Chesapeake and Southern Colonies

By the 1700’s, New England, the Chesapeake region and the Southern colonies developed into three distinct societies, despite coming from the same mother country, England. The regions of Colonial America each had a distinctive culture and economy entirely different from the other regions. Religion and religious tolerance was completely different in each region, running from being free to complete persecution. Ethnicity and racial composition ranged from almost complete British descent to a wide range of composition. Each region was politically and economically structured different and had its own identity and developed differently based on immigration trends, geography and other features. Throughout the colonization of Colonial America, the intentions of the settlers, the structure of the regions and the forms of governing developed distinctions in the development in the regions.

The colonies each had a distinctive political structure. New England enforced a strong sense of community with fair wages and prices (Doc D, E). New England from the beginning was settled by families. A shipment of emigrants bound for New England consisted of a minister, several farmers, a tailor and a clothier along with their families (Doc B). The New England colonies were created by Puritans escaping religious persecution in England. The Puritans were a group of English Protestants that wanted to “purify” the Church of England. The Puritans set forth articles that would plan the foundation of daily life (Doc A, D). They decided to set up a small farming community. Each family would have a portion of land and did as they saw fit. As a result, slavery did not predominate in the New England colonies. The New England colonies originated as a self-governme...

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...er, they did not deem Black or Native American religions to be valid forms of belief. Religion did not determine one’s status in the south as it did in north. Religion played a very limited role in the Southern colonies. Colonies in the South were established for economic ventures, while religion remained mostly as an extracurricular activity.

As shown, the ability of the settlers to govern, properly structure their regions, and their motivations differed between colonies. By the end of the 17th century, the New England, Chesapeake and Southern colonies developed into distinct societies. The founding principles of each of these colonies were founded upon along their religion and religious toleration and political and economic structure, influencing and shaping the colonies settled by Englishmen of the same mother nation, England, to become distinct societies.