Settler Colony provided countries with a more stable foothold in foreign areas and citizens looking to settle down permanently. In warmer regions, plantation colonies produced one or more cash crops and frequently employed slave labor.
A country can benefit from immigrants. But immigrants and colonists are not the same thing. The former are eager to assimilate, which does not mean giving up their heritage or forgetting their roots, and to learn the customs of their new home. In contrast, colonists bring their culture and adhere to their own rules. They have different allies.
