Differences Between New England And Chesapeake Region

Around the 1600’s, New England started to develop a drastic population growth. This growth caused several problems for the occupants including, high prices on food, land, and a shortage of work for many because of the aggressive competition. Immigrants from New England began to prepare for a voyage that would be beneficial for some travelling to Massachusetts and not so much those who were travelling to Virginia. Although the settlers from the Chesapeake Bay and New England came from the same country, these colonies established different societies because of varying elements such as religious freedoms, economy, government’s role in society and unity.

Two unique societies were constructed by people of common origin. These English colonists immigrated to the New World for either economic prosperity or religious freedom. During colonization, two regions were formed, New England and the Chesapeake Bay area. The two contrasting societies of New England and Chesapeake region were the results of diversity of: social and family structure; health and living conditions; economy; religion and beliefs; and government policies.

Religious freedom was greatly desired by Puritans and one of the main reasons for immigration. Puritans believed that the church should only accept “visible saints” and because King Charles I accepted all of his subjects, they left England for Massachusetts. John Winthrop wrote: “We must be knit together in this work as one man…We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us…if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us,” in A Model of Christian Charity. Winthrop believed that his followers should stay together in unity and to always remember their religion and to follow it well. Puritans entered the Massachusetts area, ready to pursue religious freedom from the Church. On the other hand, the Chesapeake region consisted of Protestants who followed the Church of England. However, following religion did not become as important to the Protestants until the 1700s. In History of Virginia by Captain John Smith, he mentioned that Smith had to kill one of the captains to stop the settlers from going back to England as

Question: Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur?

The New England colonies were formed by Protestants who were escaping England. They ‘planned’ their society. When they came over they brought entire families, not just random people. The Chesapeake region colonies were formed by whoever signed up. The reasons that resulted in the differences between the New England and the Chesapeake colonies were political, social, and economic.

New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, but by the 1700’s they were two distinct societies. They differed politically, economically, and socially, and these differences stemmed from when people first arrived in the colonies to how the colonies grew over time.

Two unique societies were constructed by people of common origin. These English colonists immigrated to the New World for either economic prosperity or religious freedom. During colonization, two regions were formed, New England and the Chesapeake Bay area. The two contrasting societies of New England and Chesapeake region were the results of diversity of: social and family structure; health and living conditions; economy; religion and beliefs; and government policies.

Although the Chesapeake and New England colonies were the earliest English colonies to flourish in the New World, they were both extremely different in the ways that they developed. Similarities between the colonies can be found, but the colonies were mostly different. The colonies differed most in religion, society, culture, economy, and their relationships with the American Indians of the region. The reasons for such differences can be understood by realizing that the colonies were settled by incredibly different people who possessed different cultures, religious beliefs, and motivations for settling in their respective colonies in the first place. The Chesapeake and New England colonies had similarities and differences in their development, including how each colony affected nearby American Indians. Their differences and similarities can be understood by analyzing each colony’s geography, economy, religions, and cultures.

Some of the most populous colonies were the ones situated in the Chesapeake and New England areas. Although these colonies were both settled by the English and had other key similarities, there were also many differences between them. The New England and Chesapeake colonies both had an aristocracy that governed over them, and had frequent issues concerning the Native Americans that previously inhabited the lands. However, their political and economic systems were considerably different. Chesapeake had an oligarchy whose main export was tobacco, while New England had a theocracy whose exports included timber, fur, and fish. Therefore, although the colonies had similarities their differences outweighed the resemblances.

Thesis Statement: When talking about New England and the Chesapeake region, you have to consider the differences in motives and geography. Consider economic situations (reasons for settling where they did, reasons why they came to New England in the first place). One has to think about the family development and demographics, as well as the government structure.

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

Virginia developed a society in which the aristocratic planters were at the top of the social ladder, then farmers, then indentured servants and slaves. In comparison, Massachusetts had much more equality in their social ladders, with the “elect” being their highest influential and powerful group. Virginia was focused on man who had nothing but their freedom, and Massachusetts settlers focused lives around their friends and families. These differences between the two colonies are justified when looking at the two different Ship Manifests given in Document 2 and 3. In The Ship’s List of Emigrants Bound for New England, the people who are coming to Massachusetts are large families. (Document 2). However in the Ship’s List for Emigrants Bound for Virginia, there are many more young men traveling without their families. After reading the documents, these differences stem also from the reasons for establishment. Puritans developed their society around the church, and John Winthrop seems to say together many times, emphasizing a trait about the settlers. Equality. In Virginia however, they were more concerned about making money than having everyone be equal, and thus explains the reasons for different social

During the 17th century, England experienced a growth in development. Increasing population alongside a rising merchant class made territorial expansion beneficial both population-wise and economically. Two regions in the New World were colonized by settlers: New England and the Chesapeake. Both settlements had a goal of permanent settlement in mind, but by the 1700s had significant differences in their developments. The difference in developments between the New England and Chesapeake regions during the 1700s can be attributed to the settlers demographic, their ideals on how the settlement should function, and the cooperation between settlers.

Creating Contrasting Colonies The development of the thirteen British colonies of America majorly varied from region to region, but their similarities them to later unite into the superpower the world knows today. Due to lack religious freedom and tolerance in England, Protestant faiths set up self-governing colonies in 1620-1700s in what is later known as as New England. Following the defeat of Spanish Armada and England’s new major naval power status, England charted several royal, proprietary, and commerce colonies within the span of 1618 to the 1700s, which developed in the Chesapeake region each ruled by a royal governor or a joint stock company.

With the peril of the old world economy, people decided it was time for a new start. This then prompted the movement across the Atlantic ocean to a vast New World of opportunity. Most people who took the voyage to the New World were of the English origin. As the English began to colonize this New World, two civilizations were created, the Chesapeake and New England Regions. Overtime, these two civilizations began to differ in significant traits that some people may or may not have been looking for on their trek to the New World. The Chesapeake and New England regions developed differently through their religious views, motivations, and basis of their economies.