Chesapeake vs New England

Today, the United States of America is a very racially and religiously diverse society. We saw the seeds of diversity being sown in the early days of colonization when the Chesapeake and New England colonies grew into distinctive societies. Even though both regions were primarily English, they had similarities as well as striking differences. The differentiating characteristics among the Chesapeake and New England colonies developed due to geography, religion, and motives for colonial expansion. Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay area, was not interested in long-term colonization in America. Most emigrants bound for Virginia were young males, only a handful of women came across the Atlantic to the Chesapeake colonies. At this time, men out numbered women 5 to 1, later this ratio only reached 5 to 2. Because of the shortage of women, 70% of Chesapeake men never married. Thus not producing any children to add to the colony’s population. In 1607 the English were originally looking for gold, and silver, they also wished to find the cure for syphilis and the western passage to India. After additional people had arrived in 1609, nearly 80% of Jamestown’s population had died. John Smith referred to Jamestown as “a misery, a

The differences between the Chesapeake Bay colony and the New England colonies were very obvious. In these colonies there were a number of small optional religions, this was very different than the ways of the New England colonies. This number grew considerably in 1660, when Jamestown was exporting over ten million pounds to England annually. He believed that their colony was "a city on the hill," as described in the book of Matthew. In addition she noted that not all the clergy would be saved and attacked many of their teachings. There were some historical cases when the Puritan people would speak out and therefore speak out against the church; the story of Anne Hutchinson was just such a case. The use of indentured servants soon died out when Virginia, forbid the whipping of white servants. Suddenly, people were accusing everyone that did not completely agree with the Puritan beliefs. In 1640, Jamestown began to export three million pounds of tobacco to England annually. ruin, a death, a hell," then the colony started producing and exporting tobacco. William"tms ideas were to buy the land from the Natives rather than take it, he proposed separation of church and state, and he thought that, "forced religion stinks in the nostrils of God," and wanted to break away from the Anglican Church of England. King James"tm comment to this was, "no one can build a colony on smoke," but Jamestown did. One of the accused was Mary Dyer; she was tried for heresy and hung in the gallows. The New England colonies survived on exporting lumber, grain and the production of ships. She held weekly meetings in her home where her and her husband would interpret the bible for their followers.