Historically speaking, homosapiens have inhabited the North America for millions of years as they came over on Pangaea’s land bridges. However, it wasn't until Columbus’s “discovery” of the Americas and the Great Migration, that the population of North America began to stabilize and grow to form the two distinct regions. These two distinct regions eventually became known as the New England colonies and the Chesapeake Bay colonies. Some of the differences between the two regions included motivation of colonists, immigration patterns, and settlement patterns. Those who moved to the new world had one of two motivations: the hope of free worship or to gain profit through the New World’s untapped resources. With the religious persecution of …show more content…
Due to religion being historically inherited from previous generations, many families moved to the New England colonies; these colonies had an abundance of women and children. One source, the Ship’s list of Emigrants Bound for New England, written in Weymouth on March 20, 1635, listed those who migrated in large family groups to the new world. This source lists “Joseph Hull, … Agnes Hull, … Joan Hull, … Joseph Hull, … Tristram, … Elizabeth Hull, ... Temperance, … Grissel Hull, … Dorothy Hull...” as all coming over to the New World in a single family unit consisting of mostly those under the age of twenty-five; it included children, wives, husbands, and grandparents (Document B). One could believe that it was these already established social bonds that made reaching out and fitting into the new communities much easier than without. In contrast, those who migrated to the Chesapeake Bay colonies in search of wealth, usually traveled as single men passengers as many vowed to work as indentured servants to pay for their passage to the New World. One source, the Ship’s list of Emigrants Bound for Virginia, written in Ultimo in the July of 1635, stated “These unwritten names are to be transported to Virginia, embarked in the Merchant’s Hope” before going on to list all names of those who embarked on the journey; few of which were relatives, younger than twenty years old, or female (Document C). It …show more content…
One source written in Springfield, Massachusetts in the year 1636, titled Articles of Agreement, stated that “We intend that our town be composed of forty families, … rich and poor” and “everyone shall have a share of the meadow or planting ground” (Document D). This shows that the colonies of New England, specifically Massachusetts in this case, had an equal or greater ratio of people to farmable crop land. However, this may also be contributed by the poor rocky soil of the northern colonies in addition to the immigrant population. On the other hand, the Chesapeake Bay colonies had just the opposite problem; there were not enough people to protect the huge plots of farmland from the western Indians, Spanish, and Dutch invaders. The lack of protection left the politics of the Chesapeake Bay colonies relatively unstable due to the fear of invasion and invasion itself. One source titled Governor Berkeley and His Council on Their Inability to Defend Virginia Against a Dutch Attack, written in the December of 1673, directly stated that there were “more miles to defend that men of trust to defend them … [This] gives men fearful apprehensions of the danger they leave their estates and families in, while they are drawn from their houses to defend the borders” (Document
When comparing and contrasting the Chesapeake and New England colonies you find that there are many differences and a few similarities. These differences and similarities revolve around the colonies geography, economic characteristics, religious characteristics, and why they were founded. These differences developed in the colonies based off where they are, how they were ran, and how wealthy they were. The development of these colonies also affected the American Indians in a few different ways. Let start by comparing major difference of the geography between Chesapeake and New England colonies. New England colonies had cold weather and poor dry soil which made for a short growing season. This made it harder to grow food so most families just had a small farm for personal gain, there weren’t plantations. The New England colonies also had natural harbors and a lot of the land was covered in forests. In contrast to the New England colonies the Chesapeake colonies has hot humid weather, with long growing seasons, and excellent soil that was great for plantation and along with rivers that flowed throughout the colonies. Now let’s take a look at the differences in the economical characteristics between the colonies. In New England because of their geographical conditions they couldn’t grow crops in large plantation to make profits so they had to rely on other means to make income. Since the land was covered in forests they use the timber to expand the shipbuilding industries. They
During the mid 17th century two regions carved roots for England in North America. Coming from the same homeland one would assume their inner workings would closely mirror each other but this was not the case for the New England and Chesapeake colonies. Though faced with similar hardships, the ways they handled the difficulties starkly contrast one another.
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.
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.
While both colonies were settled in Eastern America, the regional geography had a hand in influencing this expansion. New England was known for its harsh climate, forcing its inhabitants to endure brutal winters, and miserably hot summers. Because many European immigrants sought arable land, the unyielding soil of New England impeded the immigrants agriculturally and forced them to depend on livestock. They criticized the Indians for “wasting” the land-not using what little arable land they had to its full potential. As a result, the New Englanders used up as much land as they could to make sure “[t]hat everyone shall have a share of the meadow or planting ground…” (Doc D). They felt it was their duty to clear woodlands and establish a settlement. Additionally, they turned to the coastline and built harbors to fish rather than farm, unlike their Southern counterparts. Geography had a different impact on the people of the Chesapeake region. The people of Chesapeake capitalized on their good soil, and, unlike the New Englanders, they grew tobacco. Tobacco proved very profitable and
The Chesapeake and New England colonies, although clearly quite different, do boast some similarities. The two colonies were founded in the early 17th century and started off with a demographic that primarily consisted of young white European men. The differences between the colonies are easier to pinpoint. The New England colony, which is located in the North, has long winters and short growing seasons. This is contrary to the Chesapeake colony which is more to the South than the New England colony. The Chesapeake colony was known for its fertile land, long growing season, and large swaths of land that were perfect or farming. These geographical differences directly impacted the economies as these two distinct colonies developed. The New England colonies focused on fishing, shipbuilding, and growing a distinct class of
Although the settlements of Chesapeake Bay and New England came from the same mother country their social structure was very different and as a result, affected the prosperity of the new born colonies. The New England colony’s population was very
The colonies in the New World appeared completely different and the prospect of any unity between them seemed impossible. The colonies in New England and the Chesapeake exemplify the many differences in the culture and lifestyles of the settlers, created mainly because of the fact that their founding fathers had held separate intentions when they came to the New World.
In the early 17th century, England colonized the new world. These colonies became famously known as the Chesapeake and the New England Colonies. They were incredibly valuable to New England as they provided an abundance of wealth through trading and the supplying of raw materials. Both areas had the goal of economic prosperity. Despite both the New England and Chesapeake colonies being settled by the same country, the two sets of colonies had many differences, as well as some similarities in their social patterns and political characteristics.
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, two colonies emerged from England in the New World. The two colonies were called the Chesapeake and New England colonies. Even though the two areas were formed and governed by the English, the colonies had similarities as well as differences. Differences in geography, religion, politics, economic, and nationalities, were responsible for molding the colonies. These differences came from one major factor: the very reason the English settlers came to the New World. The Chesapeake colonies were primarily created by companies interested in profiting from the natural resources of the New World such as gold or silver to bring back to England. The New England colonies were primarily created
In the Chesapeake region almost everything was exactly opposite of New England. The immigrants were not idealists, but materialists, most of whom sought money. As John Smith mentions in his History of Virginia, many
By the 1700s the two regions, New England and Chesapeake varied greatly in spite of being from the same mother country, England. Physical and cultural differences separated these two regions distinctively. While religion moulded the daily life in New England, Money and tobacco farming dominated the Chesapeake.
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.
During colonial times, European nations quickly colonized the New World years after Columbus’ so called discovery. England in particular sent out a number of groups to the east coast of the New World to two regions. These areas were the New England and the Chesapeake regions. Later in the late 1700s, these two regions would go though many conflicts to come together as one nation. Yet, way before that would occur; these two areas developed into two distinct societies. These differences affected the colonies socially, economically, and politically.
During the 17th century, England decided to start colonizing the newfound Americas after watching other European nations do the same. The first few English settlements in the Americas were founded in two general regions now known as the Chesapeake Bay, and New England. Although the colonists from these two regions came from the same place, they soon began to distinguish themselves as the Chesapeake Bay colonies and the New England colonies. There were distinct differences between the two areas which had to do with many factors, including reason for settlement, climate, and the people who came over.