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Jamestown and Plymouth Essay

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The English had two main colonies in the new world, Jamestown and Plymouth. The first colony was Jamestown, established in Virginia in 1607. Jamestown was settled by Captain John Smith, and was named after King James I. Tobacco was the main export of Jamestown, and became the basis of the Jamestown economy, sending more than 50,000 lbs of the plan back to Europe by 1618 (textbook 46). Jamestown had a very rocky start, many colonists dying in the first few years of the settlement, and the settlers had many problems with natives. Shortly after the arrival of English colonists the Natives attacked them, and were finally forced back by a canon from the English. A very uneasy truce was finally settled between the natives, called the Powhatans, …show more content…

The Salem Witch trials, of Salem Massachusetts are known for their hypocrisy and unfair rulings. The trials were the main conflict in the Plymouth colony, causing a scare between the colonists, making them fear each other. Plymouth was set in stone in their ways, and if there was any one doing something different they were persecuted because they didn’t belong. The citizens concerned themselves more with others than with the individual growth of themselves. The Jamestown Colony was founded for economic wealth, in comparison to the Plymouth colony, which was settled for religious freedom. Jamestown seemed to work as a single entity, expanding their tobacco trade and growing the economy. The self-interested colonists of Jamestown wanted land and money, which they were promised if they worked hard in the tobacco industry. Many people who came from England were indentured servants, promised food and sheltered during their seven years of work and a plot of 50 acres after their service. By working for the better of themselves it strengthened the work ethic of the Jamestown colonists. On the flip side, the Puritans were greedy, but did not wish to work, which we can see in the story “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller. The Puritans killed off their neighbors by accusing them of witchcraft, and once executed their

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