Dbq New England Vs. Chesapeake

DBQ New England vs. Chesapeake

The differentiating religious beliefs, political structures, and interests forced the formation of two distinct societies in the New England and the Chesapeake region. The New England region migrated in family clusters as for the Chesapeake they were primarily made up of single men, which led to the difference in religious beliefs, political structures, and interests. They had all fled Europe for political standards, family life, and the use of land.

Single men ranging from the ages of 14 to 51 primarily populated the Chesapeake region. This set the social structures from slaves, gold seekers, small plantation owners, and wealthy plantation owners. Many of these emigrants would give up their money, spare clothes, and credit to pay bills, jewelry, all to acquire land. The rich soil of the land made it possible for them to prosper. Their main focus was profit, planting, selling tobacco, and digging gold. The profit filled the English men of the Virginia Company to America with their hearts in hope for gold and their minds set on finding gold and nothing else. These people had their mind set so forth that they saw no need for government regulation of the economy. With all of this being said the Virginia joint stock company was developed to make profit and trade. Their government tried to encourage migration to their region by establishing the head right system where they would give land to those who choose to settle in the region but this did not target everyone. The fight for land led to the Bacons Rebellion, single young men with lost hopes of acquiring land decided to fight for land. They went on their own to acquire land, putting the law into their own hands. This highlighted the need for a regulated government. As a result the House of Burgesses came to make an effort to make the colony more profitable and set a common law so that men can own their own land.

As for the New England colony they were highly different from the Chesapeake because of the fact that it was family oriented. When the emigrants arrived for New England they were all in family clusters. As we already know emigrants in the Chesapeake settled for financial reasons, the Puritans settled the New England area for religious matters. They were about family, freedom, worship, and freedom of political thought. They wanted to be the ones that everyone looked up to, the example of how a country should be controlled. Which is based on the philosophy of John Winthrop and their religion. He believed that they should be a city upon a hill. And he reflected it in the way that their colony was governed. They were also based on a theocracy, where the state forced the people to live and worship for God. They made sure that those who where coming to settle in their colony had professions, which helped, set up good productive communities. Even though the Church of England was the official church the colonies were