Chesapeake Bay Population Growth

The New England and the Chesapeake development of colonial society were greatly shaped by the social and economical ways prior to 1740.

In the 1700s, the New England and the Chesapeake region, which were settled largely by people of English origin, had evolved into two distinct societies. The regions were founded under different climates and for different purposes. In addition, the two has political, economical, social, and religious differences. Due to these factors, the two regions formed their own societies and had different ways of colonial life. New England and the Chesapeake region were formed on different foundations, New England was formed for religious reasons while Chesapeake was formed for economic reasons.

Chesapeake Bay and New England DBQ The settlers of English origin began to migrate from England to North America in the 1600s. The foreigners came to the new world in search of wealth, religious freedom, and a fresh start on life. People of all types of backgrounds came to settle in the Americas. The settlers had two regions one could choose to go to; New England and the Chesapeake Bay.

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.

The world is consuming more than it can produce. In order to produce the amount that we use, requires a lot of waste to be made. Industrial production produces industrial waste. With the amount of waste being produced it is effecting the environment, especially the water and food supply. Everyone is a polluter and everyone abuses the environment.

During the early sixteenth century following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, New England began establishing several settlements within the New World each upholding their own unique identities and infrastructures. Due to the Protestant Reformation many people were torn about their own religious alignment causing a split between catholics in Europe which would then transition over to the Chesapeake and New England colonies subsequently affecting their development. As a result of this clash between ideals, a shift between the two settlements formed where there was two distinct social structures with each fostering a specific social demographic. Besides the cultural differences, the two colonies were agriculturally different from one another

During the 17th century, England underwent many social and economic pressures that generated two regions known as the Chesapeake and New England. Despite the fact that both regions were made up English in search for a better life, they shared completely separate identities. The differences between these regions were caused by the two groups of new settlers who had different ways living their day to day lives. Both regions attracted entirely different types of settlers. With these many differences, the colonies had been affected economically, socially, and politically.

The immigrants that settled the colonies of Chesapeake Bay and New England came to the New World for two different reasons. These differences were noticeable in social structure, economic outlook, and religious background. As the colonies were organized the differences were becoming more and more obvious and affected the way the communities prospered. These differences are evident from both written documents from the colonists and the historical knowledge of this particular period in time.

During the 17th century, the differing geographical, social, and economic factors shaped the Chesapeake region and the New England region. Throughout the century New England kept a strong shared identity while the Chesapeake remained distributed. While the river valleys of the Chesapeake had a climate that would sustain crop plantations and disease, New England’s extreme climate made the production of crops and spread of disease difficult. Also the combination of poor free men and slaves resulted in larger rich-poor gap in Chesapeake. When the New England settlers arrived they still retained their strong ties to religion.

In the early seventeenth century, the English began to establish colonies in the New World. The colonies in New England consisted of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. While, the colonies making up the Chesapeake region were Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Given that the New England and Chesapeake region were both largely settled by those of English origin, by the 1700 they had evolved into two distinct societies because of the contrast in their geographical locations, their political structure, and their social hierarchy.

The word Chesapeake, although there is some scholarly dispute, likely means “Great Bay of Shells” or “Great Shellfish Bay” in the language of the Algonquian Native Americans (“Oyster History”). This translation is appropriate and accurate to anyone familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and its rich history of oysters. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States with over 150 rivers and streams flow into its basin. It measures roughly 200 miles in length, 3.4 to 35 miles in width and stretches across six states. The bay is home to over 2,700 plant and animal species, making it one of the most complex and productive estuary systems in the world (“Facts and Figures”). However, one species

The Chesapeake colonial region was largely influenced by its geography. With open fields, fertile soil, and conducive weather, farming was a significant part of life in the Chesapeake area. Farming not only constituted for large part of the economy, but was also an attraction to many young men trying to make money. The economy of the region was primarily based on tobacco, indigo, and rice. The main religion upheld was Protestant Christianity. The government of the colonies was run by a councillor who was appointed by the king, and a “House of Representatives” elected by the people. Given that a major part of the colonies were farming, the region quickly transitioned from using indentured servants to using slaves. Hierarchically, men were the

Since water in the Chesapeake colonies was unhealthy, everyone was forced to rely on alcohol. From the 1690's onward, females initially made alcoholic beverages at home, as their husbands were focused on tobacco production. However, important changes would soon come to affect the availability and quality of alcohol substantially. During these changes, alcohol consumption was increased by male colonists’ advancements and was later decreased by laborers’ drunkenness.

Scientists and researchers began giving a large volume of effort and look into the extremely complex problems that face the Chesapeake Bay. When research for the improving and saving of the Bay’s overall health began it seemed very simple and there were only a couple of problems. The problems included nutrients from agricultural runoff; these nutrients were phosphorus and nitrogen. The combination of the nutrients in the Bay caused a large volume of algae that choked some of the marine life. While bringing in algae the nutrients also killed grasses on the seafloor. These seafloor bed grasses that once covered more than half of the Chesapeake Bay’s floor now only covered a tenth of their original area. Though the estuary was having problems it did not receive the terrible pollution from industries that many large rivers and lakes do in other urban areas (Brown, p. 397).

Depending on each region’s location, the climate affected the terrain and life span. The terrain affected what was grown in the soil and how the economy was modeled; moreover, lifespan affected population growth. In a way, the first Chesapeake colony was founded for economic reasons. Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first permanent settlement; however, the colonist didn’t plant any crops to live off of, instead they looked for gold. A settler by the name of John Smith, saved Jamestown with great leadership; his famous quote during this time states, “he who shall not work, shall not eat”.