Differences Between Chesapeake And Southern Colonies

578 Words2 Pages

Between 1491 and 1754, the New England, middle, Chesapeake, and southern colonies developed in a way such that they must be viewed as four distinct societies with interlacing interactions and beliefs. These different societies were shaped by the different labor systems and economic characteristics, varying groups of religious founders, and response to salutary neglect and British taxation. 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 …show more content…

In the north, the Puritans created very strict societies completely based around the Church. This led to the creation of a very different society in Pennsylvania where many religions were tolerated and people could worship freely. These two different approaches to colonial religion simply cannot be grouped into one single society as they are almost complete opposites of one another. This is even more evident in the southern colonies which were not founded on religious principles but rather on economic ones. As these colonies were developed, there were no strict religious rules and society was not centered around the church. Instead, the focus was on economic prosperity and plantation life. By grouping all of these different societies into one, it is difficult to find a way to describe their religion without leaving a couple of colonies or beliefs out. This is why the different colonies should be viewed as separate

Open Document