This led to plantation-based economy in Virginia. On the contrary, freedom from religious harassment motivated people, primarily Puritans, to come to Massachusetts to exercise their religious beliefs. In other words, although both the Virginia and Massachusetts colonies originated in England, colonial Virginia and Suffolk Massachusetts were developed into different societies by the late seventeenth century due to differences in economy and religion. The Virginia and Massachusetts Bay colonies differed in economy. Economic profit was a primary driving force in the colonization of Virginia.
OI: Because of the prosperous soil in the Chesapeake colonies, the economy was agriculturally based. For example, the economy of this region lacked stability because tobacco often exceeded demand. Their economy was strictly dependent on crops. Religion was secondary in the Chesapeake region because most people came to the Chesapeake to farm rather than to escape religious conflicts. Although different in most ways, the colonies both shared a feeling of superiority over the Natives.
One of the bigger differences socially was the people that came to the colonies and the later effect that it evolved to with the future of their colony. In New England, most of the people that came to the colonies were families that wanted to leave England so they could freely practice their religion and focusing on building a well-built society in their colony (A). In the Chesapeake region the colonies were focusing on bringing in money for England, they first were there to find gold like the Spanish did one hundred years earlier (F). Once they found out that there was no gold to bring in a decent enough of a profit, they started to grow tobacco since the price of the product was dropping. Once they started to plant the colonists realized that the plant would just flourish on the new and fertile soil, they then had the production of that plant to feed that economy for their early settlements.
The greatest economical difference between the Spanish settlements and the English settlements was that the English focused on sustaining an agrarian style of cultivate land. The Spanish, on the other hand, focused on attaining material wealth. The New Englanders based their economies on tight-knit farming communities, later transitioning to light manufacturing in the seventeenth century. The colonists provided material goods for the mother country while serving as an overseas market for finished goods. These materials included things such as timber and grain.
They differed greatly in economic structure, religious beliefs, societal structure, and also population make-up. The two regions were very close, but in the end became two completely different regions with unique identities. The New England area was originally settled by people seeking religious freedom in the new world. They were primarily Puritan Separatists. They decided to come to the new world after the Church of England separated from Catholicism in a decision made by King Henry VIII.
Maria Araceli Alvarez Dr. Ramey U.S. History 1 7 December 2012 The Jamestown and Plymouth colonies were the first two successful English colonies in North America. Jamestown was established in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620. Though these colonies had multiple differences, they also had similarities within their economies, the conflicts they faced and how they handled them, and their political structures. Jamestown had a strong economy thanks to John Rolfe who was able to expand the production of tobacco. The colonists tried different outlets to produce income for the colony such as silk, wheat, glass, timber, and cotton, before discovering tobacco’s profitability.
Skeptical of victory, the English colonists that chose to secede from the British-Empire, fought for the destiny of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. One of the main intentions the founding fathers had; was to construct a new form of
Chesapeake vs. New England The inhabitants of the Chesapeake and New England both settled in those regions for different reasons; New England settlers came for an escape from The Church of England to practice their own Puritan beliefs, and the Chesapeake settlers came for the quest of wealth. Since both groups of people were searching for different things in the New World, both regions developed differently. John Winthrop was the man leading the Puritans to New England, to create a “city on a hill,” stated in Document A, written even before arrival to the New World. Winthrop emphasizes the “unity” in his piece, clearly stating that the arrival of these people are not for physical gain, but instead spiritual. The goal of the new town was that of creating almost a model society, working together as one.
John Winthrop reflects this in Doc. A by saying their failure would “open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of…God.” The Chesapeake settlers, however, had similar yet, separate, goals based on the economies. People’s main motives were not religious, but to “dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold,” as per doc. F. This resulted in competition, rather than bonding, over the settlement. Document B reflects that people settled in New England with their families, whereas Doc.
And while there is a litany of reasons that caused the English colonists in America to start the revolution, there are some that had they been handled differently there may not have been a revolution at all. The three main reasons for the American Revolution were the English economic policy of mercantilism, the French and Indian Wars (Seven Years War), and the feeling of having no control over policies affecting the colonies i.e. “no taxation, without representation”. Firstly, during the late 1600’s the English economic policy of mercantilism (the belief that there was only so much wealth in the world, and that government must defend, and acquire wealth in a militaristic strategy, albeit using tools other than the actual military). This policy led England to view the American Colonies as nothing more than a source of raw materials, and a market for manufactured English goods.