During the Late Sixteenth Century

During the late sixteenth century, European nations had decided to colonize two different regions on the eastern coast of North America. The two areas were called the New England and the Chesapeake regions. There was a difference in development between the New England and Chesapeake regions because each region had its own specific reason for settling in the New World. The New England region was founded for religious reasons, while the Chesapeake regions for economic. Both the New England and the Chesapeake regions were settled by people of the same origin, but by 1700, the two regions had evolved into two very distinct societies because of their different purposes of settlement, economical differences, and social cultures.

New England and the Chesapeake colonies were founded for different purposes. New England was found for religious reasons. Puritans, who were members of a group of English Protestants, felt like Queen Elizabeth I advocated the simplification and regulation of forms of worship. The Puritans were persecuted by James I and Charles I, who urged the Puritans to leave Europe and to purify the Anglican Church. The Puritans had set sail for Boston, Massachusetts in 1630. Like the Puritans, Separatists were concerned with the Anglican Church, but rather than purifying the Anglican Church, they were a whole different group that wanted to form their own church. With financial help from investors in Europe and the London Company, the Separatists set sail for Plymouth on the Mayflower on September 1620. In contrast to New England, the Chesapeake colonies were founded to acquire wealth. The headright system, which was first introduced in Virginia and soon had spread to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, gave each person of a household, and any family member of servant that came to America, fifty acres of land. It had attracted indentured servants to start a new economic life in America. Agriculture became the driving force of the Chesapeake colonies. Tobacco