New England And The Chesapeake Region Before 1700 Essay

The New England and Chesapeake colonists settled in the new world for different reasons like religious freedoms in the North and quick profits in the South.

The differences in the two regions are not only seen in their religion, but can also be found in their economies. The economy of New England was far more inferior to that of the Chesapeake economy. This was because the New England society was family-oriented and primarily owned only small family farms just large enough to feed their families. Their economy was mainly based on small farming and fishing. This shows that New England was not focusing on economic growth and expansion. The Chesapeake Bay, on the other hand, had a vast economy. The population of Chesapeake Bay outnumbered New England's population nearly three to one. Their economy was mainly based on the tobacco and slave trading industries. These businesses contributed greatly to the Chesapeake Bay's economic and colonial expansion. This explains why people who came to the New World looking to make money chose to go to Chesapeake Bay rather than the New England area.

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.

Colonists came primarily to the Chesapeake region to increase their wealth. The vast variety of immigrants to the Chesapeake region was young men seeking economic opportunity (Doc C). The differences in the New England and Chesapeake’s primary motivations for settlement led to the divergent societies.

Contrary to the pilgrims of New England, those who settled in the Chesapeake area colonized the region for more economic purposes. Many people who settled in the Chesapeake were down-on-their-luck English citizens living in swamps and slums hoping to stake it out in the New World, because it couldn’t be much worse than the conditions they faced back in England. Most received their tickets to America through indentured servitude, paying for their trip with a few years of free labor for a wealthy master. Document C is a roster of indentured servants bound for Virginia who are all set to work for the same master. Indentured servitude had long lasting effects on the colonies, the most impactful being Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 (Document H). This uprising was caused former indentured servants who had no land or property of their own once their work contracts expired. Because the land westward was populated by Natives and therefore almost impossible to acquire, the dissenters focused against the rich and powerful members of the colonies. The successful uprising led to reforms such as work regulations explained in Document E, as well a shift away from indentured servitude and towards slavery of blacks. Other settlers besides indentured servants were aspiring traders and gold-hunters mentioned in Document F. While traders had little success early on and treasure hunters definitely didn’t find their fields 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

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 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

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?

Both the Chesapeake colonies and the New England colonies had different social structure and development. Because the colony was founded for gold the Chesapeake colony was primarily men that could work. (Doc C.)The colonists of the Chesapeake even had to sign oaths of allegiances to the Church of England. (Doc C.) The colony was under the rule of England and was to help support England finically. When they arrived they even sign their own contracts such as the Articles of Agreement, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1636. (Doc D.) This caused England to have a foothold in their colonies, and then under them were Clergy, free white men, the few women, servants, and slaves. The Chesapeake colonies had servants and slaves, servants could work their way of servant hood, for example they might work seven years and then become free. The Chesapeake colony also had slaves because its economy was based on cash crop plantations, most of these slaves came from Africa and was the beginning of the Slave Trade. These types of people were primarily dominant in this colony because it was founded as a working colony and had no need for families, just men that could work. This was very

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.

Document F states, "The worst [among us were the gold seekers who] with their golden promises made all men their slaves in hope of recompenses." This quote displays the major motive of emigrants to the Chesapeake region as gold seekers, or monetary prosperity. Documents G and H show that there were many indentured servants in the Chesapeake area. These indentured servants were often used for the tobacco farms. Since the soil was infertile in New England, the colonists there often focused on trade, small scale manufacturing, fishing, and other sea industries. The economy of each region impacted its social structure, which many indentured servants and slaves in the Chesapeake region while there was much more equality in New England.

The Chesapeake and New England colonies had many differences when it came to development; however, similarities can still be found. Some of the main similarities between the colonies were the time period in which they developed and their early demographics. Both colonies were founded in the early 1600s and started off with a demographic of mostly young white European males. In contrast, many differences between the New England and Chesapeake colonies can be found in their distinct geographies, economies, religions, and governments. In terms of

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.

When the English sailed over to the New World, there were only a handful of them, that is, until slavery was introduced. While New England was almost all white English settlers Chesapeake was made up of mostly African American slaves. In New England, the need for slaves was not very high because of the