Comparison and contrast concepts

¶ … colonies of New England were homogenous, well planned and intent on immigration rather than industry is a fallacy largely held. When one actually looks and the primary resources associated with the settlements they are likely to see similarities and fundamental differences in how and why each group actually established settlements and/or forts on the continent. Three colonies that will be compared and contrasted in this brief work are the Jamestown Colony, notably founded as a business venture, the Plymouth colony founded for permanent settlement into a new livelihood for families, and finally the Massachusetts Bay colony which was founded as a new beginning in religious devotion a sort of Christian city on a hill.

John Smith's account of the founding of Jamestown demonstrates an apology to those who considered the venture a failure because of its inability to turn a profit. While William Bradford's history of the Plymouth colony is demonstrative of a more permanent intent with discussion about hardship but a clear sense that fortification was not the ultimate goal nor profit but permanent settlement. Lastly, John Winthrop's vision of the Massachusetts Bay colony is a manifesto to religious devotion through correct living according to a narrow set of Christian values.

Each colonial account is similar in several ways, the most similar being Plymouth and Jamestown, with concerns about conflict with indigenous peoples, hunger, hard work and toil. Yet the thing that the three of them have most in common is the development of the idea of the difficulty of communal living, with the Smith and Bradford account citing almost exact concerns with regard to how difficult these relative strangers found it to come together and work for a common good, while the Winthrop vision attests to communal goals (the golden rule) as the ideal, but likely not the standard of how men actually act. It is in fact seen in the first to accounts to be one of the biggest failures they experienced, an inability to work together for the common good, without resentment from individuals. While the final document Winthrop attests to this only by expressing the concept as the ideal of Christian living.

"Cast thy bread upon the waters...for thou knowest not what evil may come upon the land." Luke 16:9, "Make you friends of the riches of iniquity..." You will ask how this shall be? Very well. For first he that gives to the poor, lends to the Lord and He will repay him even in this life an hundredfold to him or his. The righteous is ever merciful and lendeth, and his seed enjoyeth the blessing; and besides we know what advantage it will be to us in the day of account when many such witnesses shall stand forth for us to witness the improvement of our talent. (Winthrop)

In comparison the works all also demonstrate the extreme difficulty that must have been experienced by the colonists when they sought to move to places where there was no infrastructure. The Plymouth and Jamestown accounts even say something so similar it could have been written about the same place and peoples, "But when they departed, there remained neither tavern, beer house, nor place of relief" (Smith) and "Being thus passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembered by that which went before), they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weatherbeaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor." (Bradford)

In contrast the works offer a divergent general feel, as the Jamestown colony sets up a small government simply to oversee the development of the common goal, a profit, the Plymouth colony writes what many would call a constitution and finally the Massachusetts Colony develops a manifesto, that is not dissimilar to a covenant with God to live in this new place as if they were living in the city on the hill. The Jamestown colony developed only enough infrastructure to live a season or to and create a profit and make discoveries, while the Plymouth Colony Sought out peace with the natives and took pride in building the infrastructure of an agrarian society, with individual and communal farming. The Massachusetts Bay colony sought to develop a permanent spiritual home through good acts and deeds for self and others.