Jamestown Vs Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay

The settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony differed from that of the Jamestown in several aspects, allowing it to become a more successful enterprise. For example, the settlement of Jamestown was greatly hindered by its location next to a swamp and garbage filled rivers, which allowed for the spread of malaria, dysentery, and typhoid fever. These diseases along with the lack of food in Jamestown, resulted in the death of about half of the original population within the first year (p58). However, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had a much healthier climate and environment that benefited them. Another difference that enabled the Massachusetts Bay Colony to be more successful than Jamestown was the settlers themselves and the type of family life that they had. Jamestown lacked a stable family life where the men outnumbered the women and there was a late age of marriage due to the amount of indentured women, who usually had to finish their service before marrying. The …show more content…
While the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s goal was to escape the King’s religion and the “religious and worldly corruptions of English society” (p66), the settlers of Jamestown’s goal was to aquire their own land and riches. Religion did not only exist in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but also was incorporated into essentially all aspects of life. The Puritans wanted to be able to worship and govern themselves in a “truly Christian manner” (p66); therefore, their religious principles also influenced how their society should be organized. For example, the church and state were considered closely connected as seen with several of the laws such as one that required each town to establish a church and to levy a tax to support the minister