Compare And Contrast Jamestown And Virginia

Being the first two well-known places in which the English would set out to colonize in 1607 and 1620, Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts hold very separate set of beliefs, standards, and outlooks on life then and the future to come. While paving the way for things such as slavery, taxes, ownership of land, inclusion of women, tobacco and government assemblies, John Smith and the people of Jamestown became a classical foundation for new life and economic growth for the new world that is, the United States. On the other hand, William Bradford and his people began to realize the intentions of the Church of England were unholy and had strayed away from God’s teachings from the Bible. With this in mind, the Pilgrims set on a voyage to the new world to seek religious freedom. As we know it, the Pilgrims sought for peace and a new way of living that was fair, just and free from religious corruptions.

In Virginia, people mostly focused on growing of staples and exotic crops for cash. The crops that they grew in their colony were rice, indigo, and tobacco. But in Virginia, tobacco was the crop that they focused on, in fact, tobacco was the first most famous staple crop grown and became their economic foundation. As far as working in the fields, Virginia started off with indentured servants to perform the labor, but as they became expensive they shifted to purchasing slaves. Mortality rates were higher because of diseases that many of them came in contact with, men were expected to live to forty and women weren’t expected to live past their thirties.

The original settlers of Massachusetts were the Puritans. Puritans believed the world was good but people were evil. God had direct line through elders of the Puritan community. Since the elders were thought to be closest to God they ran the town and made the decisions. To

The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.

New England was a colony that was settled because the people that came from England wanted to find their freedom from their country. The people that came to the United States was to find freedom through religion, which the people from Mother England were not given the freedom to pursue their religious believes. The first settlement in New England was when John Winthrop came to the United States. In this settlement came the founders of the colony of New England. Basically the people from the first settlement were the ones that set up the way that the people were going to live and the type of government that they were going to establish and follow.

Located along the broad, coastal plain of the Atlantic, it offered port along the shore and made for a good defensive location. Since the southern colonies were the warmest of the three regions, the colonists did not have to worry about surviving harsh winters like the northern regions would have to. Unfortunately, the warm climate carried diseases that killed many colonists and reduced the life expectancy to about 40 years old. The group of men who had left England went to the New World hoping to expand their market for manufactured goods.

Although they have numerous differences their characteristics resulted from one important factor, which is, the reason the settlers came to the New World. This had an impact on the settlement, economically, socially, and politically. Settlements in the Chesapeake region included Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the New Jerseys. The first English colony, Jamestown,

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 colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia were a start of the new world for England. These were founded by similar people but, with their strikingly differences, grew into separate political, economic and social structures. Both settlements arose from over-crowdedness in England: people wanted a better life. Virginia was settled by men who were single and looking for opportunities and wealth. They were part of the Anglican religion.

Massachusetts was one of the most successful colonies, founded by John Winthrop, as the Puritan religion allowed a strict regime of tight government rules and ideals. These colonies also differ

Massachusetts Economic System: The economy in the region was mainly subsistence farming and drove local sales. Trades were inherited from the preceding parental generation. Slaver was also a means for production in the area although most production was family labor. Social Characteristics: Families were large in Massachusetts, people lived longer and there were many families. Many small local communities existed with small schools and churches.

There were long growing seasons. Also, the Southern Colonies had long plains, some hilly regions, long rivers, and low, flat farmland. Like the Southern and Middle Colonies, the New England Colonies had some hills, but that is the only similarity of climate and geography between all of these Colonies. The New England Colonies had short and mild summers and the winters were long and cold. They also had limited

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.

Beginning a life in the New World was a difficult and extended process. Many colonists made attempts to settle here, which failed for different reasons. There are two colonies that beat the odds and overcame their challenges. These colonies were called Jamestown and Plymouth. By using different methods and skills, they created new land for the people of Europe.

According to Doc. B, the emigrants were mostly families with children; the population ranged from young to old age. This is due to the fact that these emigrants wanted religious freedom; practice their own religion without persecution. In the Chesapeake colonies, the emigrants bounded to Virginia were primarily single individuals who were entering the New World as indentured servants under oath; these people were seeking a better, new life. Majority was men, and the youngest person was 16 years old.