At the start of the 17th century, England was ruled almost entirely by gentlemen – those who could live everyday life without an ounce of manual labor. Even Englishmen who were not extremely poor, such as merchants or small land-owners, had little influence on politics. Due to primogeniture laws, younger sons could not inherit any land from their fathers. The New World was their solution, their hope to building their fortune. As these Englishmen, rich or poor, traveled to the colonies across the Atlantic, they brought with them English culture. The colonies in New England, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies all attracted Englishmen and therefore aspects of English culture. However, the New England colonies were the most significant group of colonies of the New World in establishing an outpost of English culture along the Atlantic coast of North America in the 17th century. The middle and southern colonies played their roles as well, and the differences in regional culture are evident today. Everyday Life in Early America is a chronicle of colonial American history written by David Freeman Hawke. In it, he gives several examples of how each individual group of colonies established their communities with culture traced back to England. There are a few major, unavoidable issues that can be used to compare the culture of the three groups of colonies, including education and the court system.
It is crucial to first define what exactly English culture was in the 17th century. In England, the most influential and prominent citizens were the noblemen. These gentlemen consisted of “by custom the clergy, university graduates, lawyers, physicians, military officers, and virtually anyone who ‘can live without manual labor’” (5) as wel...
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...sts of English culture along the Atlantic Coast. After all, the majority of them were set up by citizens of England and mainly inhabited by Englishmen. However, the New England colonies were the most significant in establishing English culture in the New World. Most middle-aged, English gentlemen migrated to New England, bring with them the English culture and a desire to maintain their English way of life. The New England colonies also valued education far greater than the middle or southern colonies did, similar to the great importance the English placed on education. Lastly, the courts of New England, like the courts of England, gave far less harsh punishments to criminal offenders than did the courts of the middle and southern colonies. Undoubtedly, the New England colonies were the most successful in establishing an outpost of English culture in the New World.
Smith, Carter. Daily Life, A Sourcebook on Colonial America: The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut 1991
I believe colonial New England had more of an effect on the American character than Virginia for several reasons. First they promoted more of the values that have transcended into modern day America such as religious toleration, their educational ideas and their focus on the importance of family. And we shouldn’t forget the fact that the American Revolution began in New England so in essence the America we know today would not exist without New England.
In the 17th century, the British colonies still identified themselves as European, but as the colonies expanded and grew more populous, they developed differing geographic, social, and economic systems. This difference between New England, and Chesapeake, is caused by the motivations for settlement between the two regions. While the New England colonies were mainly settled for religious motivations, most notably by the Puritans, the Chesapeake colonies were settled for economic prosperity. Also, while the Chesapeake colonies were mainly settled by individual young men seeking a profit, the New England colonies were settled by families hoping to settle and expand.
During colonial times, European nations quickly colonized the New World years after Columbus’ so called discovery. England in particular sent out a number of groups to the east coast of the New World to two regions. These areas were the New England and the Chesapeake regions. Later in the late 1700s, these two regions would go though many conflicts to come together as one nation. Yet, way before that would occur; these two areas developed into two distinct societies. These differences affected the colonies socially, economically, and politically.
The New England, Middle and Southern colonies were all English ruled, but yet very different. Among their distinctions, was the geography which played an important role in shaping these colonies. New England attracted Puritan farmers who wanted to separate from the Catholic Church. But because of the bone dry soil in the North, these colonists found they couldn't continue with their traditional ways of farming. However, with the immense amounts of water that surrounded them, they found that they could fish and trade. The Middle colonies on the other, hand had a moderate amount of everything. The fertile soil and the major seaports such as Philadelphia and New York, allowed these Middle colonists to make a living any way they saw fit. This led to the brisk development of the Middle Seaboard . Unlike the Middle and Northern colonies, the Southern colonies had large amounts of fertile land allowing for the development of large plantations. Because farming the plantations was the economic thrust for the South, towns and cities developed slowly. Thusly Geography greatly affected the lifestyles of these regions in the New World.
The American colonies new England ,middle and southern colonies were very similar but different.The New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies grew differently over the period on 1619-1760. The three sets of colonies will prove that they were all different. There is hugely different between each other and style to lived. Such as, economics and agriculture.In this essay,
There were many reasons why the colonists came to North America. One reason was because they wanted to escape King Edward so they could fallow freely their own religion and to seek riches. Also the Puritans came to North America because they wanted a lace to practice their religion without fear of the government. Also that the religion they wanted to practice was considered more fundamentalist than what was being practiced from where they came. the English colonies were successful in North America was because the British tried so many times to get more money the colonists got mad and boycotted- refuse to use-the British goods. Then the British government kind of loosened their restraints and gave the American colonists some freedom.
Hunt, Margaret R. The Middling Sort: Commerce, Gender, and Family in England, 1680-1780. London: University of California Press, 1996
concern to men of the seventeenth century. Out of the oppressive setting of the seventeenth century
What major problems did the young republic face after its victory over Great Britain? How did these problems motivate members of the elite to call for a federal constitution?
The English Settlement in the New World was largely the result of the Age of Exploration. The English started emigrated to the New World around the early 1600s; they settles in regions including the New England and the Chesapeake region and by the 18th century these two regions had developed their own society. These two regions had developed different political, economic and social system in their regions. The political differences were due to who governs the colony. The economic differences were due to the motives of the settlement. The social differences were due to the people who settled there, while the New England emigrated as a family, the Chesapeake emigrated with mostly male.
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.
Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 37-9 Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/journals/parergon/v019/19.1.crawford.pdf
Sixteenth Century; the Early Seventeenth Century. 8th ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.
February 2014. http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/361/361-02.htm. Sommerville, J.P. Economy and Society in Early Modern England. The "Social structure" of the. February 2014.