Chesapeake Bay Colonies In The Early 1600's

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In the early 1600’s there was the development of New England and Chesapeake Bay colonies, and even though they were both settled by people mainly of the English origin by 1700 they became very two distinct societies. As the two colonies evolved, they developed contrasting economies, societies and institutions.

The development of New England was mainly to get as far away as possible from the religious persecution that was occurring in Europe. The settlers who settled in New England were mainly Puritans, also known as people who wanted to “purify” the Church of England. In New England the society became a strictly religion based society, where religion became apart of their daily activities. However this wasn’t exactly the case for the Chesapeake …show more content…

They also faced starvation because not enough crops were planted to last through the harsh winters in the Chesapeake area. John Smith also said “those who shall not work, shall not eat”, and people of Chesapeake followed that statement so the men who did not seem like they working also starved. Settlers from Chesapeake had a very low life expectancy and women were very scarce and without them their society would potentially fail, men fought over the women to expand their families. Eventually the settlers grew immune to the diseases, and more women became present and allowed for more families to be formed. The Chesapeake settlers slowly expanded their society and fought off diseases, while, the New Englanders were prospering in the American wilderness. Settlers of the New England area didn’t have to worry about disease because clean water and cooler temperatures decreased the disease-infested bugs, which prevented diseases like malaria that Chesapeake people were faced with. Also unlike the Chesapeake, New Englanders tended to migrate as families, and family was the source of New England life. The birth rate increased due to early marriages and the fact that women had multiple babies. These social factors is what causes Chesapeake and New England to be so

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