The two colonies also had economic differences. The Chesapeake economy revolved around the tobacco industry, which eventually paved the way for other industries as well. Slave trade relied fully on the tobacco plantation owners
This was wonderful news considering that many of the Jamestown colonists had died or suffered miserably as their farming efforts had been relatively unsuccessful. Throughout Virginia and the greater Chesapeake, the potential cash value of tobacco soon captivated the imaginations of the colonists. They began to plant it in every available clearing, from fields to the forts and streets of Jamestown, and eventually to much of Tidewater Virginia. [2] "Dominating the Virginia economy after 1622, tobacco remained the staple of the Chesapeake colonies, and its phenomenal rise is one of the most remarkable aspects of our colonial history. Tobacco cultivation and exports formed an essential component of the American colonial economy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The 17th century Chesapeake and New England established themselves as hard working religious colonies that provided structure still seen in the States today. They both share many similarities regarding economy, and relationships with Native Americans, however they differ significantly in their societal structure, motives for settlement, and religion. Both the Chesapeake and New England colonies depended on trade as the basis of their economy. The Chesapeake economy was based on the tobacco industry; by 1680 it was exporting over 30 million pounds of the plant to overseas markets. Tobacco production not only helped the colony grow prosperous, it also created new opportunities for over 90,000 immigrants who moved to the colony as indentured servants.
Jarrod Tasnady 9/20/14 Economics played a huge role in the establishment of European colonies in North America. From the beginning in settlements such as Jamestown and Plymouth went nearly extinct. They were saved by advancements in the economy. Due to agricultural discoveries farmers were able to produce a high demand in tobacco. This is what led to the establishment of not only Jamestown and Plymouth but as well as many other future settlements.
The Colony’s only source of revenue came from selling land. But colonists soon turned toward agriculture for revenue. They discovered growing tobacco would be highly profitable. In the early 17th century, smoking tobacco became popular in Europe, giving the Virginia Colony a lucrative trade with Europeans. But big planters owned much of the plantations, with the majority of people working for them, keeping most of the wealth made from the tobacco trade with these elite planters.
The search for labor in southern states eventually led the states to do something they didn’t intend on doing. With the great demand for tobacco from states like Virginia and Maryland, and the large demand for sugar cane from the West Indies, the settlers were forced to turn to slave labor. They played a small role at first in the southern states, but eventually made up a large percentage of these areas populations. Georgia and North Carolina opposed slavery, but were unable to compete with the other states crop production. English settlers in Virginia and later Maryland around the Chesapeake Bay area discovered a crop from the Indians known as tobacco.
Thereby, when tobacco emerged as the colony’s saving grace the importation of indentured servants rose quickly. The practices toward servants, from the legislature and individuals, were noted for their harshness. There was a brutality exceeding the treatment received in England. Edmund Morgan points out that the Virginians’ attitudes toward the workers permitted the later shift toward slave labor. As tobacco profits shrunk, wealthier men of the colony began using government office as means of financial support.
In the 1600s, the English came to present day America in hopes of settling. The east coast was divided into three regions- the Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies. The two main colonies were the New England (in the North) and Chesapeake (in the South) colonies. The early New England and Chesapeake colonies of the 1600s were two distinctly different societies. They had different religious views, governments, and economies.
Settlers of The New World: Chesapeake vs. New England During the seventeenth century over half a million people emigrated from England to North America. The settlers left England for many different reasons. English settlers landed in Chesapeake and established the Jamestown colony and later experienced a tobacco boom. Other English settlers arrived in New England at the height of a religious movement. This essay will compare the Chesapeake and New England settlers’ reason for emigration, economies, demographics, religion, gender roles, and relationships with the Indians.
As more settlers came in the situation kept on becoming worse, until 1612 when John Rolfe began the planting of tobacco, which was soon known as the cash crop for the colonies. As time passed tobacco plantations were opening up every where and there was a great need for more labor. In the beginning white indentured servants were used,