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Self government in colonial america
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Chesapeake and New England Colony DBQ 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. While the Protestant Revolution raged in Europe, Catholics and other radicals were fleeing to the New World to find religious freedom and to escape prosecution. Because of this, the northern colonies became more family and religiously orientated as the families of the pilgrims settled there. From the Ship’s List of Emigrants Bound for New England we see that six families on board made up sixty nine of the ships passengers (B). Not only did families tend to move to New England, but whole congregations made the journey to find a place where they could set up “a city upon a hill”, and become an example to all who follow to live by as John Winthrop put it to his Puritan followers (A). Contrastingly, the Chesapeake colonies only had profit in their mind, which pushed them to become agriculturally advanced. Since Virginia, one of the Chesapeake colonies, was first settled with the intention of becoming an economic power house, it was mainly inhabited by working-class, single men. The average age of a man leaving for the Americas was only twenty two and a half years old according to the Ship’s List of Emigrants bound for Virginia (C). The harsh conditions of the colony did not appeal to those who wished to settle with a family. Added on to that was the fact that the average lifespan in the Chesapeake colonies was a full ten years or more shorter than that in other more desirable living quarters to the north.
Missionary- A person who teaches their religion to other people who believe in something else
silence. Living from “hand to mouth” induced the gold miners to only be able to
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 severely different environments in the New England and Chesapeake area allowed for different economies to progress. The original reason for settlement of the gentry who claimed Jamestown in 1607 was due to expectations; settlers expected to find gold, riches and Native Americans who were willing to serve them and wait on them. The swampland they had settled on made it difficult to grow crops, but in 1616, tobacco had become the staple of exports in the Chesapeake region. To fuel this expanding economy, indentured servants were introduced to private plantations and in 1619, slaves began to be shipped from Africa. Rather than settle for wealth-related purposes, the Separatist Puritans wanted to separate from the Church of England, while maintaining their English culture; this led them to occupy Plymouth in 1620. The land was fertile and allowed for crop growth, which grew large economic activity in corn and cattle trade. Although land was an important factor in success, their will and desire to do hard work was the key factor and distinguished them from the gentry that settled the Chesapeake region. In 1628, the Mass Bay Company, who too were...
In the 17th century, the British colonies still identified themselves as European, but as the colonies expanded and grew more populous, they developed differing geographic, social, and economic systems. This difference between New England, and Chesapeake, is caused by the motivations for settlement between the two regions. While the New England colonies were mainly settled for religious motivations, most notably by the Puritans, the Chesapeake colonies were settled for economic prosperity. Also, while the Chesapeake colonies were mainly settled by individual young men seeking a profit, the New England colonies were settled by families hoping to settle and expand.
The colonists of the eighteenth century were caught between two cultures: the culture of their mother country (England), and a developing culture that would soon be labeled “American.” During the eighteenth century, the population of the Britain’s mainland colonies grew at unprecedented rates. However, few Americans chose to live in the cities. Despite the limited urban population, cities still profoundly influenced colonial culture. In cities, Americans were exposed to the latest English ideas. Wealthy colonists began to emulate the culture of the mother country, and women and men
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 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.
Since it was easier to grow grain and livestock in the Mid-Atlantic region, there was a diverse group of farmers, fishermen, and merchants who worked in those colonies. The environmental conditions were ideal for farms of various sizes and the Middle colonists could trade in market areas where the colonial regions met. Although a lot of money could be made by growing tobacco (in Maryland especially) and other cash crops, they were bad for the soil and people needed more land. However, this resulted in a newfound lack of labor, which was an issue. For instance, families procreated too slowly, there was a high infant mortality rate, African slaves cost too much, and, according to the colonists, Native Americans didn’t make good slaves. Eventually white indentured servants from Europe were recruited to work on plantations, but it was a difficult life for them- even after they were freed they continued to earn low wages. This high demand of cash crops in Maryland and other Middle colonies led to an overall decline in the wellness of the
In the 17th century, Europeans were eager to colonize in the newly discovered world. Europe was willing to invest time, resources and money into expanding their power. Powerful nations such as Spain, France and Britain settled there by this time and subtly encouraged Europe to do the same. Europe sent people overseas to two sections, The Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Chesapeake Colony. At the beginning, every aspect influenced their colonies success such as social, political, economic, and geographic.
The New England colonists were very unified and were a “knit together” community (Doc A). Faith was the most important thing to the settlers. The colonists came to the New World to be free of religious persecution. Since church was very important to New England colonies, their towns were often very close together so travel to church would not be a far distance. This contrasted greatly with the Chesapeake region, which was very spread out. New England was family oriented and they lived in a patriarchal society (Doc B). Strict duties were placed on the husbands and wives of each family (A well ordered family). This differed with the Chesapeake region. The population of the people brought over to the Chesapeake region was predominantly young males, with a ratio of six males to every one female (Doc C and G). Also, no children under the age of 14 was brought over to Virginia. This highlights how less family oriented the Chesapeake region was compared to New England. New England and Chesapeake Bay developed differently because they each had different social standards.
Surviving anywhere south of New England was a major challenge for the colonists in the seventeenth century in part due to the overwhelming majority of men in society combined with a high death rate. Just to continue a family was a daunting challenge, and in many cases, this venture proved unsuccessful. Population consistency was sustained only through the immigration of people from England until the later portion of the seventeenth century when the population began to rise on its own. The New England colonies, however, were polar opposites in every sense. Be...
Mainly because so many of the settlers that came during that time were indentured servants. “Of the 120,000 English immigrants who entered the Chesapeake region during the seventeenth century, three-quarters came as servants” (Foner 61). Although many of them died while they were still under contract, a very large number of them were able to settle in the colonies. They were an important part of life just as every African slave was. They did almost all of the work that was involved in handling crops of corn, cotton, and mostly tobacco that was used during that time. They were a normal part of life during that time period that was essential to the settlement of America. Indentured servants also had an impact in the ratio of men to women in the colonies. “Men in the Chesapeake outnumbered women for most of the seventeenth century by our or five to one. The vast majority of women who emigrated to the region came as indentured servants. Since they usually had to complete their terms of service before marrying, they did not begin to form families until their mid-twenties. The high death rate, unequal ratio between the sexes, and late age of marriage for those who found partners retarded population growth and produced a society with large umbers of single men, widows, and orphans” (Foner
...ere more concerned about the commonwealth of the people due to their strong sense of community. Chesapeake government placed a harsh rule to ensure the survival of the settlers like the colony of Jamestown. New England had a diverse product due to poor soil and cold weather. They engaged in small scale agriculture, fishing, trading and shipbuilding. The Chesapeake regions had a warmer climate therefore it was more suitable to farm. The economic products that the Chesapeake region produced were tobacco and rice. The New England colonies were more of a community than the Chesapeake colonies. One of the reasons was that the settlers New England emigrated as a family and the Chesapeake emigrants were mostly males with the ambition to find gold and to own a large plantation; this resulted in mostly male population without female to enforce a sense of a real community.
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.