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How Did Geography Affect The Chesapeake Economy

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In the 17th centuries early settlers came to America in the hope of taking their custom and traditions forward. However, the environment and geography brought changes to their lifestyles. Soon, people became to alter their pattern of living in the different colonies. During the 17th and 18th centuries, geography and the environment profoundly influenced the economic development and overall health and success of the two regions called the Chesapeake and the New England, which began to form in the early 17th century. The natural environment and the differences of life and lifestyle dictated by geography and resources determined the development of the regional economies. In New England, the lack of good soil and the colder climate made it difficult for the colonists to farm. For these reason, the major industries of tobacco that existed in the Chesapeake region did not …show more content…

Exports of tobacco rose to 10 million in 1660.(Henretta,54) There was a economic boom in the Chesapeake region as a result of the demand of tobacco.The geography in the Chesapeake region was great for farming and profiting off of. The people in the region had large slots of land. The climate of the region was warm and the land was fertile, which made it it easier for them to grow crops like tobacco and corns. The farmland was so large that they needed slaves and servants to work on the land. This need for labor brought about the slave trade in which African slaves were sold at high prices to rich plantation owners. In the Chesapeake region the ratio of indentured servants was above 40 percent. (Hawke, 120) SInce, more tobacco was cultivated the need for labor was high compared to the New England. The tobacco farming made Chesapeake different than the New England. Farming in New England can only be done “when the fields had

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Both New England and the Chesapeake region were colonized by people of English origin, however despite this they developed into two very distinct societies. This difference in development can be rooted back to the geographic features of the respective areas as well as the aspirations of the settlers. New England was primarily devoted to practicing Puritanism while the Chesapeake region was focused on financial gain from gold and, more significantly, tobacco. New England was mostly settled by people who were subjected to religious persecution for practicing English Reformed Protestantism, or more commonly known as Puritanism, in Catholic Europe. These such people, who boarded the Weymouth for example, included families and their servants

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In the late 1600’s, many European settlers arrived in North America in hopes of escaping the hardships they faced back home. America initially promised colonists the wealth, religious freedom, and escape from oppression they desired. New England was home to dense forests, and hills which was not optimal for crop growth. Therefore, the colonists directed their attention towards trade and commerce. The people in this region were devoutly religious and believed in the education of children.

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In the south, the warm, humid climate and southern, fertile soil allowed colonists to grow sugar cane, rice, as cash crops. The south was able to grow many crops and foods the middle colonies, northern colonies, and even many European countries could not produce. Even though large farming fields were a typical setting in the south, slave plantations quickly dominated the southern economy. “Profit-hungry settlers often planted tobacco to sell before they planted corn to eat” (Kennedy, 61). This quote and the 40 million pounds of tobacco annually exported during the 1630’s exemplified the desire and economic opportunity the south possessed.

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Virginian landowners did not see the need to incorporate slavery nor wanted to participate in the practices that occurred in the West Indies since most of the Virginians were individuals who wanted to settle in Virginia with their families, rather than the businessmen who would return to England like it was in the Caribbean (Takaki 52). Eventually, due to the boom of tobacco as a commodity and the potential of its production overseas, more servants were needed to provide for the demand of labor. Some estates valued their indentured blacks more than their white counterparts, Takaki provides documents showing a landowner’s inventory and the differences in their production in comparison between black and white servants; this fluctuation can be attributed to blacks becoming indentured for significantly longer periods then those white servants from Ireland (Takaki 55-56). Because of the lack of regulation with indentured servants and the disenfranchisement of blacks, the trend began to shift from blacks indentured for life to selling blacks as property; during this period of time, wealthy landowners gained control of Virginian Assembly and pushed any ordinance that would benefit their business’s (Takaki 58).

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, In order to make as much as possible from these cash crops, english men would come over to be indentured servants. Virginia and Maryland both had huge plantations and urban development, unlike colonies one New England. The main difference in Maryland and Virginia colonies is that Maryland planted other crops than tobacco and had other ways of making money including shipbuilding. Tobacco was not as successful in Maryland due to geographical issues . Both colonies had indentured servants.

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The New World was home to Native Americans before it was ever home to Europeans. Europeans, mostly the English were who began to shape it to their needs and personal identities. New England, for example was considered to be tight knit and as a result of having families developed schools, and churches to fit their lifestyle. New England and Chesapeake were distinct societies during the colonization era of North America with different settlement patterns, motivations, and economies. Patterns of settlement for New England and Chesapeake differed greatly.

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This difference was contributed to religious tolerance, economics, and population. Religion was distinctly different between the New England and Chesapeake regions. Although both were overall Catholic, the degree of tolerance for

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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.

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