Effects of Colonial America Essay Example for Free

Effects of Colonial America Essay Despite the fact the regions of New England and the Chesapeake Bay were settled by people of English origin, the two areas evolved into two different societies. The changes in the formation of colonial America occurred because of the motivations for settlement, economic opportunities in the area, and the structure of towns and cities differed among the settlers. The New England colonies’ were established from the motivation of religious freedom and to cleanse the English church, while the Chesapeake region was settled to make a profit in the mother country, England. The New England colonies began with the settlement of the pilgrims likewise known as the Puritans. The Puritans first emerged in England, to escape religious persecution and to cleanse themselves of the corrupt English church the Puritans fled to the New England region The Puritans feared what the future of England held in store, so the majority of them immigrated with their families to New England all around the same time, which is known today as the great migration. This led the New England colonies to be primarily family based. On the other hand, the Chesapeake Bay colonies’ were founded quite differently. The Chesapeake settlers’ motivation in settlement was result of the poor economic conditions in England. Immigrants hoped for a better life and better economic standing in the new world. The majority of these immigrants were single men who came over as indentured servants, and served for five to seven years before being released as a free man. This in turn lead the Chesapeake region to be entirely male dominate. In addition to indentured servants, wealthy men also immigrated to the new world in hopes to find gold, but instead found an item worth far greater, tobacco. This discovery of tobacco in the fertile soils of the Chesapeake caused the complete dividing point in the foundation of the Chesapeake and the New English opportunities in the area. Because of the perfect conditions the area of the Chesapeake posed, tobacco became the largest profit for the mother county, England. Tobacco was known as the gold of Virginia, which was the first Chesapeake colony. England, having realized the importance of tobacco fought for control over these colonies and succeeded, making the Chesapeake apart of royal colonies of the New World. On the very contrast were the New England colonies that didn’t have the right condition to profit from the growing of tobacco, so instead wealthy merchants traded with the Indians to obtain furs and other needed items. This resulted in New England not to become targeted as a resource by England’s crown. Thus New England did not become part of the royal colonies such as the Chesapeake did. This in turn made the New England colonies more suitable for families to settle and establish homes and churches. With the immigration of families into the New England society, the establishment of towns and cities resulted in a stark contrast to the Chesapeake Bay colonies. Returning to the Puritan families, the settlement of groups of families caused towns and cities to be built, with the church creating religious principals. The living conditions made it ideal for families to reside and because of this birth rate and survival were higher in New England. The establishment of towns created a more stable foundation for the New England colonies. Never the less, the lack of families in the Chesapeake region caused a deficiency of towns to be built. This in return caused little social unity and no stable family life. Men outnumbered women in the region and the high death rate in this area caused large numbers of single men, widows, and orphans. Without the establishment of towns, large tobacco plantations became the soul of the Chesapeake. This resulted in very distinct societies of the Chesapeake and New England. All things considered, the contrast of the Chesapeake and New England societies is marked by motivation for settlement, thus shown in the types of immigrants’ beliefs. In addition, the area also gave a startling impact to how the land was settled, which resulted in the making of towns verses the running of large plantations. Even though the setters all came from the same place, these slight differences made a huge impact in the Chesapeake and New England colonies.