Chesapeake Vs New England Colonies Essay

During the 1700s, English immigrants and explorers began settling in the Americas. They began developing the Chesapeake region, Middle Colonies, and the New England Colonies Out of these three, the New England and the Chesapeake Region were the largest. The Chesapeake Colony, which included Jamestown, Virginia, and New England Colonies, which included the Massachusetts Bay, were mostly settled for religious freedom, economic opportunities, and adventures. People began leaving their land because of poor economy/unemployment and the growing number of “landless” people in England. Both these colonies developed from Puritans. Although both colonies developed from the same people and reasons, they were developed very differently.
The New England
Colonies seemed like a better life style than that of the Chesapeake Region. They were better prepared and connected under governmental control and religiously. They transported full families, which made the population grow quicker. They came over with skilled individuals, like ministers, servants, tailors, and clothiers. In John Winthrop’s document, he states, “We must delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body” (Document A). Their community treated everyone equally and didn’t have much of a social ladder. “The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world” (Document A). As stated by Winthrop, their community was also very religiously centered and had a covenant with God. Some of their agreements and articles included making a church and abiding by God’s laws, having less apparent social distinctions, having equal share of land, and sharing all foods and fields with everyone because they were all equal. They also had the General Court, which set prices for trade, so everyone would receive an equal amount of profit. The English Colonies basically were run by religious laws and equality.
The Chesapeake region, on the other hand, was not religiously unified or governmentally controlled.
They had an economy based upon the search for gold. The men spent the entire day searching for gold, rather then worrying about how to get food and taking care of others and themselves. They eventually starved to death and became shelter-less. They also constantly fought with one another. There were no occupations or families brought over. In order to save the colony, Captain John Smith took charge. He told all men that if they did not work to build houses and farm, they would not get food. The men began to build houses and farms, but they still continued to look for gold. They were less prepared when they came to America because the immigrants were all young, unskilled men. The men outnumbered women, so that meant natural reproduction of population grew slower than that in the English Colonies. Men that came were all between the ages of 14 and late 20s. There were some older men, but the young men continued to outnumber them which made it harder to take control. Besides from being unprepared, the Chesapeake region suffered many attacks by Native Americans. They also struggled for support from England and did not have enough men with experience to defend against Dutch and Native Americans. Their borders and waters were undefended and open for all attacks. Another huge problem was they had no town meetings and no peace. They had indentured servants, which eventually revolted
against the farmers. The Chesapeake Region began to develop based upon rapid growing problems.
Other than forming and affecting the development of America today, the colonies also affected England just as England affected the colonies. Because England wanted to keep the colonies close under her arm, she passed the Navigation Acts, which stated that all goods must be carried on English ships with English sailors. Anything imported must also first stop at English ports and pay duty. Later on, they included a set of rules that enumerated goods. That list of goods can only go to England and not any other country. Because England was being so overly controlled, the colonies eventually wanted freedom. But before the colonies wanted freedom, the colonies were all separated and didn’t want to be combined as one. All colonies were charter colonies, and later on, became state colonies. The big event that happened during both colonies was the Great Awakening, which was a religious revival. The results lead to ministers losing their leadership. There was a decrease of religious participation and split in Protestant religion. There were also two churches in the colonies, the Anglican Church and the Congregational Church. The Chesapeake region was ruled by the Anglican Church, while New England was ruled by the Congregational church. The colonies also lacked appreciation for art, so all artists traveled to England. Although the colonies developed differently, they both equally affected England and many other countries.