During the late 16th century and into the 17th century two colonies emerged from England. The two colonies were called the Chesapeake and New England colonies. Even though the two areas were govern by the English, the colonies had similarities as well as differences. The Chesapeake and New England colonies grew into obviously distinct establishments. Difference in colonial motivation, religious, political structures, socio-economic, and race relation, were responsible for molding the territories.
In the Chesapeake the motivation for colonization was largely due to economic issue. The colony were owned by royalty, corporate, and proprietary people who were looking to find fame or fortune. Thinking they would find gold or silver to bring back to England, instead they discover a different treasure. Tobacco was the cash crop that brought them wealth. Up north in the New England colony the motivation for colonization was to escaped religious persecution and set up a haven for people of their faith. Pilgrims and the Puritan was the main people that inhabit the land. The New England colonies also wanted to be financially stable but the main reason was to be free from the Church of England
The political characteristics in the Chesapeake resemble much of the mother country. We had the royal governor (somewhat like the king), Virginian Royal Council, and the House of Burgesses (acted like Parliament) which was more of an aristocracy. Now in the New England colony the Americans were able to form the first democracy. Instead of having someone appointed to govern they had an election to appoint people to govern. The political characteristics included a governor, the General Court, and the town meeting which on consisted of selectman.
The socio-economic in the Chesapeake consist of the plantation which farmed the cash crop of the Chesapeake. Tobacco, wheat, and rice was the cash crop that made the Chesapeake very wealthy. Along with the plantation that also had indentured servitude and later on they would have slavery to take place of indentured servants. The New England colonies socio-economic characteristics included agriculture, a diversified economy, and a social structure that set it apart from the Chesapeake.
In the early part of the Chesapeake colonization the men and women had a very unbalanced ratio of men to women. There were ten men to one women, which made it very difficult to start a family.
First off, colonial New England was more family based, as I believe America is today. When immigrants landed in New England they brought with them their families, expecting this place to become their permanent place of residence. Therefore their communities were more tight nit and more concerned with the promotion of values that would benefit the community as a whole. Whereas the Virginia colonies brought in more business oriented tobacco farmers who would establish communities in areas based on the Agricultural value of the land, therefore these communities were more focused on money, profit, and expansion rather than the...
The four groups of colonies were distinct from one another in the labor systems that they used. In New England, there were small farms that allowed a much bigger manufacturing and merchant class to arise. This was very different even from the middle colonies, where larger family farms and indentured servitude were prefered. In the Chesapeake and southern colonies, plantations were the most profitable economic choices. However, in the Chesapeake colonies these plantations were smaller and relied more on indentured servants than the slave heavy large
The Crusades of the middle ages introduced much innovative and formerly unheard of merchandise into Western Europe; however the scarcity of these luxury goods instilled Europeans with drive to find easier access to the Far East. Although desired "Northwest Passage" never was found, joint-stock companies, like the Virginia Company of London, settled colonies in the New World for untapped resources such as silver and other tradable goods. Many more corporations followed suit, settling mainly in the Chesapeake Bay area, their small settlements eventually developing into the Chesapeake colonies. The Chesapeake colonies were focused primarily on profitable enterprises. At the same time, the New England colonies were being settled with a whole different set of initiatives, principally religious freedoms and family. Governing bodies were established, with their success dependent on the quality of the settlers the colony attracted. The different motives for settlement affected the routine events in such a way that the New England and Chesapeake colonies differed very greatly from one another even though they were both mainly settled by the English.
During colonial times, European nations quickly colonized the New World years after Columbus’ so called discovery. England in particular sent out a number of groups to the east coast of the New World to two regions. These areas were the New England and the Chesapeake regions. Later in the late 1700s, these two regions would go though many conflicts to come together as one nation. Yet, way before that would occur; these two areas developed into two distinct societies. These differences affected the colonies socially, economically, and politically.
The New England, Middle and Southern colonies were all English ruled, but yet very different. Among their distinctions, was the geography which played an important role in shaping these colonies. New England attracted Puritan farmers who wanted to separate from the Catholic Church. But because of the bone dry soil in the North, these colonists found they couldn't continue with their traditional ways of farming. However, with the immense amounts of water that surrounded them, they found that they could fish and trade. The Middle colonies on the other, hand had a moderate amount of everything. The fertile soil and the major seaports such as Philadelphia and New York, allowed these Middle colonists to make a living any way they saw fit. This led to the brisk development of the Middle Seaboard . Unlike the Middle and Northern colonies, the Southern colonies had large amounts of fertile land allowing for the development of large plantations. Because farming the plantations was the economic thrust for the South, towns and cities developed slowly. Thusly Geography greatly affected the lifestyles of these regions in the New World.
A community is a group of people who work together towards a common goal and share a common interest. Lack of such a quality can and most likely will cause a struggling town or city to fall into the extremes of poverty and wealth. The New England community was so strong and so supportive in comparison to that of the Chesapeake Bay, that it is no wonder they developed into two distinctly different cultures before the year 1700. The Chesapeake region developed into a land of plantations and money-driven owners, with the elite wealthy, almost no middle class, and those in poverty creating the population. New England, on the other hand, had developed into a religion and family based society comprised of mostly middle class families by 1700. Looking at the terrain, ethic, government, and even the people themselves, reveals clues about how the drastic split in society came to be. It was one America, but two distinct societies had developed in it by the 1700's.
Second, those who migrated to New England tended to come over as families, quite dissimilar to the single men who flooded Chesapeake Bay. Obviously, a much more stable family life took root in New England. Single women in Chesapeake Bay were few and far between, and the few that were around were not single for long. It was much easier to establish families in New England, where the balance between men and women was much closer to equal. These strong families provided security and made the New England colonists live a more stable life than those who lived to the south in Chesapeake Bay.
There were various reasons why the American Colonies were established. The three most important themes of English colonization of America were religion, economics, and government. The most important reasons for colonization were to seek refuge, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. To a lesser degree, the colonists sought to establish a stable and progressive government.
While both the people of the New England region and of the Chesapeake region descended from the same English origin, by 1700 both regions had traveled in two diverse directions. Since both of these groups were beset with issues that were unique to their regions and due to their exposure to different circumstances, each was forced to rethink and reconstruct their societies. As a result, the differences in the motivation, geography, and government in the New England and Chesapeake regions caused great divergence in the development of each.
Between 1607 and 1733, Great Britain established thirteen colonies in the New World along the land’s eastern coast. England’s colonies included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Though the colonies were classified as New England, middle or southern colonies, the colonists developed a unifying culture. With this new American culture, the colonists throughout the colonies began to think differently than their English cousins. Because colonial America displayed characteristics of a democratic society and, therefore, deviated from England’s monarchic ways, it was established as a democratic society.
The inconsistent fluctuation of the population had a profound effect on women that could have both supported the idea that the Colonial period was a "golden age," as well as taken away from it. For one, the population ratio of men to women was dramatically unbalanced. The numbers of men in the colonies greatly surpassed those of women. Lois Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh in The Planter's Wife: The Experience of White Women in Seventeenth-Century Maryland, Lois Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh state, "[...] in 1634-1635 men outnumbered women six to one." In addition to that, "From the 1650s at least to the 1680s most sources show a ratio of three to one." Even in 1704, in Maryland, the number of men surpassed that of women, for, "a census listed 30,437 white persons, of whom 7, 163 were adult women." As a result of the disproportionate gender ratios, women had a greater choice in marriage. Louis Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh state, "There is some evidence that the absence of kin and the pressures of the sex ratio created conditions of sexual freedom in courtships that were not customary in England." Because men usually died before their younger wives, many women remarried. However, there were many dangers and obstacles that women faced on the journey to the new world and while living in the colonies, that could argue that the Colonial peri...
Slavery was the main resource used in the Chesapeake tobacco plantations. Conditions in the Chesapeake region were difficult, which led to malnutrition, disease, and even death. Slaves are a cheap and abundant resource, which can be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake region’s tobacco industries grew and flourished on the intolerable and inhumane acts of slavery. The Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland were settled in the early 17th century.
In the early stages of North American colonization by the English, the colony of Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 (Mailer Handout 1 (6)). Soon after the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1629 (Mailer Handout 2 (1)). These two colonies, although close in the time they were founded, have many differences in aspects of their lives and the way they were settled. The colonies have a different religious system, economic system, political system, and they have a different way of doing things; whether that be pertaining to making money, practicing religion, or electing governors. Along with the differences, there are also a sameness between these two colonies. Each colony has been derived from England and has been founded by companies
The political difference between the New England and Chesapeake region was that New England government associate more with religious matter than the Chesapeake government. The New England regions included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth colony, the New Hampshire colony, Maine colony, Connecticut colony, and Rhode Island colony. Massachusetts colony for example was governed as a theocracy government. As the first governor of Massachusetts colony once stated in A Model of Christian Charity (Written on board the Arbella on the Atlantic Ocean, 1630),"we shall be as a city upon a hill" a holy commonwealth that could be served as an example community to the rest of the world. The Massachusetts Bay colony placed great importance on religious matters. Only the church member were allowed to vote or held office position. Those who held office position would enforce the law requiring attendance at services. Jamestown, Maryland and the Carolinas were some colonies in the Chesapeake regions. The governments in these regions were less concerned about...
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.