Dedric Jones
Hist 210
Essay #1 Rough Draft
“Mid-Atlantic vs. New England”
Politics in the mid Atlantic region of Virginia was ruled Chief Powhatan. Powhatan was a powerful chief who represented more than 10,000 Indians throughout Eastern Virginia. Even though Powhatan was a powerful chief, the indigenous people of the region were loosely organized. The colonists were very impressed with Captain John Smith's exploits in foreign wars and appointed him a member of the council to manage the new colony in America. Smith also helped Jamestown survive through his dictatorial efforts. In Maryland, Sir George Calvert, who was the first Lord Baltimore, sought the American colony as refuge for persecuted English Catholics. New England had a government
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He strongly believed in his words, "He that will not work shall not eat". Even though Captain Smith did a good job, in 1609, a new agreement replaced the unsuccessful council with an all-powerful government. In Maryland, they were able to prosper quickly economically because of their ability to grow tobacco. By having a long coastline along the Chesapeake Bay, it was easy shipping for the tobacco planters. New England's male settlers were small farmers, merchants, seamen, or fishermen which made a very good way of living. ON the other hand, the New England founding fathers had very high expectations for their region and they were fulfilled. Their economy was based on individual accomplishments of the towns’ farmers. They were able to harvest enough crops to feed their families, as well as, trade for things that they couldn’t make themselves. The New England region’s living standards were much higher than those of the Mid-Atlantic. The New England region became an extremely important factor in merchant and shipbuilding. They grew so much that they even served as the center for trading between the South and
Because of his restlessness in England, Smith became actively involved with plans to colonize Virginia, which had been granted a charter from King James I. After setting sail, this famous expedition finally reached Virginia in April, after enduring a lengthy voyage of over four months in three tiny ships. John Smith was one of the seven chosen to govern and start the colony. He took a...
The New England and Southern colonies, although they had their differences, did share a similar government system. However, the differences on a economic, religious, and social level overrode the similarity shared, making the two regions different nonetheless. The New England’ colonies focus on a business economy made them a central area of trade and commerce, but in the long run created society open to innovation and brought in new inventions. Whereas the Southern colonies’ focus on agriculture economy brought a sensation of profits for the mother country, but later attributed to the introduction of slave codes. Then, in the New England colonies, the religious restrictions increased tensions between the Separatists and Puritans, which later
On his way to the New World, aboard the Arabella in 1630, John Winthrop, Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, spoke of the plan that he had in store for the colony. He preached that there would be equality in the new colony and that they " must be knit together in this work as one man." He spoke about the importance of community in the colony that was vital for the survival of the colony. His statements made on the Arabella are to the ideas in the Articles of Agreement, which compiled in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1636. In the Articles of Agreement, the community was to contain forty familiesrich and poor. In the Articles of Agreement, the concern for comfort and quality of life (for families) is outlined. They again put emphasis on the importance of unity in the colony and they also express that social classes do not determine what a person is. In Connecticut, the colonists set up regulations for wages and price; these rules were made to include poor settlers in trading and the economy by keeping the prices in the colony "fair." Since the colonists in the New England region was untied "as one" in each colony, this was one way that caused them to become a different society from the Che...
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.
Looking at the early English colonies in the Chesapeake Bay region, it’s clear that the English had not learned any lessons from their experiences at Roanoke. Poor planning, a bad location, unrealistic expectations, flawed leadership, unsuccessful relations with the local Indians, and no hope of finding the mineral wealth the Spanish found in Mexico, all contributed to failure. The first colonists in the Chesapeake region were not only ignorant, lazy and unambitious, but their attempts were hampered before they had begun. However, a solution to these problems was found in a single plant: tobacco. Nevertheless, this cash crop ultimately created numerous problems for the colonists. The ignorance and indolent acts of the Chesapeake colonists to unsuccessfully restore the colony by themselves led to the demise of the colony as a whole especially regarding the planting of agricultural goods for food.
People’s main motives were not religious, but to “dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold,”(Doc F). This resulted in competition, rather than bonding, over the settlement. The economy of the Chesapeake region made it more profitable to spread out, making the development of cities, schools, and churches more difficult. When the Joint Stock Co landed at Jamestown, they were looking for gold. Even though no gold appeared, John Rolfe’s founding of tobacco (Doc F) as a cash crop, and Virginia’s headright system, ensured people would continue to mold the Chesapeake and leave behind a mercantilist environment. The Chesapeake drew mostly single men, who came for individual profit, and indentured servants (Doc C). The economic gap between rich and poor was much larger, especially after the introduction of slaves and indentured servants, in the Chesapeake region than in New England. The Articles of Agreement shown in (Doc D) stated a common goal of “everyone’s quality and estate.” As they developed a much tighter community, they were more invested in the prosperity of everyone in their community. (Doc E) says that laborers “consider the religious end of their callings,” this shows that there was a religious motive to serve God by striving to maintain the strength of their
The characteristics that came to shape the life in New England were the rocky, barren soil, the extreme climate and the rich waters. Although there was farming in New England , colonists looked to other means of survival. They looked to the rich waters for fishing and trade. The coastline of New England was very fertile with sealife. So, fishing became a way of commerce and trade providing a steady economy to New England. Because of the rocky soil and extreme climate, the colonists were forced to plant many different crops on a small pa...
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
During the 1600's, many people in the American colonies led very many different lives, some better than others. While life was hard for some groups, other colonists were healthy and happy. Two groups that display such a difference are the colonists of New England and Chesapeake Bay. New Englanders enjoyed a much higher standard of living. This high standard of New England's was due to many factors, including a healthier environment, better family situation, and a high rate of reproduction.
In 1607, King James I. granted a charter to the Virginia Company which allowed them to start a colony in the New World. This colony was named Virginia after the virgin queen, Queen Elizabeth I, and was located along the Chesapeake Bay. The Virginia Company sought to build a permanent settlement, and was successful in establishing Jamestown. Virginia was also home to nearly 14,000 Algonquin speaking Native Americans who were united under the Powhatan Confederacy lead by Chief Powhattan. Other Chesapeake Bay colonies include North Carolina, whose population became dominant in African Americans with a large amount of settlers from Barbados, and Maryland. Maryland was established by the Calvert Family after King Charles I. granted 10 million acres of land to the family. Maryland became the only British colony to ever have a Catholic minority, and the population of Maryland also consisted of indentured servants, slaves, and many farmers. The Chesapeake Bay was a very hot area a...
Furthermore, according to professor Foner, each colony experienced distinct political development. In Virginia, the crown appointed governor, and local elite was in charge of the colony’s advancement. There was also the county court, or the Justices of Peace. Only the colonial assembly was elected. The House of Burgesses, established in 1639, was the first legislature in Jamestown. Contrary to Virginia, Maryland was a proprietary colony settled in 1632. The charter granted Cecilius Calver...
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.
...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.
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.
America. In 1607, a group of merchants, known as the Virginia Company, settled at Jamestown, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay (Divine, 72); while Puritan leader John Winthrop, stationed himself and his followers at Massachusetts Bay in 1630. (Divine, 90) Although both settlements started off relatively the same, the greater success of one over the other has caused continuous debates between many, including the descendants of these early Americans. Some might argue that the Virginia Colony was more successful than the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of the Virginia colonists’ motivation and interest in profit (Divine, 76). However, when efforts for income proved futile, this and survival became the colony's only interests. Therefore, Massachusetts proved itself to be the stronger colony and the most successful, as a result of its community development and social advancement, its economic growth, and the positive influence the government had on the Massachusetts Colony.