The Differences between Jamestown vs. Plymouth Jamestown and Plymouth were both founded by early European settlers that wanted to find a new land in which they could gain personal benefits, although each of the two groups had similar goals and their entire foundation of being in the new land was completely different. The settlers from both colonies were very similar in their way of living but a few differences such as reasons for colonization, religious differences, and relations with the Indians set them apart. Economic motivation is what inclined the English to colonize in Virginia. Queen Elizabeth I provided a patent to Walter Raleigh, leading to the organization of the move to Virginia. The first try in Virginia was the Roanoke colony, …show more content…
Captain John Smith led the colonists, due to his past experiences and being elected to do so by the London partners. However, the Jamestown colonists are a whole different story. Around the time of 1606, King James established a new religion that many people disagreed with. “These people became two distinct bodies or churches, and in regard of distance of place did congregate severally” (Norton Anthology of American Literature, 123). They began to meet separately since the amount of people who did not follow the Church of England was abundant. These people were called Separatists. Consequently, the members of this religious sect began to get “hunted and persecuted” (123). They were put in prison, their families were watched at all times, and a great deal of people began to flee. When this began, they started to hear of places that allowed religious freedom, Holland in particular. In result, that’s where they went off to. At first, Holland was a great place for them because they had what they wanted: religious freedom! But later, things began to change. …show more content…
The settlers of the Jamestown were members of the great Anglican Church, which was the official Church of England while the Pilgrims were dissenters from the Church and established the Puritan faith. Due to the Jamestown settlers being a part of the Anglican faith, they were not under any fear of religious persecution. They remained loyal to their superiors. The Puritans were separatists, which was considered an act of treason at the time. They believed that the Church was still too connected to the old ways. “So many therefore of these professors as saw the evil of these things, in these parts, and whose hearts the Lord had touched with heavenly zeal for his truth, they shook off this yoke of anti-Christian bondage..” (123). Also, even though the leaders of the colony of Jamestown and Plymouth were both Englishmen, they had different goals. William Bradford was dedicated to his cause of finding a safe haven where they could find religious freedom, while John Smith was more interested in finding land, natural resources for his
The seventeenth century was a time of great change in colonial America. Virginia, the first colony in the Chesapeake region, was established in 1624. Plymouth, the first colony in New England, was established in 1620. These two regions developed in distinct ways, but were intertwined because of their ties to England. The Chesapeake colonies were established for economic reasons, as the Virginia Company of London looked to mass-produce cash crops in the new world. The New England colonies, however, were created to be a religious haven for those who opposed the English church. Both regions developed economic and political systems that catered to the desires of the respective populations and the geographical conditions.
There were vast differences between the difficulties experienced by the first settlers of Jamestown, Virginia and the Pilgrims who settled in New England in more ways than one. While the Pilgrims fled Europe because of religious persecution, the Jamestown colony was established solely as a business venture. While life was difficult for both groups of settlers upon reaching the new world, the Jamestown venture was doomed to fail from the beginning; but where the Jamestown settlers failed, the Pilgrims succeeded. The motives for traveling to America were different for each group but were instrumental in their eventual success or failure.
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
Because of the way that the New England and Chesapeake regions set up their colonies, they became entirely different societies. One was community based, while the other sought gold and wealth; in one region a poor person had the same opportunities are a wealthy person, while in another place they could not; and one came seeking religious freedom while the other came for gold.
The Jamestown and Plymouth settlements were both settled in the early 1600's. Plymouth and Jamestown were located along the shoreline in Massachusetts and Virginia, respectively. Although both had different forms of government, they both had strong leadership. Jamestown was controlled by the London Company, who wanted to profit from the venture, while the Puritans who settled at Plymouth were self-governed with an early form of democracy and settled in the New World to gain religious freedom. John Smith took charge in efforts to organize Jamestown, and at Plymouth William Bradford helped things run smoothly.
When the Mayflower sailed over to the New World, on the boats were Puritans that were looking for a change in the way that their religion was practiced where the Chesapeake settlers came over for gold. Alongside the Puritans were the Separatists who wanted everything their way and wanted to perfect the ways of the Puritans. When they landed in New England, they immediately settled down because they didn’t have an economic reason for coming. Both sets of religions ventured overseas so that they could create a new religion that would work for them in their favor and not be prosecuted for practici...
America, it has always had everything we need, except for when colonists flocked in the early 1600´s. Its 1609, you and a group of people have been on a boat for months. Now you aren't even sure if the America's exist. But once you lost every single drop of hope, you see it. A beautiful swampy land. This place makes you feel like you have a lot of opportunities, there’s a river, a lot of wildlife, and not that many Native’s around. It seems perfect, that’s what people that saw posters of Jamestown thought in England. Jamestown seemed, perfect, appeared perfect…
The establishment of the first permanent English settlement in the New World was not easy for one man. Captain John Smith, a man known for his bravery and hard times. Smith played a key role in the survival of the Jamestown settlement which led to the establishment of the United States of America. Smith was a soldier, author, cartographer, sailor, and explorer (NPS).
The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the New Jerseys (both East and West) and Pennsylvania. In 1607, Jamestown, the first English colony in the New World (that is, the first to thrive and prosper), was founded by a group of 104 settlers to a peninsula along the James River. These settlers hoped to find gold, silver, a northwest passage to Asia, a cure for syphilis, or any other valuables they might take back to Europe and make a profit. Lead by Captain John Smith, who "outmaneuvered other members of the colony's ruling and took ruthlessly took charge" (Liberty Equality Power, p. 57), a few lucky members of the original voyage survived. These survivors turned to the local Powhatan Indians, who taught them the process of corn- and tobacco-growing. These staple-crops flourished throughout all five of these colonies.
The first effort by the English to establish a colony in the New World was when Sir Walter Raleigh issued a charter to establish a colony at Roanoke. It was the responsibility of Raleigh to make the necessary provisions to complete the journeys to the New World and accomplish the goals of the charter. This entailed hiring ship captains and their crews, recruiting possible colonists, purchasing food and other supplies, and finding those who would invest capital in the missions. Raleigh however did not actively participate in the journeys to Roanoke Island; he was just the organizer and major financier.
The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans, and the English (textbook 44-5). Economic growth and expanding their territories were the main priorities of the English in the Jamestown colonies.
Massachusetts's inhabitants were Puritans who believed in predestination and the ideal that God is perfect. Many Puritans in England were persecuted for their nihilist beliefs in England because they felt that the Church of England, led by the Kind, did not enforce a literal enough interpretation of the Bible. Persecution punishment included jail and even execution. To seek refuge, they separated to go to Holland because of its proximity, lower cost, and safer passage. However, their lives in Holland were much different than that of England. The Separatists did not rebel against but rather preferred the English culture. They did not want their children to be raised Dutch. Also, they felt that Holland was too liberal. Although they enjoyed the freedom of religion, they decided to leave for America. Pilgrims, or sojourners, left for America on The Mayflower and landed in Cape Cod in 1626. They had missed their destination, Jamestown. Although the climate was extremely rocky, they did not want to move south because of their Puritan beliefs. They thought that everything was predestined, and that they must have landed on this rocky place for a reason. They moved slightly north to Plymouth Rock in order to survive more comfortably. Also because of their Puritan beliefs, they had good relations with the Native Americans. Their pacifist nature led the Indians to help with their crops. In thanks, the Pilgrims celebrated the first thanksgiving in 1621. A second group of Puritans in England, the Massachusetts Bay Company, came to Massachusetts for more economically motivated purposes due to their non-minimalist beliefs.
The motives of the founders of the colonies in each region played a significant part in the regions development. Sir Walter Raleigh and the Virginia Company, a joint-stock company, were among the first to try to develop settlements in the New World. Their motive to establish Roanoke and Jamestown in the Chesapeake region was primarily to make money. Thus the constant reminder that their first goal was to make profits influenced the settlers of Virginia. However, this conviction for making profits almost was the collapse of the colony for its settlers were more interested in finding gold then building shelter and growing food, finally found its outlet in the cash crop, tobacco, which John Rolfe perfected. Virginians were already greedy and self-centered. They were more concerned about personal gain than equality, and so the different levels of society appeared. Life centered on plantations, and so the rich planters were most important. Their constant need for labor source led to the introduction of land grants and indentured servants through the head-right system. In addition, the Carolinas, proprietary colonies created by Lord Berekley et al, was established strictly to profit the proprietor which they eventually did due also to cash crops.
The European colonists and the Native Americans of North America had very different views on nearly everything they encountered in their lives. Living in vastly different cultures lead both groups to have two extremely different outlooks on four main topics; religious beliefs, the environment, social relations, and slavery, differences which the colonists used to their advantage when conquering the peoples of the New World.
Unlike other colonies, the pilgrims were friends with the indians and learned many valuable skills from them. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe created an agreement where, “...both parties promised to not “doe hurt” to one another, was the first treaty between a Native American tribe and a group of American colonists” (history.com). If either of the two did not follow the agreement, then they would be sent to the opposite sides to be punished. The natives also helped the colonists plant crops. The colonists learned how to plant corn, which became a very important crop. The natives also showed the Americans where to hunt for fish and beaver, and beaver are big in the trading industry.The relationship between the natives and the colonists in plymouth really opened doors. It shows how colonists can get along with the natives just like we do today. If it weren’t for this relationship we still could possibly not be in good means with the Native Americans