The causes for the English colonization of the American continent were religious intolerance and persecution, great poverty and overcrowding in the home country of England. Most countries in Europe from the 16th to the end of the 18th century were driven by mercantilism with the aim of achieving economic independence. Promoters played a role in recognizing the mercantilist policy of establishing colonies, but the beginnings of colonization were not nearly as expected. The Britis Crown was not at a loss because all the costs were borne by investors, who only asked and received permission to establish a colony in the form of a charter. Despite their struggles with the natives, but also with various new diseases and other difficulties, the colonies were finally formed in three regions, which differed in climate and in the way of life. Those regions were New England, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies. New England bore a strictly Puritan character, people adapted to a cooler and harsher climate, and with a modest life devoted to craftsmanship rose to an independent colony which later built England a large Navy. The Middle Colonies were created by the occupation of the former Dutch and Swedish colonies, although until the mid-18th century some parts resisted English language and customs in private life. The Southern Colonies were mostly characterized by the plantation based economy and the massive African slave import. This is where the social class differences were the most deeply etched and felt. An exception among the Southern Colonies was Georgia, the first tax-funded colony primarily established for strategic and philanthropic purposes. Each of the colonies developed differently and the 18th century was marked by their internal conflicts, as well as by religious revival and the rise of the society to a certain degree of democracy.