Throughout the era of exploration and colonization, British America evolved into three distinctive areas: the Southern/Chesapeake colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the New England Colonies. Each region was colonized due to different motives, exported different commodities, and developed distinct social structures. The principal motivation for settling the Southern and Chesapeake colonies was the promise of riches such as gold. The English Crown and colony proprietors saw the gold and silver that the Spanish conquistadors had procured in South and Central America and sought to increase their revenue by establishing colonies with profitable mines as well. Although they found no gold in the Chesapeake region, colony proprietors realized that …show more content…
In the Chesapeake colonies, life was dominated by the plantation economy. There was a decidedly unequal distribution of skill and wealth, as the minority of the great planters dominated the lives of both the common white planters and the African slaves. Opposition to the great planters by common freedmen was seen in Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676, and although the shift to slave labor lessened tensions between white planters somewhat by pitting them both against the “inferior” slaves, plantation society remained a highly rigid and segregated social hierarchy. On the other end of the spectrum, the New England colonies operated on a much more egalitarian social structure. The New English colonies were based around town systems rather than plantations. More condensed living quarters promoted a sense of community and encouraged the building of public schools and churches. Churches were a vital part of New England, where the society was centered on Puritan values and Christian education. New England had by far the smallest slave population of all the colonies of British North America; slaves made up approximately 2% of the New English population. Many colonists were simply too poor to buy slaves and therefore employed the labor of their sons and daughters on farms. Additionally, land distribution was roughly equal; most families owned around 100 or 200 acres of land, which was large enough for a farm but not for a plantation. This kept the New England society from developing into a plantation society where those who held the most land dominated affairs. The social structure in the Middle Colonies differed with each colony. For example, in Pennsylvania, the Quakers believed in religious equality and toleration, and therefore did not support a religious establishment that dominated affairs. Pennsylvania was mostly settled by middle-class farmers who cultivated wheat and raised livestock for export. In New York, however,
There were very few slaves in the middle colonies whereas the south had more slaves to the need of labor for their field and plantations. These slaves were forced to work, separate the cotton and tobacco and keep the field organized so their masters could make more money. The middle colonies did not find this particular work as useful being more farm land colonies. When observing these colonies it is very obvious that these colonies differ in many ways.
The thirteen colonies, which were divided into 3 regions, were all different and unique in many ways. However, the diversity among the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies is perhaps what made them so distinctive. The differences between these three regions affected the way they lived, but later, they gained knowledge by analyzing their mistakes and differences. Although these three regions only had a few things in common, it was the differences among them that helped them grow and learn from one another.
Although all the colonists all came from England, the community development, purpose, and societal make-up caused a distinct difference between two distinct societies in New England and the Chesapeake region. The distinctions were obvious, whether it be the volume of religious drive, the need or lack of community, families versus single settlers, the decision on minimal wage, whether or not articles of agreements were drawn for and titles as well as other social matters were drawn, as well as where loyalties lay in leaders. New England was, overall, more religious than the Chesapeake region. Settlers in New England were searching relief for religious persecution in Europe. Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics were coming in droves to America searching for an opportunity to have religious freedom.
Although pursuit of religious freedom lied at the very foundation of New England, in the middle and southern colonies it played a smaller role, and instead democracy and slavery respectively played the primary roles. The New England colonies, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were conceived and established “as plantations of religion”. Some settlers who arrived in these areas came for
However this was not the most important thing, the most important thing was their education. Their education can be seen in a way as part of their culture. New Englanders were people who were highly educated and view their education as a way of living and also as a necessity. For the founders of the colony of New England established little settlements that offered education for the kids and also for the adults. Also as the people settled in the colony they brought in with them books and also brought other literal devices that helped them gain more education.
New England did not "have all of it 's investments tied up on one place" very like the Chesapeake. The economy depended on angling, shipbuilding, and cultivating. The cultivating in New England was done on a substantially littler scale, notwithstanding. Since the religion (and society) was so family-situated, ranches were generally sufficiently substantial to nourish one 's family, with a little overflow. It was no where close to the span of the huge estates in the Chesapeake.
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 New England families tend to travel together, they had a strong sense of community and really would watch out for one another like family. Education was important to the New England colony as so was religion and they were required to study the bible. The Southern Colonies were founded as an economic venture to create wealth where as for the New England colony were mainly about religious reformers and separatists. They were looking for a new way to praise God, that’s not to say that religion wasn’t important to the southern colonies because it was they just had a different way of going about it than the New England colonies. The religion in the southern colonies was more diverse.
The British colonies in the Chesapeake region and those of the New England region were both similar yet different in certain ways. One because both the colonist that settled there were looking for new opportunities. However, it was mostly second son aristocrats, which means the first born usually inherits the better half of the father’s riches. Their lives in England had either been mistreated or they were unable to flourish economically. Regardless of whether they were searching the land for expansive homesteads, religious freedom, or exchanging and merchant opportunities, the colonist in both regions were searching for another land in the New World.
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.
Breaking away from Catholicism rituals, Puritan groups such as Separatists established a colony in Plymouth (Tindall & Shi, 2013). Here they were able to escape the requirements of the Church of England. As additional settlers came over from England, the religious diversity increased requiring additional colonies. The Quakers, the Jews, and the Baptists all had different religious beliefs and to remain harmonious had to settle in a completely different location, one that is now known as Rhode Island (Tindall & Shi, 2013). In this location, the settlers were able to practice their religion without fear of coercion by the government.
The early Virginia and New England colonies differed politically, socially, and economically due to the situations that the settlers faced. Throughout many of the letters written about some of the experiences of the earlier settlers, one can easily see a major difference in the way of life of the two colonies. Although many of these colonies differed in the way of life, each colony faced some similar things that they each had to overcome. These challenges made a massive difference in the way that each of the colonies started out and directly influenced the future for both colonies. When these challenges are faced, many of the settlers will create the foundations of their political, social, and economic systems.
Many of the other Middle Colonies were structured the same way. This structure eventually led to the idea of self-government in the American
Founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, a quaker, promoted religious tolerance, a key factor to the social development of this region, seeing that it was so tolerant the middle colony invited a large group of people and developing a social class were merchants are upper class, craftsmen as middle class, and sailors or unskilled workers as lower class. Social development in the southern colonies also differed greatly from the other colonial regions, Because of the inhabitants of this colonial region, the social order was very rigid where plantation owners are upper class, farmers as the middle class, and then Slaves at the very bottom. One similarity the British colonies all had was, the colonist all viewed themselves part of the English
The two colonies differed politically. “God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, [that]in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity, other mean and in subjection” (Doc. A).The New England colony was a representative democracy; they held town meetings. It placed emphasize on having poor and rich families because of the importance of an equal society with representation from all sectors of life. “We intend by God's grace, as soon as we can, with all convenient speed, to procure some Godly and faithful minister with whom we purpose to join in church covenant to walk in all the ways of Christ” (Doc. D).