New England and Chesapeake Regions: Two Distinct Societies at the Beginning of the English Colonies in America

In 1606, King James I created the Virginia Company to attempt to free England from dependence. Both the London and Plymouth group parallels were colonized and developed as English colonies. Despite the fact that the English settlers of the New England and Chesapeake regions had similar colonial development, by the eighteenth century they had become into two, individual societies. The gentries who settled the London group parallels and the Puritans who settled the Plymouth group parallels began to grow differently from the start, as their economical, leadership and social viewpoints arose.

The severely different environments in the New England and Chesapeake area allowed for different economies to progress. The original reason for settlement of the gentry who claimed Jamestown in 1607 was due to expectations; settlers expected to find gold, riches and Native Americans who were willing to serve them and wait on them. The swampland they had settled on made it difficult to grow crops, but in 1616, tobacco had become the staple of exports in the Chesapeake region. To fuel this expanding economy, indentured servants were introduced to private plantations and in 1619, slaves began to be shipped from Africa. Rather than settle for wealth-related purposes, the Separatist Puritans wanted to separate from the Church of England, while maintaining their English culture; this led them to occupy Plymouth in 1620. The land was fertile and allowed for crop growth, which grew large economic activity in corn and cattle trade. Although land was an important factor in success, their will and desire to do hard work was the key factor and distinguished them from the gentry that settled the Chesapeake region. In 1628, the Mass Bay Company, who too were...

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... precedence established very different societies by the end of the eighteenth century.

Through their economical systems, governing strategies and populations, the New England and Chesapeake regions grew into very separate societies, although, it was expected. The two groups originally settled their parallels with different opportunities in mind, different goals to accomplish. From these ideals, they moderated every aspect of their society, making this the significant cause of the large contrast between the two settlements. The settlers of the Chesapeake sought a fortune, and built a society from their initial goal, while the settlers of New England sought religious salvation and created communities based on their beliefs. The difference between the ideals of religious and economic gain established two, discrete regions, despite their similarity in English background.