Chesapeake Colonies: Chesapeake Vs. New England

Chesapeake vs. New England
The majority of those who settled New England and the Chesapeake Colonies were from England however, both groups came to the New World for different reasons, settled different areas, and therefore upheld two distinct societies.
New England settled for religious reasons
Back home in England the Puritans, who wanted to purify the Anglican church, and Separatists, who wanted to separate from the Anglican church, were trying to live in a country that was going through a depression, tolerated excessive drinking, gambling, and swearing while the king promised to rid the country of all radical Protestant reformers. The Puritans, in an attempt to keep the non-Puritan people away, wanted to flee to an area that was unknown
and uninviting which turned out to be the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Separatists founded the Plymouth Colony. Those that came to the New England area were religious families that had no desire to get rich, they simply wanted a place to call home while they practiced their religion and according to John Winthrop become a “city on a hill”. Their strict religious beliefs that allowed them to believe in the devil led to the Salem witch hysteria in 1692 where many, perhaps too assertive for their time, women were hung.
Chesapeake settled for economic reasons
The Chesapeake Colonies were founded for financial reasons by the mother country and mostly young men who wanted to get rich. After only 12% of early Jamestown colonists survived the “starving time” of 1610 England relaxed laws and increased incentives for those venturing to the area, which resulted in scores of immigrants flocking to the Chesapeake area. Due to hard times in England some chose to become indentured servants and migrate to the Chesapeake and tend to the tobacco crops in hopes of acquiring their own land once their time is served, this would not be the case for most. Many indentured servants were literally worked to death. In 1676 the capital of Jamestown is burned down by Bacon’s militia. After Bacon’s Rebellion, plantation owners started purchasing African slaves over indentured servants.
Climate
New England had a rocky soil, long harsh winters, and short hot summers that would not allow for large farms but provided clean drinking water. The Chesapeake also had hot summers but the land was perfect for growing tobacco, however it was also perfect for disease and tainted water. The climate had a large impact on the layout of the communities in both regions. In the Chesapeake the tobacco plantations would greatly spread out would be neighbors, where as in New England large farms were not possible so families would group together and form tight-knit communities.
Economy
The economy in both areas is largely affected by their climate. New England’s rocky soil excluded farming for profit so they became an industrial colony; they manufactured cities, built ships, acquire lumber, and fish. In the Chesapeake the economy was in agriculture; the main cash crop was tobacco however rice and indigo also grew well in the fertile land.

Politics With no monarchy to assign or enforce laws, the mostly educated middle class people of New England ended up forming a democracy and would hold town meetings where free white men would vote on things like taxes.
They elected people of the courts, record keepers, clerks, and they wrote common laws that directly coincided with their faith and people were treated equally as long as they lived by God’s will. The Chesapeake area had a legislation ran by rich plantation owners and had strong influences from the mother country. The governor held most of the power and a House of Representatives was elected by the people and left farmers in the outskirts poorly represented. After the Powhatan Uprising of 1622, where over 300 colonists were killed by Indians, the governor and council were elected by the
crown.
Conclusion
The colonists of the New England and Chesapeake areas were from the same mother country and spoke the same language, however their reasons for leaving England couldn’t have been more dissimilar; those who founded New England came for religious reasons and the founders of the Chesapeake came for profit.
New England had tight-knit communities of middle class people who held high moral standards with no need for slaves and they thrived in industrial areas and city building. In contrast the Chesapeake area thrived in agriculture and required extra help found in slaves, large plantations resulted in a more rural community and hierarchical social classes. Both groups overcame their own unique hardships and both also experienced their own unique success. It goes without saying that the fate of both groups would be entirely different had they settled the other’s land.

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[ 1 ]. Davidson, James, Brian DeLay, et al. Experience History: Interpreting America's Past. 1. Boston, Burr Ridge, New York: The McGraw-Hill Company, 2011. 88-89. Print.
[ 3 ]. Davidson, James, Brian DeLay, et al. Experience History: Interpreting America's Past. 1. Boston, Burr Ridge, New York: The McGraw-Hill Company, 2011. 59. Print.
[ 4 ]. Tarter, Brent and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Nathaniel Bacon (1647–1676)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 8 Jul. 2013. Web. 9 Jul. 2013.
[ 5 ]. Davidson, James, Brian DeLay, et
al. Experience History: Interpreting America's Past. 1. Boston, Burr Ridge, New York: The McGraw-Hill Company, 2011. 60-63. Print.
[ 6 ]. Fausz, Frederick. "Powhatan Uprising of 1622." Weider History Group. 12 06 2006: n. page. Print. This article was originally published in the March 1998 issue of American History Magazine, see Fausz http://www.historynet.com/powhatan-uprising-of-1622.htm