Push And Pull Factor Analysis

Between 1607 to 1754, European migration to North America increased significantly. Push factors make people want to leave a region. Push factors included that many lands in England were “enclosed,” leaving thousands of families in search for employment and homes, the lack of economic opportunities, political instability in Europe, and discrimination, since Puritans, Quakers, who were persecuted, and other groups were discriminated against. Feudalism was also a push factor because Europe was still fairly feudal at this time, and kings held the power to allow people to own land.

Pull factors, which draw people to another region, included economic opportunities, specifically available resources, as demonstrated by Columbus’ voyages to the Caribbean in search of gold and slaves. The promise of land was a powerful motivating factor, since most settlers during this time period came as indentured servants, who had to work for a predetermined amount of time for another person who paid for their voyages, and, at the conclusion of their term, could obtain a plot of land. Europe was running out of land at this time. The lands in America also offered a solution for the homeless, and a gain of land for the Europeans would represent a gain of power, since European nations wanted to build powerful empires. Religious freedom also served as a pull factor, such as

how the Huguenots attempted to establish a religious refuge in North America.
Through the colonies did share some similarities, the East Coast can be divided into distinct regions of settlement. The colonies shared a traditional culture of family and kinship values, religious values, and community values as well as little privacy. Most colonists farmed the land, and towns were busy trade centers. Women had very restricted duties. The colonies also shared the expectation that the land was to be taken from the Natives and used by the colonists. The distinct regions that formed can be distinguished as the New England, Middle, and South colonies that were most notable during the 17th and 18th centuries. The New England colonies had a Puritan religious theocracy. The Middle Colonies were very diverse and had some religious tolerance. The South had tri-racial societies with intermingling, and the Church of England was the state religion of the Chesapeake colonies. The South was very rural and specialized in cash crops, especially rice and tobacco.
The geography of each region played a key role in the development of socioeconomic and political structures. The lower South had better growing land than the North, which led to cash crops, including cotton, tobacco, and indigo. All of these cash crops were labor intensive, and so Europeans started with indentured servants and then transitioned to slaves. Geography influenced this political system. The introduction of slaves also led to the formation of the African American community, in which the cultures of the Africans and the Europeans blended together. Meanwhile, the poor soil in the North led to handcrafted goods, and New England became sea-based with its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. In Canada, the settlements were fewer and farther apart because of the fur-trading culture; the settlers in Canada were basically removed from society. In the New Orleans, the bustling port on the Gulf of Mexico brought influences of France, Spain, and the Caribbean through trade, which were showcased through architecture and language of the region.
Religious ideals influenced the settlement of the colonies. Both Pennsylvania and the New England colonies were formed by groups of religious dissenters, while the Chesapeake colonies were not founded by religious dissenters and therefore were without as strong of a religious base. Pennsylvania was founded as a haven for the Quakers, and the New England colonies were founded by the Pilgrims, who were a branch of Puritans, at Jamestown, while many Protestants also migrated to the New England colonies. The Chesapeake colonists were Christians, but religion was not the main reason they founded the colonies. They were more interested in the North American resources available.
With the settlement of the British in the Americas, the economies of the French and Spanish were stagnant in the eighteenth century while the British economy was growing.

The upper class gained improved living conditions. This growth led to more growth, but it also led to increased social inequalities. The British sent thousands to the New World in order to populate it, unlike the French or Spanish, who limited migration. The British also supported the immigration of foreigners into the colonies as long as they were Protestant and swore allegiance to the British. This led to much ethnic diversity in the British

colonies.