Preview

Jamestown Vs Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
686 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jamestown Vs Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement. Its founding expedition was launched by the Virginia Company of London, purely for profit. The 144 men who set sail for America in 1607 were entrepreneurs, meaning that their main reasons for settling in Virginia were for economic gain. The expedition was chartered by James I of England, making the future site of Jamestown a royal colony, and therefore supported by England. The men who traveled to Virginia were not known for their work ethic; they would rather have other people do the hard work for them. The majority of their work upon reaching Jamestown consisted of searching for gold, lumber, tar, pitch, and iron. These items were wanted for export by England. Because the settlers spent …show more content…
A large number of Puritan merchants obtained a grant of land for Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and acquired a charter form the king to create the Massachusetts Bay Company. This meant that Massachusetts and New Hampshire were part of a Charter Colony—supported by a Company instead of the crown. A large migration of 17 ships and 1,000 people set sail for New England for one reason: to build a Puritan refuge. Their main goal was religious freedom instead of economic gain; the Puritans only wanted freedom from the crown. They elected John Winthrop as governor, and soon established several towns within New England. The Puritans were hard working people. They believed that their work ethic led to material success, which was evidence of God’s favor. Because of this, the Puritan settlers were quick to establish farms and set up communities based on family and hard work. They had a rough beginning, as well, but nowhere near as bad as Jamestown. Their belief in building a “city upon a hill” inspired the community to stay close to God and family. This dominance of families caused a feeling of commitment to the community and a sense of order among settlers. However, Massachusetts Bay was a theocracy- meaning there was no separation between church and state. The Puritans had no more religious freedom than they had in England. This just encouraged them to work even harder for the betterment of the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In 1606, settlers of the Virginia Company of England embarked on an expedition to the New World, their goal being to found a settlement in the Virginia Colony. After a lengthy journey, the settlers came upon the mouth of the Chesapeake River, making landfall at Cape Henry. Their site would come to be known as Jamestown, widely regarded as the first permanent English settlement in America. However, the momentous task of establishing a society in a new and foreign land did not go without its fair share of tribulations. These settlers faced uncompromising challenges on the road to establishing stability and success, but their efforts produced both economic and social improvements that would eventually culminate to form one of England's most valued North American colonies.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Quebec

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages

    They settled in Plymouth and wrote the Mayflower Compact as a set of laws to govern themselves. However, Plymouth never became very successful. The Puritans, who founded Massachusetts, were reformers of the Anglican Church as well, but not complete separatists. Under John Winthrop, they wanted their community to set an example for the Church. Connecticut was also founded after settlers defeated the Pequot tribe in a bloody war and created a government known as the Fundamental Orders. Roger Williams founded Rhode Island as a colony of religious tolerance, which filled up with refugees. As for everyday life, New England settlers lived in towns, rather than on tobacco…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How could two totally different groups with different intentions, and way of living have anything in common? Jamestown and Plymouth were both different groups of people coming from England to America for very distinct motives. There were many differences between the two, but they also had some resemblances with their venture and establishment in the territory. The two groups, both experienced the same consequences when they landed in America.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What religious turmoil in the Old World resulted in the little colony of Plymouth in the New World?…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first permanent settlement founded by the Virginia Company at Jamestown was purely an economical venture. The settlers had made their great venture in hopes of finding riches such as gold, silver, and natural good to use for the good of England. Plymouth colony was settled by separatists from the Church of England who wanted to avoid religious persecution Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled by the Puritans for the same reasons. The aim was to start a new beginning in their colony away from England and her…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The voyage to the new land was quite a challenge with harsh conditions they faced over a period of 5 or more months. Dangerous, long, and never ending is what many would describe it if we were in their place. Two groups of different people embarked on the same voyage to the new land which were Jamestown and the Plymouth Plantation. What distinguished each other was what kind of person they hold as a leader, how they worked together as a group, and their purpose of traveling there.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mr. Quincy Hunter

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Massachusetts’s sole purpose was for the Puritans to escape from religious persecution. Puritans searched far and wide for a place to settle until they found Plymouth Rock. They started their colony on a much larger scale than any other colony with one thousand people. Massachusetts was the first permanent settlement for Puritans, but it was the West Indies that attracted more Puritans due to the great climate and fertile soil. John Winthrop was Massachusetts’s first governor and he too was also part of the Great Migration. The Puritans of the Bay colony thought that they were to be the model that God sought for all mankind. Winthrop thought that democracy was the cruelest form of government because he said, “If the people be governors, who shall be governed.” Although Puritans were viewed as extremely harsh and intolerable, they enjoyed the simple pleasures such as eating plenty, drinking often, and making love frequently.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The English made a few attempts to settle in the New World before they succeeded at Jamestown. The English colonists made a lot of mistakes, they repeated and repaired a few of them. The first mistake that was made was that instead of planting crops and building shelters, the colonists started digging for gold and silver. This mistake was almost repeated twice but was saved from reoccurring when John Smith ordered the colonists to grow crops and build houses instead of looking for gold. The second mistake was not coming prepared- John White (Virginia Dare’s grandfather) had to make a few trips back to London for supplies that were not packed in advance. Jamestown was more successful than any of the other colonies because 1) they made…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jamestown vs. New England

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Jamestown colony was located near present day James City County, Virginia. Jamestown was the first permanent settlement by the English in what is in current day known as the United States. The location of Jamestown was selected primarily for the fact that it provided a favorable defensive location against any other foreign powers that may have tried to gain control of the colony. John Smith, Robert Hunt along with others provided inspirational leadership for the colonists but even so starvation became a very apparent problem. The hostile relations with the local Native American people and a lack of any profitable exports only made matters worse. Despite this and a horrible winter bearing down on them, the colonists persevered. At the end of the first winter only 60 of the original 214 English colonists survived. (jamestown virginia) The settlers who came over on the initial three ships were not well-equipped for the life they found in Jamestown. In addition to the “Gentry” who was not accustomed to manual or skilled labor, they consisted mainly of English farmers who were not prepared physically or emotionally for the problems that would face them. (old and sold antique digest) Yet despite this they persevered and worked as a team to establish a colony. However, when two ships, crudely constructed in Bermuda, arrived at the settlement with no supplies, when the colonists desperately needed supplies the most, the settlers packed up and abandoned…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1607, The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery landed in what would be known as Jamestown, named after King James I. There lived English landowners, skilled laborers, and people seeking profit. The founders of this colony was the Virginia Company and Sir Walter Raleigh. The settlement was created because the people hoped to find riches in the land (Gold), spread Christianity, and to control land for England. After a few years Africans were brought from Africa to work in the colony.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Puritans had different beliefs from the Pilgrims in which they jilted separatism postulating the Anglican Church could be saved. They wanted to build churches to function as models for the English Church. John Winthrop on the eve of the puritans’ settlement of Massachusetts Bay wanted to have a structure of government and social order already established. John Winthrop stated that the only way order and success of a colony is rooted in a belief in God, communal covenant and the mindset the life of hard work is God’s plan.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Each colony had differing original goals for settlement. In 1607 Virginia, 104 men reached the land they called Jamestown, a trip funded by the London Company. Their reason for colonization was that of mainly economic. They desired to use the land of the New World for the profit of the Old. In 1620, the Pilgrims of Plymouth…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jamestown Colony Essay

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The purpose of the Jamestown Colony, located in Virginia, was actually intended for gold mining. The Virginia Company of London, organized in 1606, sponsored the Virginia Colony. The Jamestown fort was made up of men only…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    "I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth." -John Adams. Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the New World.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritans

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Puritans started to arrive in the New England area during the 1600's. They specifically settles in the areas around Boston. Unlike other people coming to settle in New England, the Puritans came to create a more pure and Christian based society; they did not come for economic purposes. The Puritans wanted a theocratic society, or a government run by religious beliefs. By creating their Christian based society in this way, their ideas and values of the political, economic, and social developments influenced the New England colonies from 1630 to 1660.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays