Differences Between Colonies

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.

One might think that all of the British colonies in the new world were all the same. This is not the case though. The colonies, although they were all British they had some similarities but mainly they had differences. The Southern, New England and Middle colonies clearly show theses similarities and differences, particularly in terms of land, labor, religion, and native relations.

The New England and Chesapeake colonies were both settled by immigrants from England. Though this was an area thriving with small towns that they had generally liked, they decided to escape England due to religious persecution. Hundreds of families, men, women, and their children, came in search of a New World where they could practice their beliefs freely. They founded

Religious uniformity was very important as they were intolerant of any other religion, and only church members were part of the government at first. Citizens were required to attend Church services as part of the law. Most of the people in New England had been merchants or small farmers in England. In New England however, the rocky soil made it hard for a lot of farming, so the Puritans turned to the coast. They built up major industries such as shipbuilding and fishing, and established trade routes with England, and the Caribbean. The New Englanders were a very pious and hardworking people, very different from their southern neighbours.

one the the similarity that each colony have in common is their government. Each of the colony created law which also similar to the modern days. They were also self-governed which make them to have the right to do anything on their colony without touching others. And one of the biggest things is the assembly or election. Each colony have the right to vote to which they think will lead their

Evaluate the extent to which the American colonies had developed a society different from that of the mother country by 1763.

Socially the three groups of colonies developed differently. The New England Colonies life was dominated by the Puritan religion.

The New England and the Chesapeake colonies differed in numerous ways. These differences included geography, religion, economics, nationalities, and politics, which

1. There were several main differences among the British colonial regions. The New England colonies being colonized mainly for religion while the Middle colonies found wealth through industry, whereas the Southern colonies sought more trade and wealth opportunities through colonization. Economically, the New England colonies did not have trade as their primary focused, but still were involved in the processes of fishing, lumbering, and trapping, the Middle colonies found their wealth in lumbering and shipbuilding; the Southern colonies sought to grow and trade cash crops for wealth. The Northern colonies composed of [Separatist] Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers had more religious reasons for being founded, but not limited to refuge from religious persecution, and a holy society or “city upon a hill.” The Northern colonies were also religiously self-governing; one example being the Mayflower Compact, while the South had regular laws instituted. Demographically, the colonies started with an overwhelming white population over the blacks, but as the tobacco industry grew and slavery became an increasing practice, blacks began to outnumber the white population.

* New England was focused on family and religion mostly. They don’t live apart like the Southern Colonies and the South were also very competitive with agriculture.

The people of the New England and Chesapeake colonies, although came from the same people, turned into very different cultures. For example, in New England, Puritanism was favored while in the Chesapeake region Christianity was practiced. Often times, religion would dictate a certain peoples way of life. Although both religions were strict, both had different ideas. Also, there were disagreements that occurred between the people within a colony. Many other ways of life were established in each of these areas independent of each other.

The regions of the Thirteen Colonies has major differences and their were major differences in the lifestyle between the regions. The differences between Connecticut (New England region), Delaware (Middle region), and Virginia (Southern region) will help me decide which of the three colonies I would live in.

The economy of the two regions also greatly differed because of the terrain that they landed on. Because the land in the south was much more fertile than in the north, the southern colonies thrived in rice and tobacco, profiting greatly. In New England the settlers could not grow anything in the rocky terrain and were forced into fishing, building, and farming. However, not much farming went on because of the infertile soil. In the Chesapeake slaves were also a main part of their economy. The slave trade made them very wealthy because of their closeness to the West Indies. They would be shipped many slaves and then use them to harvest their crops and plant their land. Soon, the slaves outnumbered white settlers by about four to one.

1. The Chesapeake region and the New England colonies were similar because the settlers who moved to both of the regions were looking for new opportunities. When they lived in the mother country, or Great Britain they were being oppressed by the government and the aristocracy and they were unable to thrive economically or politically. They all came looking for either chances to improve economically, large amounts of land to raise crops, religious freedoms or opportunities to trade and go into merchant work. The colonists that came to the New World were looking for a fresh start for their lives.

The thirteen colonies each governed themselves differently, with positives and negatives attributes to each form. The three different types of government in colonial America were royal, proprietary, and self-governing. The English colonies drove to create new forms of government that worked best for them, and generated some of the foundations of our democratic country now.