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Compare And Contrast The New England Colonies And Chesapeake Colonies

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Comparing and Contrasting The New England Colonies and The Chesapeake Colonies

The 16th and 17th centuries were a time of great discovery and colonization of the New World by Europe. England’s history played a fundamental part in the formation of these colonies. The east coast of North America was settled by Englishmen with similar backgrounds and religious motives, but by 1700 they had developed into two very distinct societies, The New England colonies, and the Chesapeake colonies. This essay will compare and contrast the many differences in politics, economics, religions, and geography as well as the similarities between the two colonies. The New England and Chesapeake colonies were founded for different purposes and the difference in climate affected the economy of the two regions. New England was founded for religious reasons by two groups called the Puritans and the Pilgrims, or Separatists. Puritans and Pilgrims were persecuted in England and were looking for a “New England” to call home, a place where they could practice their religion without persecution. The Pilgrims wanted to break away from the Anglican Church and founded Plymouth while the Puritans were looking for a more “pure” adherence to the church and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. …show more content…

New England was more democratic and had compact towns that held town meetings. Since there were only small farms due to the cold climate and less than ideal soil, there was no slavery and a less defined hierarchy unlike the Chesapeake colonies which had an aristocratic dominated assembly. The New England colonies were less dependent on agriculture as they were on manufacturing of large cities and industries including shipping, fishing, shipbuilding, lumber, and whaling unlike the Chesapeake colonies that were heavily dependent on tobacco

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