Chesapeake and New England Colony Dbq

Chesapeake and New England Colony DBQ

Although New England and the Chesapeake colonies (Maryland, Virginia) were both settled by and under the rule of the English, by the year 1700 they had developed into two very unique societies. The two societies mainly differed in reasons for founding, types of settlers, and geography and economies.

The first and possibly one of the most important reasons for the unique developments of the two societies was the founding of the colonies. In the early 1600s, a joint-stock company, the London Company of Virginia, was formed to settle an English colony in Virginia. The London Company wanted mainly to settle this colony for economic growth and prosperity. In the early years of settlement in the Virginia area, the Englishmen spent most of their time searching for the famous gold that the earth had to offer. It was not uncommon for the greedy colonists to go days without eating, as all they cared about was gold. As a result of the gold search obsession, nearly half of the colonists died of starvation (Document F). On the other hand of the greedy atmosphere in Virginia, New England was founded more for religious reasons. The separatists, who were driven towards separation because of the idea of predestination, mainly came to New England to enjoy their religious practices without interference. The settlement would be primarily a Christian society in which all subjects would work together and cooperation would prosper (Document A).

Another reason for the difference in development of the two societies was the settlers each of them attracted. The main difference lies in the orientation of the settlers. New England attracted entire families of settlers including men, women, and children, while the Chesapeake regions like Virginia primarily gathered young single men who were not related to each other (Document B and C). There was also a rather large age difference between the two types