Although the Chesapeake and New England regions were both established by the English, two distinct societies were formed due to social, economic, and political reasons. Socially, the religions of the regions had a large impact on the formation of the society. In the New England region, religion was dominated by Puritans, while the south was not determined to make religion the main focus of their society. Politically, the North was more determined to thrive as a united nation and govern locally in order to do this. However, the South valued the wealthy landowners and was more of a democracy. Economically, the New England region had less farming land and therefore was less dependent on slaves and agriculture to produce wealth. In the Chesapeake …show more content…
The New England colonists were looking to settle where they could have religious freedom. They were strongly Puritan and were not tolerant of other religions. Their beliefs revolved around the idea of being a unified colony and being a model for others to follow. The eyes of other people were upon them and they needed to work together even in suffering and labor. They believed so strongly that their beliefs were right and wanted people to look at them and strive to be like them. Education was not a priority, but they wanted children to learn to read so they could live like the Bible told them they should. The Chesapeake was not as focused on establishing a religion, but it was, however, still intertwined in their daily life. Most of their religious views and beliefs came from Anglican background. There were few clergymen and churches which kept many from attending anyway. Unlike in the New England colonies, children were educated at home so they could quickly begin working to make money. Religion soon became a secondary importance behind economics and …show more content…
They had poor soil which would not allow them to grow crops, so as a result, they needed fewer slaves working on plantations. Their location would determine the success of the colonies. They were located on the coast, so they depended on fishing, whaling, and the production of ships. In the Chesapeake, they had an abundance of farmland, and tobacco was the main cash crop grown. Because their economy relied on agriculture, they would need more slaves to sustain wealth and keep up with the labor-intensive farming. Mostly young, white men came over and became indentured servants which led to a higher male population. After Bacon’s Rebellion, the labor switched from the indentures servants to African
The New England and Chesapeake colonists settled in the new world for different reasons like religious freedoms in the North and quick profits in the South.
The differences in the two regions are not only seen in their religion, but can also be found in their economies. The economy of New England was far more inferior to that of the Chesapeake economy. This was because the New England society was family-oriented and primarily owned only small family farms just large enough to feed their families. Their economy was mainly based on small farming and fishing. This shows that New England was not focusing on economic growth and expansion. The Chesapeake Bay, on the other hand, had a vast economy. The population of Chesapeake Bay outnumbered New England's population nearly three to one. Their economy was mainly based on the tobacco and slave trading industries. These businesses contributed greatly to the Chesapeake Bay's economic and colonial expansion. This explains why people who came to the New World looking to make money chose to go to Chesapeake Bay rather than the New England area.
Contrary to the pilgrims of New England, those who settled in the Chesapeake area colonized the region for more economic purposes. Many people who settled in the Chesapeake were down-on-their-luck English citizens living in swamps and slums hoping to stake it out in the New World, because it couldn’t be much worse than the conditions they faced back in England. Most received their tickets to America through indentured servitude, paying for their trip with a few years of free labor for a wealthy master. Document C is a roster of indentured servants bound for Virginia who are all set to work for the same master. Indentured servitude had long lasting effects on the colonies, the most impactful being Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 (Document H). This uprising was caused former indentured servants who had no land or property of their own once their work contracts expired. Because the land westward was populated by Natives and therefore almost impossible to acquire, the dissenters focused against the rich and powerful members of the colonies. The successful uprising led to reforms such as work regulations explained in Document E, as well a shift away from indentured servitude and towards slavery of blacks. Other settlers besides indentured servants were aspiring traders and gold-hunters mentioned in Document F. While traders had little success early on and treasure hunters definitely didn’t find their fields of
To cultivate these tobacco crops the Chesapeake Bay colonist utilized slave labor, and the use of indentured servants. The use of indentured servants soon died out when Virginia, forbid the whipping of white servants. In the Chesapeake colonies, religion was not as strict as in New England. In these colonies there were a number of small optional religions, this was very different than the ways of the New England colonies.
The New England colonies consisted of puritans who wanted to purify the church because the Church in England was corrupt. They wanted a place where they could worship freely and work together to
Both the Chesapeake colonies and the New England colonies had different social structure and development. Because the colony was founded for gold the Chesapeake colony was primarily men that could work. (Doc C.)The colonists of the Chesapeake even had to sign oaths of allegiances to the Church of England. (Doc C.) The colony was under the rule of England and was to help support England finically. When they arrived they even sign their own contracts such as the Articles of Agreement, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1636. (Doc D.) This caused England to have a foothold in their colonies, and then under them were Clergy, free white men, the few women, servants, and slaves. The Chesapeake colonies had servants and slaves, servants could work their way of servant hood, for example they might work seven years and then become free. The Chesapeake colony also had slaves because its economy was based on cash crop plantations, most of these slaves came from Africa and was the beginning of the Slave Trade. These types of people were primarily dominant in this colony because it was founded as a working colony and had no need for families, just men that could work. This was very
New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, but by the 1700’s they were two distinct societies. They differed politically, economically, and socially, and these differences stemmed from when people first arrived in the colonies to how the colonies grew over time.
Although the Chesapeake and New England colonies were the earliest English colonies to flourish in the New World, they were both extremely different in the ways that they developed. Similarities between the colonies can be found, but the colonies were mostly different. The colonies differed most in religion, society, culture, economy, and their relationships with the American Indians of the region. The reasons for such differences can be understood by realizing that the colonies were settled by incredibly different people who possessed different cultures, religious beliefs, and motivations for settling in their respective colonies in the first place. The Chesapeake and New England colonies had similarities and differences in their development, including how each colony affected nearby American Indians. Their differences and similarities can be understood by analyzing each colony’s geography, economy, religions, and cultures.
Some of the most populous colonies were the ones situated in the Chesapeake and New England areas. Although these colonies were both settled by the English and had other key similarities, there were also many differences between them. The New England and Chesapeake colonies both had an aristocracy that governed over them, and had frequent issues concerning the Native Americans that previously inhabited the lands. However, their political and economic systems were considerably different. Chesapeake had an oligarchy whose main export was tobacco, while New England had a theocracy whose exports included timber, fur, and fish. Therefore, although the colonies had similarities their differences outweighed the resemblances.
New England was a refuge for religious separatists leaving England, while people who immigrated to the Chesapeake region had no religious motives. As a result, New England formed a much more religious society then the Chesapeake region. John Winthrop states that their goal was to form "a city upon a hill", which represented a "pure"
When comparing and contrasting the Chesapeake and New England colonies you find that there are many differences and a few similarities. These differences and similarities revolve around the colonies geography, economic characteristics, religious characteristics, and why they were founded. These differences developed in the colonies based off where they are, how they were ran, and how wealthy they were. The development of these colonies also affected the American Indians in a few different ways. Let start by comparing major difference of the geography between Chesapeake and New England colonies. New England colonies had cold weather and poor dry soil which made for a short growing season. This made it harder to grow food so most families just had a small farm for personal gain, there weren’t plantations. The New England colonies also had natural harbors and a lot of the land was covered in forests. In contrast to the New England colonies the Chesapeake colonies has hot humid weather, with long growing seasons, and excellent soil that was great for plantation and along with rivers that flowed throughout the colonies. Now let’s take a look at the differences in the economical characteristics between the colonies. In New England because of their geographical conditions they couldn’t grow crops in large plantation to make profits so they had to rely on other means to make income. Since the land was covered in forests they use the timber to expand the shipbuilding industries. They
Religious tolerance varied in the two regions based off the main religion that was shared between the settlers. Both regions had a few similarities when dealing with religion. The New England and Chesapeake settlements had established churches and taxed settlers in order to support the church. Each region also experienced the Great Awakening which created a lasting effect on both the colonies and colonist lives. Most of the New England colonies practiced Congregational religion, another category of Puritans, and anyone who didn't was either non-affiliated or Anglican. The Anglican religion was dominant in the Chesapeake regions. While the Chesapeake colonies had a degree of religious tolerance, the New England colonies provided almost little
This surplus was forced to beg in the cities until the idea of an indentured servant became popular. During the seventeenth century,”only a quarter of the Chesapeake immigrants arrived as freemen..... three quarters of the immigrants arrived as indentured servants” where they signed a contract to work for four to seven year and then become a free man and be granted fifty ares of land. While sounding like the perfect solution, eventually the good land was used up and the dead land was given to the poor, keeping them poor. After years of oppression and being ignored, Bacon's rebellion was ignited.
The difference between the New England and Chesapeake region settlements was mainly caused by their largely different initial purposes. The New England region was settled for reproduction and religious purposes. The Chesapeake region was settled for monetary purposes, which caused a large difference in the two region’s developments. New England settlers were English, white, and even initially were a mix of both men and women. Many families were devoutly religious, and many traveled to the New World in order to escape religious persecution. The Chesapeake region was rather different, for example Jamestown, an early settlement in the Chesapeake region, was initially compromised of only males, and focused solely on making a profit. Tobacco soon
The New England and Chesapeake regions, regardless of their English backgrounds, developed into two different societies, by 1700, because of the different economies, political views, and religious views that the people of each region had. The economy of each region differs with the contrasting climates and geography types. The initial ideas of the people who first came to the new world helped shape the differently styled governments in the regions. Religion was significantly present in the New England region more than in the Chesapeake region. Alongside all of these social discrepancies, the people of each region simply developed separately which caused the differences.