Two Distinct Societies: New England and Chesapeake Region
Two Distinct Societies
The settlers of New England and the Chesapeake region may have derived from the same provenance, but that is where the similarities end. By the 1700’s, the settlers began to differ socially, economically, and politically. As people began to migrate over to the New World, they started to acclimate to their surrounding regions; the settlers adapted to the strengths of their geography, and the regions differed tremendously as a result. Socially, New England and the Chesapeake region were completely incomparable. New England had a rigid social structure and religion was the driving force behind the settlement. The colony was well organized and stable, which can be shown by the ship to New England’s passenger list, which listed the name, occupation, relationship to the head of the family, and their age (doc b). The people that migrated to New England were wealthy and important and the organization of this list reflected this. The colonists of New England considered their settlement to be a “city upon a hill” (doc a). The majority of the population was black slaves, since plantation owners relied on their cheap labor and many people died from diseases like malaria and dysentery. Unlike the New England colony the Chesapeake region lacked women; most of the people that migrated to Virginia were men. Because there were no families the men lacked motivation to work. All of these men likely migrated to the Americas because they were all considered unimportant by England because there isn’t any particular order and only consist of their name and age (doc c). The Chesapeake region was founded based on the settler’s unquenchable thirst for economic power. The driving force behind the Jamestown settlement was gold. Eventually, the settlers almost starved to death because they were so focused on gold and glory that they did not set up adequate residencies and establish a food network. John Smith stated, “he who shall not work shall not eat,” and even
The settlers of New England and the Chesapeake region may have derived from the same provenance, but that is where the similarities end. By the 1700’s, the settlers began to differ socially, economically, and politically. As people began to migrate over to the New World, they started to acclimate to their surrounding regions; the settlers adapted to the strengths of their geography, and the regions differed tremendously as a result. Socially, New England and the Chesapeake region were completely incomparable. New England had a rigid social structure and religion was the driving force behind the settlement. The colony was well organized and stable, which can be shown by the ship to New England’s passenger list, which listed the name, occupation, relationship to the head of the family, and their age (doc b). The people that migrated to New England were wealthy and important and the organization of this list reflected this. The colonists of New England considered their settlement to be a “city upon a hill” (doc a). The majority of the population was black slaves, since plantation owners relied on their cheap labor and many people died from diseases like malaria and dysentery. Unlike the New England colony the Chesapeake region lacked women; most of the people that migrated to Virginia were men. Because there were no families the men lacked motivation to work. All of these men likely migrated to the Americas because they were all considered unimportant by England because there isn’t any particular order and only consist of their name and age (doc c). The Chesapeake region was founded based on the settler’s unquenchable thirst for economic power. The driving force behind the Jamestown settlement was gold. Eventually, the settlers almost starved to death because they were so focused on gold and glory that they did not set up adequate residencies and establish a food network. John Smith stated, “he who shall not work shall not eat,” and even