How did European countries benefit from the colonization of the early americas?

Question: How did European countries benefit from the colonization of the early americas!?
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Once more the question should be whether the Euro countries benefited from the colonisation of the Americas, this can't be taken from granted!.

Some of the answers that have been given are true!. For instance, the European countries did benefit from sending away troublesome people!. But these people weren't mostly convicts!. It mostly religious minorities!. The case of the Puritans going to the Americas is famous!. It is less well known that many French protestants went to the Americas as early as the 1520s to escape Catholic domination!. So Euro countries benefited from the absence of people whose opinions may have caused civil wars!. On the other hand, they also benefited from the freedom these people experienced!. For instance the crypto-Jewish community (Maranos) created a huge trans-Atlantic trading network!. This was made possible by the fact that persecuted Maranos enjoyed a greater religious freedom in the Americas, otherwisee they'd certainly would have stayed home!. But as a result the whole nation benefited from their endeavours!.

Arguably this was a rather limited advantage!. For all the goods they exported and imported as well (remember the American market was a significant one for instance for the winemakers of Madeira or the spinners of the Netherlands), the Americas did not represent at one time much more than 3 to 5% of the total European trade's value!. Even including the silver and gold shipped in huge quantities from the 1530s onward!.

All this didn't come for free either!. It is quite possible that France for instance invested much more in the Americas than it benefited from it before 1800!. Remember that several French armies and fleets had been entirely destroyed by the English oversea!. Surely the French would have been better off spending this money somewhere else!.

In the same way, Spain is said to have benefited greatly from the Mexican and Peruvian silver!. But the sudden wealth induced the Spanish kings to get involved in long, bloody and expensive wars against the Turks, the Dutch, the French and the English!. After a while most of the silver that was shipped from Spain went directly to the Genoa bankers or the mercenaries in the Netherlands!.On the long run one could argue that Spain suffered rather more from the discovery of the Americas than it benefited from it!.

One thing that clearly benefited to Europe is the fact that the numerous crossings of the Atlantic every years fostered the development of new ships and shipping techniques which would prove very important for trade!.

Finally, one can certainly say that Europe benefited from colonisation but not equally, some countries (England, the Netherlands) more than others (France, Spain)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

A large increase in resources!.
Gold and Silver from the Spanish conquests made Spain the
first nation of europe thrrough the 1500s!.
(Slave labor meant the resources flowed one way!.)
Other counties did initially benefit from dumping dissident elements,
but soon found trade advantage from the new sources of goods and
the guaranteed favorable price structures they could enforce!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Britain was able to off-load its most troublesome persons to the Americas - often shipping out convicts!.

This is borne out because when the United States was independent the convicts over-filled the prisons and they needed a new dumping ground - so they began a colony called New South Wales!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

well they got rid of their prisoners by sending them to americas
they got taxation - money-from the residents of americas
they got lots of cheap natural resources from americas
Www@QuestionHome@Com

From plundering the land which was rich with goods such as coffee, certain fruits/veges, etc from gold, and from enslaving nativesWww@QuestionHome@Com

The best thing they got rid of alot of becoming ancestors that thinks the US should be the World Police at any cost!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

if colonization didnt happen then europe would be flying a nazi flag =DWww@QuestionHome@Com