The Development of New England and the Chesapeake Region

During the late sixteenth century English settlers began moving to the New World in search of a new, prosperous life. There were two main areas in America that the English settled in, New England and the Chesapeake region. These settlers voyaged to America for either religious freedom or to start a new life. Religion seekers came to the New World to escape the oppression of the Catholic Church. Others came in search of a job, or because of their low social class. The New England and the Chesapeake regions became two distinct regions because of these social, economic, and religious tragedies. Many of the settlers who traveled to the New World were in search of a new life and suffered much social discrimination. There were thousands of people all looking for valuables to take back to England to escape the downcast life they led in society there. In Bacon’s “Manifesto” sent to Virginia Governor Berkley in 1676, Nathaniel Bacon is quoted as saying, “All people in all places where we have yet been can attest our civil, quiet, peaceable behavior…”(Document H). Most of these pioneers in the New World, that were attempting to escape the calamities of society, lived in the Chesapeake region. As shown in Document A, the list of emigrants traveling to Virginia who were mostly young and single men went to the Chesapeake region. This reflects the strong belief in primogeniture in England during that time. Most of these men were younger sons of wealthy families who gave their land to the oldest son. Travel to the New World was a necessity in order for them to flee from this poverty and obtain an improved social stance. Unlike the Chesapeake region, the New England Bay colony had some people of higher social standing, but traveled there for other reasons. Your social class in England highly dictated which colony you would go to in order to live in the New World. The economic reasons for traversing to the New World greatly linked with the social reasons. Between the years