What was the initial reason that people of Britain started mining for coal?

The history of coal mining goes back thousands of years, with early mines documented in ancient China, the Roman Empire and other early historical economies. It became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries, when it was primarily used to power steam engines, heat buildings and generate electricity. Coal mining continues as an important economic activity today, but has begun to decline due to the strong contribution coal plays in global warming and environmental issues, which result in decreasing demand and in some geographies, peak coal.

the group i'm selecting: greeks.

a first group of greek immigrants came to the us in the 1850s. the second group came to america starting in the 1890s due to economic opportunities they didn't have back in their home caused by the hardships of ottoman rule. greek immigration was 90% male, many of them expected to work and return to greece after earning enough capital, but ultimately had to remain in the us after the greek genocide.