In Virginia, with its moderate climate and endless acres of moist, fertile soil, the early settlers soon found that almost any plant thrived best in the Chesapeake region. On the contrary the New England settlers had to endure a harsher climate where the fine rocky soils made farming difficult and many had to find new sources of income to survive. In addition to the obvious climatic differences between the Chesapeake and New England communities, there were also significant contrasts between each colonies foundations of socio-economic income, religious beliefs, civil liberties and the emerging social structures of their newly blossoming societies.
One Similarity Both Regions of English Colonial American had in common was the demand for foreign …show more content…
New England main purpose of settling in North America was for religious liberty without the sole center of their economy built on indenture servants and slaves laboring on tobacco plantation. The men to women ratio was more equally balanced than comparative to Jamestown and other colonial settlements. Jamestown was lacking in a stable balance of family units. This was primarily due to over focus of economic gain from tobacco plantations and the pressure of the head right system which awarded 50 acers of land to any colonist his own or another passage to North America. Likewise, the death rate of individual in Jamestown was much higher with very few children surviving to their adulthood than in Massachusetts Bay. Jamestown addressing the issue of unstable ratios of women to men, encouraged the immigration of women, dozens promised to arranged marriages also referred to as “tobacco brides” between 1620-1621. The colony still in need of more labor to cultivate plantations success, the immense majority of women came as indentured servants. In most cases the women had to finish her term of labor servitude before being wed, and didn’t get the opportunity to form families till mid-twenties. Reasons for all statements above, this rendered Jamestown’s population to a society made up of mostly men. Possibly for this reason women in Jamestown who were not yet married or widowed took advantage of the right to “femme sole” or “women alone”, which gave women individual identity unlike married women in the colony. Like the indentured servitude of women in Jamestown society, Massachusetts Bay believed the obedience of women and children were servant to men’s will was the basis of social stability. Many fathers of families in farming societies reaped the benefit of using their wives and child for free labor for economic gain. Moderate physical “correction” or
One Similarity Both Regions of English Colonial American had in common was the demand for foreign …show more content…
New England main purpose of settling in North America was for religious liberty without the sole center of their economy built on indenture servants and slaves laboring on tobacco plantation. The men to women ratio was more equally balanced than comparative to Jamestown and other colonial settlements. Jamestown was lacking in a stable balance of family units. This was primarily due to over focus of economic gain from tobacco plantations and the pressure of the head right system which awarded 50 acers of land to any colonist his own or another passage to North America. Likewise, the death rate of individual in Jamestown was much higher with very few children surviving to their adulthood than in Massachusetts Bay. Jamestown addressing the issue of unstable ratios of women to men, encouraged the immigration of women, dozens promised to arranged marriages also referred to as “tobacco brides” between 1620-1621. The colony still in need of more labor to cultivate plantations success, the immense majority of women came as indentured servants. In most cases the women had to finish her term of labor servitude before being wed, and didn’t get the opportunity to form families till mid-twenties. Reasons for all statements above, this rendered Jamestown’s population to a society made up of mostly men. Possibly for this reason women in Jamestown who were not yet married or widowed took advantage of the right to “femme sole” or “women alone”, which gave women individual identity unlike married women in the colony. Like the indentured servitude of women in Jamestown society, Massachusetts Bay believed the obedience of women and children were servant to men’s will was the basis of social stability. Many fathers of families in farming societies reaped the benefit of using their wives and child for free labor for economic gain. Moderate physical “correction” or