#english_history 

Both before and after the Armada, [[The Tudors|Elizabeth I]] followed two policies: 1) encouraged English sailors to raid Spanish ships bringing treasures back from America; 2) encouraged English traders to settle abroad and create colonies.

## Colonies
The first English colonists sailed to America towards the end of the 16th century. One of the best known was [[British Colonies in America#^a9047c|Sir Walter Raleigh]]. They settled in Virginia, which was named after Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.

## Trade
### Slaves
England also began selling West African slaves to work for the Spanish in America. *John Hawkings* carried his first slave cargo in **1562**.
It took until the end of the 18th century for this trade to be ended.

### Companies
The growth of trade abroud wasn't entirely new, as, e.g. the [[Government and society in Late Medieval England|Merchant Adventures Company]] had already been established with royal support before the end of the 15th century. Several other "chartered" companies (those who were granted monopolistic trade rights by the Crown) emerged during this time: 
the Eastland Company (Scandinavia, the Baltic) in **1579**;
the Levant Company (the Ottoman Empire) in **1581**;
the Africa Company to trade slaves in **1588**;
the East India Company in **1600**.

East India Company primarily focused on the cutthroat competitive world of spice trade, which before the end of the 17th century had led to three wars with the Dutch.