The Early British Settlements in the Chesapeake and New England Areas - Essay Example

Compare and contrast the early British settlements in the Chesapeake and New England areas In between the 16th and 17th centuries, immigrants from England settled into the eastern coast of the colonized New World which was then known as America. These groups settled into two regions which were the Chesapeake and New England areas. Chesapeake included Virginia, Maryland, New Jerseys (East and West), Pennsylvania, and Jamestown while New England was composed of included Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Haven.

While these immigrants came from the same country and spoke the same tongue, they proved to become a different kinds of people when they settled into these regions of America. Settlers in Chesapeake came into America mainly for economic reasons while immigrants in New England settled in America to escape the religious persecution back in England. Those who went to Chesapeake were into finding riches while those who settled in New England hoped to have religious freedom which they did not have back in England.

Having different reasons and motivations for coming into the New World, these new settlers became different people when they came to America albeit they came from the country. As a people, settlers in New England continued their pious tendency of making religion central to their lives. Their lives are mainly preoccupied with God, study, and family while those in Chesapeake were more concerned with finding gold and cash in their diggings and tobacco plantations. This different motivation and priority in coming into America are reflected in the economic system of these two regions.

Chesapeake, being an economic determinist in coming into America, revolved its economy into an industry that relied heavily on the plantations of their “cash crop” tobacco and gold explorations. Slavery was also a thriving industry in Chesapeake to provide the manpower for their plantations and gold explorations. Settlers in New England however did not focus much on a one-crop system such as the case of Chesapeake but rather diversified its economy that includes fishing in addition to farming (which were small and family-oriented compared to the plantations of Chesapeake).

Settlers in New England also developed craftsmen that did shipbuilding, carpentry, and printing. Slavery was non-existent in New England for the Puritans believed that men were created equal. As a society, settlers in New England reflected their religious Puritan orientation in their community. They believed in hard work and as a result, New England colonies were made up of mostly middle class whose priorities were religion, education, and family. Chesapeake on the other hand had very little urban development due to its vast plantations of tobacco.

There was not much of a middle class due to the nature of its economy and its population is mainly divided between the landed owners, peasants, and slaves. New England’s piousness extended itself into its political system where the Bible is a central figure. Laws were rigid as expected of a Puritan society. Chesapeake political system on the other hand merely reflected the structure of the British government (because it did not have any religious resentment with the crown as with the settlers in New England) whose governor was appointed by the Crown whose Council Members were composed of wealthy landowners.