Chesapeake Settlers Dbq Essay

Words: 467
Pages: 2

The New England and Chesapeake region were both settled mainly by English people, but by 1700 they were two very distinct societies. After being settled, the development of the two areas led them to become clearly different, despite their shared origin. There were many factors that shaped the colonies’ evolution, such as religion and economy. The two regions’ difference in development occurred due the settlers’ separate motives for emigrating to North America. First of all, the motives and migration patterns of the two regions created this distinction. On one hand, John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts Bay, desired to fulfill the Puritan’s covenant with God by developing a model society, proving that the settlers’ of New England emigrated for religious purposes, to become “a city upon a hill” and separate from the Anglican Church. (Doc A) On the other hand, the Chesapeake colonists migrated to North America in search for a profit, clearly evident by the Virginia Company’s poor supplying of the men who settled Jamestown in search of gold. (Doc F) The Puritans who migrated to New England did so in family units, allowing for population growth through reproduction among …show more content…
Although they did not find the gold they were in search of, they eventually thrived through the tobacco industry. The growing of tobacco required planters to use indentured servants for labor. With this amount of servants and slaves working on the plantations, William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, worried about defending the colony due to the lack of prospects endured by many of its residents. (Doc G) This led to Bacon’s Rebellion, in which Nathaniel Bacon and his followers, the aforementioned servants, revolted against Virginia’s aristocratic government which only benefited the wealthy