Jamestown & Plymouth

The colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth were among the first to develop in the New World. The original settlers of Jamestown sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and up a river, which they named the James. The settlers of Plymouth were originally bound for the Hudson area in New York, but due to the upcoming winter were forced to stay in an area around Cape Cod. These two settlements developed into successful societies through many years and many problems, although developed in very different ways. They were different from each other in terms of objectives, types of settlers, early problems, and the reasons for success. The objectives and types of settlers for the new settlements of Jamestown and Plymouth were very different. The settlers of Jamestown were very greedy and were only in it for themselves. No women went to Jamestown because the London Company had no interest in creating a family-centered community. They were only interested in establishing a profitable colony. The initial colonists were very adventurous and were not willing to do the labor, and therefore ran into some major problems. Plymouth was established for very different reasons. Puritan Separatists in England had been imprisoned and executed for defying the government and the Church of England. These Separatists were interested in settling in a place where they had the freedom to worship as they wished. The Separatists that moved across the Atlantic were looking to spread “the gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world.” They left England with thirty-five “saints” (Puritan Separatists) and sixty-seven “strangers” (people who were not full members of the leaders’ church). Although both Jamestown and Plymouth became successful colonies, the people who originally settled there were very different as were their objectives for the settlement. The early colonies faced many problems as they attempted to develop thriving civilizations. Jamestown came across many