Colonial Differences Between New England And Virginia

New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely of English origin, but by the 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The difference in development occurred because of different religion beliefs, situations the colony was under, and different political views. Starting a colony wasn’t trouble-free. The settlers struggled with: starvation, lack of clean water, disease, and and indigenous people. Some settlers even disappeared almost completely, with the reasoning being unknown.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the monarchy began to expand their power and influence, eventually becoming absolute rulers. Having support from the merchant class, the monarchy attempted to unify and stabilize the nation states. In the late seventeenth, early eighteenth centuries, with hopes of expanding English trade and acquiring a broader market for English manufactured goods, the nation states were wealthy enough to fund voyages of discovery and exploration. Over time, ten colonies were established along the Atlantic coast of North America. The first permanent English settlement was established in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 and in 1620 a ship landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, marking it as the second permanent English settlement.

Amid the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations quickly inhabited the new lands called the Americas. England sent out multiple groups to two regions in the eastern coast of North America. Those areas were called the Chesapeake and the New England locations. Later, in the end of the1700 's, these two locations would combine to create one nation. However originally both areas had very different and distinctive identities.

The New England colonies were first founded in the last 16th to 17th century as a sanctuary for differing religious groups. New England was made up of the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New Hampshire, however, was formed for economic reasons instead of religious ones. The Chesapeake region, which is made up of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia, was founded by the British colonies for the purpose of farming. However, by the 1700’s, despite both being settled by Englishmen, New England and the Chesapeake region had developed differently.

The southern colony and New England Colony had many differences. The New England colony was based more in manufacturing while the southern colony was about agriculture as far as their economy. One big difference is that New England colony didn’t believe in slavery like the southern colonies believed. Slaves and indentured servants were the backbone of the Southern economy. They did much of the labor work for the southern colonies cash crops.

Starting in the early 1600’s settlers from England came to “The New World.” England and Spain were competing to claim this new undiscovered land. The English were the first to claim the land by sending the first group of settlers, the Chesapeake settlers. They settled in present day Virginia and Maryland. The Chesapeake settlers came for commercial and profit.

Those in Massachusetts were puritans and looking for a place where they would be free from religious persecution. Wealthy people who could afford the boat journey and did not have to become indentured slaves went for a more settled life. In 1616 John Rolfe imported tobacco seeds to Virginia, as the plants needed long and hot humid seasons. The first people who were granted the right of possessing land authorized the people to cultivate worn out land and grow better crops, as tobacco depletes minerals and nutrients from the ground.

The British colonies in the Chesapeake region and those of the New England region were both similar yet different in certain ways. One because both the colonist that settled there were looking for new opportunities. However, it was mostly second son aristocrats, which means the first born usually inherits the better half of the father’s riches. Their lives in England had either been mistreated or they were unable to flourish economically. Regardless of whether they were searching the land for expansive homesteads, religious freedom, or exchanging and merchant opportunities, the colonist in both regions were searching for another land in the New World.

The three main colonies that we hear about are Virginia, Plymouth, and Massachusetts. These three colonies basically define all the others, as each group and its main founder either went for a personal financial gain or to escape religious persecution. Virginia was originally settled by Captain John Smith and grew into a successful trade colony through tobacco. Plymouth was originally founded by the Separatists and was lead by William Bradford. Eventually the dwindling Plymouth joined with Massachusetts which was originally Puritan based.

Both the Chesapeake colonies and the New England colonies were vital to Britain’s atlantic trade. They both had large populations and booming economies. However, they both eventually established their own cultures that were different from each other. The colonies’ differing beliefs, environments, and labor lead to the contrasting cultures. The New England Colonies were a Puritanical society, who preached against excess.

The early Virginia and New England colonies differed politically, socially, and economically due to the situations that the settlers faced. Throughout many of the letters written about some of the experiences of the earlier settlers, one can easily see a major difference in the way of life of the two colonies. Although many of these colonies differed in the way of life, each colony faced some similar things that they each had to overcome. These challenges made a massive difference in the way that each of the colonies started out and directly influenced the future for both colonies. When these challenges are faced, many of the settlers will create the foundations of their political, social, and economic systems.

New England and the Middle Colonies are 2 Colonies that are total opposites from each other, but do have some similarities. New England had no religious freedom because if you were not puritan then you could not live there. On the other hand, the Middle Colonies did have religious freedom, you could be a Quaker, Lutheran, Jewish, Catholic or French and a lot more as well. New England and the Middle Colonies share some similarities based on religion and other things as well. Some similarities were that the church was an important part of both New England and Middle Colonies towns.

There are similarities and differences in the Virginia and Maryland colonies .They both used agriculture, had slave societies, and had representation governments. But they certain crops they planted , how their social structures were and the assemblies in government were different. Agriculture was the main source of money for Virginia and Maryland. Plantations in both colonies had good soil for planting.

The New England and Chesapeake colonies were established during the early 1700s. Despite the population originating from England, the regions had distinct societies. This was due to the fact that many settlers voyaged to the New World in search of riches, to seek new lives, or for religious freedom. They differed socially, politically, economically, and geographically.

There were considerable differences between the North, Middle and Southern regions. The New England climate has four seasons. The climate of the Northern colonies was mild with short summers. Northern colonies have long, cold and snowy winters, however, less disease than the Southern colonies and Middle colonies. In contrast with the New England, the Southern colonies have the very warm climate.