However, the Jesuits also were more than just a missionary group. They were very clever and influential businessmen and had control over significant portions of the American colonies. Moreover, the Jesuits were a group that emerged from the counter-reformation movement. They came to be functionally as soldiers of the church and therefore had a special allegiance to the papacy. Thus, it was likely in the best interest of the Crown to make sure that the people on the ground in the American colonies would have a stronger allegiance to the Crown than to any other external group.