the natives for furs, but they never found the gold that they hoped to discover. In September 1608, Popham colony finally fell apart. News arrived that Raleigh Gilbert’s brother had died, leaving the colony’s new president as the heir. Gilbert returned to England to claim his family’s estate, and the 45 remaining Popham settlers decided to leave with him. One of Popham’s sponsors wrote. “All our hopes have been frozen to death.”