US History Summer Essay

The Chesapeake Bay and New England colonies were both mainly settled by people of English decent during the early 1600s. Although each colony was founded by people of the same origin, by the 1700s, both regions had evolved into distinct societies based on hardships that they faced, the type of government they had, and the reason for settling the two regions. Each society was faced with numerous challenges when starting out in each colony including hunger, inability to work, and harsh environmental conditions. Although both regions were settled by the English, each colony had their own unique systems of government. Along with different challenges and governments, the motives for settling the two regions varied from becoming wealthy to having religious independence. The differences applied to each region was what shaped them into two unique societies. The Chesapeake Bay and New England regions each faced their own unique challenges when becoming accustomed to the new colonies. Jamestown, for example, suffered from “Indian attacks, famine, and disease.” They also made the mistake of settling in an unfit area to live, which caused many outbreaks in malaria and dysentery. Many of the men were not accustomed to hard labor and refused to farm and hunt. In the New England regions, the new colonists were not adjusted to harsh winter conditions and in turn, many perished. Each region was faced with different challenges which helped to form the society. Each region differed in the way that they were governed. In the Chesapeake Bay Region, colonies such as Virginia were taken under control by King James I after making unwise financial decisions. Virginia was transitioned to a royal colony and although it had a representative government, many of the rights followed suit of what the laws were in England at the time. After King Charles I subdivided Virginia, even more changes were made to the colony which would cause it to differ from the New England. In Maryland