New England Colonies Similarities And Differences

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.

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.

Each region developed distinctly because of the difference in climate and terrain. In New England, there was mostly rocky terrain and cold temperatures. During the frost, the mosquitoes, carriers of fatal diseases like malaria, disappeared. Thus, the number of deaths caused by illnesses was less compared to those in the Chesapeake region. However, due to its infertile land, the colony struggled to find a sustainable cash crop. Because settlers came by ship, New England colonies were primarily on the coast, resulting in their economy being dependent on the ocean and resorting to sending “fish, foodstuffs, timber, and horses” to foreign ports. (Narrative p. 23)

The three colonies all wanted to make money but they had to go about it in different ways. This was mainly due to what they had available. The New England Colonies were mainly agricultural farmers. With all the water reservoirs like Cape Cod there were plenty of fish so lots of people became fishermen. There were a lot of lumberjacks to cut down trees and export them to England. The Middle Colonies were extremely different because they set up extensive cosmopolitan cities reminiscent of New York. They had many specialists like doctors, lawyers, accountants, and teachers. They traded a lot with in North America and occasionally overseas. The Southern Colonies primarily depended on cotton and tobacco plantations. As the plantations grew they had to employ black slaves. The plantations were fully self contained with their own blacksmith, teachers and professionals. So there were no big cities or towns. The main plantations traded directly with Europe via the Mississippi. The three colonies all made money differently with their diverse professions and traders.

In the New World, various resources, climates, and considerable amounts of land allowed numerous opportunities for settlers. Those who once yearned to climb the social ladder or gain the freedoms bestowed from land ownership flocked toward the newfound settlements. Colonization proved to be a grueling task; however, success was found after adapting to the new environment and facing many hardships. Two colonies established early in the seventeenth century included Virginia and New England. Both Virginia and New England were forerunning settlements that differed in the following senses: political, social, and economical.

Both the New England colonies and the Southern colonies seemed as though they might be the same. They both started out with the majority of people being from England, they were both in the New World, and they were both ruled by England but, as time went on this theory was proven wrong. The New England colonies and the Southern colonies had many common characteristics but these two regions were very different geographically, politically, and socially.

By the 1700’s, The northern and souther colonies had evolved into two distinct societies. This is so because the northern and southern colonies had different environments and also different reasons of settlement. The North was established for mainly religious freedom, while on the other hand, the south had been established for economic freedom. The climate also affected the different turnout of the north and the south. The north was much colder and so their soil was not beneficial for farming, so the people of the north found other jobs, while on the other side, the south had rich soil and the colonists there used that idea to set up huge plantations and farms.

The colonies of the south and the New England had one similarity; there relationship with the natives. Both of the colonies had very bad relations with the natives. The south needed the native land for tobacco plantations, which caused a lot of conflict between the two groups. The conflict escalated to the point where the southerners gave the natives blankets infected with the smallpox virus. This virus killed off almost the whole native because they weren’t very well suited to fight the disease.

We are going to start discussing the economic aspect of both colonies, it is important to note that the economic activities and trade of each colony depended on the environment in which the settlers lived. Geography and climate were important factors that impacted the economic and commercial activities between New England colonies and Southern colonies because these depended on the environment.

Economic differences also led to New England and Chesapeake developing into two distinct societies. Colonist of different colonies used different sources of labor to get work done.

Historians divide Colonial America into three distinct regions. These regions were New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. In this essay I will compare and contrast these three different areas and discuss why each region developed in a unique way.

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.

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

These similarities and differences can be evidenced when comparing the climate, use of slaves, and religion of the New England and Southern Colonies.

The economy of the Chesapeake and New England were both directly affected by their geographical locations and surroundings. The Chesapeake colonies were very rich and fertile in soil, which allowed them to develop an agricultural-based economy; whereas, the New England colonies were