New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely of English origin, but by the 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The difference in development occurred because of different religion beliefs, situations the colony was under, and different political views. Starting a colony wasn’t trouble-free. The settlers struggled with: starvation, lack of clean water, disease, and and indigenous people. Some settlers even disappeared almost completely, with the reasoning being unknown.
The New York colony soil was fertile and great for farming which was the reason the British wanted to remove it from the hands of the Dutch. New York was named after James the Duke of York. The Dutch were the first to settle in New York but then was preccoupied by the English in 1674. When the Dutch occupied New York they called it New Amsterdam.
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).
There were considerable differences between the North, Middle and Southern regions. The New England climate has four seasons. The climate of the Northern colonies was mild with short summers. Northern colonies have long, cold and snowy winters, however, less disease than the Southern colonies and Middle colonies. In contrast with the New England, the Southern colonies have the very warm climate.
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.
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.
The settling of the Northern Colonies began with the arrival of the Pilgrims, or Puritan separatists, to Plymouth. The Massachusetts Bay Colony, led by John Winthrop, was formed shortly after and became known as the "Bible Commonwealth" for its large religious influence. However, religious tensions began to arise with dissidents like Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. The Rhode Island Colony was formed as a haven for these dissenters and exiles, and it became known as being strongly liberal and individualistic. The third New England colony, Connecticut, was led by Thomas Hooker and was the first to establish a "modern constitution" through the Fundamental Orders.
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 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.
There were many differences between the two colonies when it came down to their political systems. First, both colonies were greatly influenced by Governors. This influence can be seen by Sir William Berkeley when he describes that the, “Governors…laid the Foundation of our wealth and industry on the vices of men”. This statement shows that the governors that were in the Jamestown colony had a profound influence during the beginning of their colony. Another thing to note about the Jamestown colony was in Frethorne’s letter when he stated that, “we took two alive and made slaves of them… it was by policy”.
The southern colony and New England Colony had many differences. The New England colony was based more in manufacturing while the southern colony was about agriculture as far as their economy. One big difference is that New England colony didn’t believe in slavery like the southern colonies believed. Slaves and indentured servants were the backbone of the Southern economy. They did much of the labor work for the southern colonies cash crops.
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.
Amid the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations quickly inhabited the new lands called the Americas. England sent out multiple groups to two regions in the eastern coast of North America. Those areas were called the Chesapeake and the New England locations. Later, in the end of the1700 's, these two locations would combine to create one nation. However originally both areas had very different and distinctive identities.
New England and the Middle Colonies are 2 Colonies that are total opposites from each other, but do have some similarities. New England had no religious freedom because if you were not puritan then you could not live there. On the other hand, the Middle Colonies did have religious freedom, you could be a Quaker, Lutheran, Jewish, Catholic or French and a lot more as well. New England and the Middle Colonies share some similarities based on religion and other things as well. Some similarities were that the church was an important part of both New England and Middle Colonies towns.
Starting in the early 1600’s settlers from England came to “The New World.” England and Spain were competing to claim this new undiscovered land. The English were the first to claim the land by sending the first group of settlers, the Chesapeake settlers. They settled in present day Virginia and Maryland. The Chesapeake settlers came for commercial and profit.
