Compare And Contrast Colonialism And New England Colonies

Taishai Fauntleroy 1Y

England differed from other countries looking to exploit the new world. The English were less focused on profit and religious conversion but more so the development of colonies and trade within the colonization period. The first successful, functioning colony was called Plymouth. The settlement was started by an intensely religious group called the Puritans, who sought out to free the church of corruption or to “purify”. The Puritans brought certain traits to the New England area that were either continued or tossed. Considerably the biggest area of change was social, the Puritans believed in church leaders being all powerful, believed in no religious tolerance or tolerance for the Natives, that women were lesser and

While education was not important to the whole of America, the Northwest/New England area surely were more literate and educated than most parts of Colonial America. Several Puritan social beliefs were rejected, in particular the rest of New England was more religiously tolerant and most felt that good works were enough to be considered fully saved. The Puritans managed their money quite differently than most colonies, considering that most of the settlements at this time were there for profit and power. This particular religious sect thought of excess wealth to be a sin, and also were believers in good work ethic. On the contrary, the New England culture approved of capitalism, profit and self-indulgence. Similarly work ethic and self reliance held a strong hold in the economics and society of New England. Politics in Plymouth were comparable and opposing to Britain, similarly combining the church and state as one. Unlike England though, they practiced limited democracy, holding town halls. The trait of the unity of religion and politics was dropped, but town halls and people’s say were valued even more in the other

The relationship between natives and colonists were up and down as the colonists took more land. Upon their arrival, Puritans set out to convert Indians, they set up praying towns (towns dedicated to converting and educating Natives). Fairly quickly though, the Puritans began expanding and took the Indian’s land violently. They began to become aggressive and felt Indian were savages. William Bradford, the second governor of Plymouth, wrote , “..to see them thus frying in the fire, and the streams of blood quenching the same; and horrible was the stink and scent thereof…” The violence was deemed worth the results “but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the praise thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands ...” This quote also shows the concept of Manifest Destiny, which is when man feels entitled or destined to own, claim, or discover something, specifically land. Bradford and the majority of the Plymouth colony felt as if the God had given them permission or a hall pass for the mistreatment of the Natives. All together, The Puritans pushed for fair business, agriculture, good worth ethic, for no materialism, and to give what we don’t need to someone else. New England practiced work ethic and farming but were money