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. The Northern and Southern colonies both had a gentry class that ruled them, this consisted of white Anglo-Saxon men. The colonies also had to deal with the Native Americans that had inhabited the land long before they arrived. In the southern colonies, the upper class citizens that ruled the oligarchy were dubbed the First Families of Virginia. These were descendants of the first settlers that founded Jamestown in 1607. Because of the primogeniture laws that had begun in England, many second and third sons came to the New World to become a predominant part of society there. Many notable people in these times were descendants of these families including many early presidents and governors. There was also an upper class in New England that ruled there, this class
Thanks to men like Christopher Columbus the world became an explorer's oyster. The findings of new created much curiosity in Europe to explore and conquer new lands in order to expand their empire. In the early 1600’s a surge of motivation to explore and settle new colonies came over England. The Result of this was the New England and Chesapeake colonies, who were both settled by immigrants from England. Many people decided they needed to escape England due to religious persecution and poverty. Hundreds of families, men, women, and their children, came in search of a New World where they could have a new start. Despite the striking similarities between the two colonies they grew
During the 17th century, many different economic, geographic, and social factors shaped the Chesapeake region and New England. After 1700, 7 Years War, and the Great Awakening, the colonies became more similar. However, during the 17th century, the colonies had many differences in their purposes, economy, governments, and ways of life. The difference in development between New England and the Chesapeake region occurred because they were founded for different purposes, they had very different political organizations, and their state of unification was very different.
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
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
The first difference between the New England colonies and the Chesapeake colonies was political. The New England colonies had a more democratic government system; while it was not completely democratic or representative it had a basis of democratic principals. Alternatively, the Chesapeake colonies were largely run by aristocratic leaders rather than the people working together for the common good. Document A explains how the New England colonies had more of a democracy by stating “we must be willing to abridge ourselves… for the supply of others necessities,” it also states “we are to be looked at as a city upon a hill.” This is relevant to why New England colonies were more democratic because this comes from John Winthrop who was on his way to America to the New England colonies. This more democratic mindset politically from the New England colonies stems back to the Mayflower Compact that was written when the pilgrims were on their way to America, explaining the first difference in these two colonial regions because there were no democratic government documents created for when people were going to the Chesapeake colonies. The Mayflower Compact stated,
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
When we think of our country now, we think about how it is separated into states, but back then the states were part of colonies. Some of the main colonies were the Chesapeake colonies which consisted of Virginia and Maryland, the middle colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, and lastly, the New England colonies which were Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In the colonial regions of New England, Chesapeake and the middle colonies they all share similarities and differences, most predominantly shown in family life, rank and status.
During the Ages of Exploration, various European nations, such as Spain, French and England, created colonies in the newly discovered America. England, in particular, created settlements near the East coast of North America. The reason behind the rapid expansion and colonization was the idea of mercantilism. Mercantilism is when the mother country, England, exports more than it imports. The colonies were responsible for bringing the raw materials to the mother country, where it was turned into finished goods and then be exported. Mercantilism was believed to be a zero-sum game, which meant that if one country had something, other countries could not take it. Since Spain already had various settlements in the New World, England wanted to compete with them and gain land to become more economically advanced. Two particular regions of settlement for the English colonies were the Chesapeake region and New England. The Chesapeake region include present-day Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The New England region included Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Although they were both English colonies, they had developed distinct societies. People left England to go to the New World for different reasons. Whether it was for religious or for political reasons, it had caused the two regions of settlement to differ from each other in the colonies’ social, political, religious, and economic aspects.
The seventeenth century brought plenty of changes to North America. One of the most significant ones was the formation of the thirteen colonies along the North American east coast. These colonies are generally divided into New England, Middle and South or the Chesapeake regions. Most of these colonies were settled by the British, yet they developed differently as the years went by. Some developed into more egalitarian colonies and some not. The greatest differences could be seen in the New England and Chesapeake regions. Even though the New England and Chesapeake regions were settled originally by The British, they had their own differences which were influenced by many of factors, including the reasons they were founded, their social
By the 1700’s the Chesapeake and New England regions had developed vast differences. Although both regions were settled by a group of people from the same location and a common culture, the two had developed into areas with little similarities. Differences between the groups can be seen when looking at the cultures of both areas. The New England and Chesapeake regions developed differently by the 1700’s because of political, religious, and economic reasons.
New England and the Chesapeake Colonies The New England and Chesapeake colonies were neighboring colonies in the North. Each of them have their own unique history and ways they cultivated and thrived through the many trials that they each faced and endured. In those days, technology was very low and the amount of resources in the New World was very limited, and would take onths for them to be shipped from England to America. With the many added taxes that England pressured the colonies with, it was even harder for the colonies to be successful.
After both colonies became substantial, the English voyaged to “New Netherland” and overthrew the two settlements. The Middle Colonies primarily had a commercial-based economy, for the craftsmen, merchants, and small-scale farmers sustained it. They also had a significant amount of industry in the Middle Colonies, but they still did not rival New England. The fertile soil, lavish forests, and navigable rivers allowed the Middle Colonies to thrive economically. Unlike how the South depended on slavery, indentured servants and family members were the main source of labor in the Middle Colonies. The Middle Colonies had an exceptional amount of diversity, much more than any other region of colonies. This region of colonies also seemed more “socially tolerant” to its colonists. Following its trend of being ethnocultural, the Middle Colonies also had a diversified religious affiliation. Unlike the other regions of the thirteen colonies, the Middle Colonies had an extraordinary relation with Native Americans. The Indians were treated fairly by settlers, which added to the array of people in the Middle Colonies. The mixture of hardworking colonists, an excellent environment, and harmony with natives, made for a prospering region of colonies. Despite the region’s various advantages, it had its share of political downfalls that all colonies regularly faced. The Middle Colonies were governed by the small business and land owners through colonial
In the Chesapeake colonies, plantations were created and lived on by entire families. Each family member had a certain amount of acreage and the families worked together. In the New England colonies, there was a town structure. A father would divide his land up amongst all of his sons and sons were often not allowed to move into their own home on the property until his late twenties. Both the New England and Chesapeake colonies accepted racial inequality. The white man was considered superior over the African
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.