Although the New England and Chesapeake regions of the United States were both settled by the English in the 1600s, they developed into two very different communities based mainly on their geographical location and religious devotion. Unlike their European rivals, the English founded colonies in North America. Settlers in the Chesapeake region used force to take possession of Indian lands. The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the New Jerseys and Pennsylvania. In 1607, Jamestown (the first English colony in the New World) was founded by a group of settlers along the James River. And because the colony was near water, the Pilgrims had a great advantage. They created a society that was full of companies interested in profiting from the natural resources of the New World. They also turned to the local Powhatan Indians, who taught them the process of corn- and tobacco-growing. These staple-crops flourished throughout all five of these colonies. After the ship arrived, John Smith’s main concern was to “dig gold, refine gold, and load gold” but there was no g...
By the 1700s the two regions, New England and Chesapeake varied greatly in spite of being from the same mother country, England. Physical and cultural differences separated these two regions distinctively. While religion moulded the daily life in New England, Money and tobacco farming dominated the Chesapeake.
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century two colonies emerged from England. The two colonies were called the Chesapeake and New England colonies. Even though the two areas were govern by the English, the colonies had similarities as well as differences. The Chesapeake and New England colonies grew into obviously distinct establishments. Difference in colonial motivation, religious, political structures, socio-economic, and race relation, were responsible for molding the territories.
Despite both coming from English origin, the two regions are very different from one another. The Chesapeake, a region more for investment and wealth and New England being a region more as a religious haven. The two regions diverged into two distinct societies mostly from the different location of the two and the issues that arised from there. Even though they both became different by the 17th century, the two regions would unite despite huge differences when the quest for independence begins.
During the 15th century Europe had numerous changes. The population expanded rapidly which gave rise to new classes of merchants. European nations were very wealthy when it came to spices. Therefore, they traded them on the land route from Asia. These land routes were controlled by the Turkish Empire, which lead to many problems for the countries who were trying to trade these spices and acquire other valuables. This then steered them to begin searching for other routes of trade to essentially cut out the “middle man”. A race then began to erupt between many European countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, and England. These four countries all wanted to be the first to discover new land. However, Portugal pulled ahead and sailed along
European nations began to colonize what now is the east coast of Northern America around the late 16th and then in onto the 17th century. Many proud nations decided to send their fleet of people to the New World especially Great Britain. England established to colonies along the coast that were know as New England and Chesapeake. Between these two colonies we have what are known as the middle colonies. This area was originally settled by the Dutch and was formerly named New Amsterdam and then finally by Great Britain. Although these colonies shared many things in common and were all quite close to each other, they also had major differences.
One of the largest differences in the early settlements of New England and the south were the people who started the settlements. Massachusetts, settled by Puritans and Plymouth settled by Separatists were settled for the main reason of freedom from the Church of England. In comparison, the southern settlement of Virginia was founded by a joint stock company, the London Company, whose main interest was economic gain for themselves and for their investors. Though colonies of New England and the south were both originally settled by predominately Protestant founders, the colonies differed in values and purpose.
Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. There were many reasons in the development of these colonies that cause the differences.
Between 1606 and 1700, the settlers sponsored by the London Company sailed to Virginia in hopes of getting rich and obtaining land. These people became known as the settlers of England’s Virginia Colony. What the settlers experienced was nothing like the success that was imagined for “Virginia, Earth’s only paradise! (Doc A)” to hold. The challenges of Virginia can be illustrated by these 3 things: the lust for gold, tobacco, and the first few winters.
Reflecting on the colonization of North America is an uneasy topic for most Americans. The thought of war between the Indians and the early settlers creates an image of clashing cultures between the well-armed Europeans and the hand-crafted weaponry of the native Indians. We tend to have the perception that the early colonists came and quickly took away the land from the Indians but, in reality, the Europeans did not have this power. Though French explorers and English settlers had a different perception of land ownership than that of the Native Americans, the fate of the Europeans rested in the hands of the Indians. Either from self-preservation, civility or curiosity, various American Indian tribes assisted the early European colonies through the sharing of resources, by befriending them as allies and, ultimately, by accepting them as permanent neighbors.
During the late 16th and into the 17th century, European countries expeditiously colonized the recently discovered Americas. In particular, England sent out many groups to the east coast of North America to two main regions. From the beginning, both the Chesapeake and New England region had distinct identities. The differences between the two colonies were spurred from a single, crucial factor: the initial reason the colonists came to the New World. The varied motives played a key role in how the societies developed, affecting each colony in every way: economically, socially and politically.
Raids of Spanish ships along the eastern coast of the Americas had already occurred prior to the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. French and Spaniards had set up fortifications on the eastern coast of the Americas to protect fleets carrying cargo across the Atlantic from European rivals. The first settlers of Jamestown were farmers, servants, or sons of English gentry and craftsmen more interested in finding gold much like the Spaniards rather than creating a sustainable colony. Indeed the motive for most of the settlers was to make a quick profit off the gold they sought. They found none. Disease had claimed many lives. Jamestown was located next to a swamp with malaria-infested mosquitoes. Settlers dumped garbage into the local riverbank and bred germs that caused dysentery and typhoid disease. Leadership constantly changed. The future of the colony seemed gloomy. John Smith would take the reins and keep the colonists alive under a strict, militaristic regime. He would impose a forced labor policy: “Those that will not work shall not eat.” The Virginia Company would give up on the idea of finding gold and realized that growing food and finding a marketable commodity was essential for the survival and the success of the colony. John Rolfe would arrive in 1614 and introduced tobacco to Jamestown. New policies would be implemented in 1618. Among them was the head right
In Richard Hakluyt’s tasks to establish the colony in 1584, he was concerned about the English trades will be compromised by Spanish and goods got stolen, so the colony will not grow to oppose Spanish invasion. The discussion would be English were weak in terms of English needed to find better Western plantation to settle without compromising themselves from hostiles. Strategy for surviving the New World is apparently a more difficult task because of regaining the land was never easy and requires colonists’ effort to bring the colony to new civilization. According to the article “Instructions Given By the Way of Advice”, Virginia Company of London informs Captain and Company of Jamestown to assigned his men to explore the river for sources and establish trades without attack the Natives, the Captain told the settlers, “if you can eschew [Indians]; and employ some of few of your company to trade with [Native Americans] for corn and all other lasting victuals if [they] have any.” (qtd in “Instructions Given by Way of Advice” by Virginia Company of London, National Humanities Center). The Captains wanted the servants to locate the lands for settlement; however, settlers can make trades with Native Americans if able to for more supplies for the
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.
Christopher Newport, the admiral that transported John Smith and many of the colonists from England, left the Jamestown colony in the fall of 1607. Immediately all work in the settlement ceased to exist. The colonists had decided to wait on Newport to return with new workers. The plan was for the natives to provide food for them while they waited. When the natives never came with food, Ratcliffe, the current president of the colony, ordered John Smith to visit the neighboring natives and trade tools and metals for corn. The natives had noticed how the English were unable to feed themselves by planting their own crops. The natives refused to trade more than a few handfuls of corn and bread for the hatchets and iron that were offered. Smith realized the reason why the Kecoughtans were not trading more than just those small amounts and created a way to solve the problem. To prove to the natives that the English were not poor, Smith gave free beads and trinkets to the children. This was to show the Kecoughtans that the English were economically strong and possessed more valuable items. Smith used the mentality of “weakness in appearance…was weakness in reality” (Price 57) to justify his travels from village to village, collecting a large of amount of corn, bread, and other foods for the Jamestown colonists. Smith thought the natives would trade more food if they did not realize what a small amount of food stores that the English had actually acquired. If the natives had known what large quantities of food Smith had actually traded for, they would have realized how desperate the state of the colonists. Smith performed his trading sessions this way “’least they should perceive my too great want.’” (Price 57) In this manner, John Smith saved the ent...
By 1750 there were 13 English colonies in North America. They were divided into three groups: