Differences Between the Chesapeake and New England

Rhythms of Colonial Life It is a misconception at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War that the colonists from Massachusetts Bay and Chesapeake Bay regions had solidarity on their side. It is a theme of American patriotism one would like to believe but could not be further from the truth. The truth is the colonies had vast differences. This paper will discuss the environmental and volitional factors that contributed to these differences. Environmental factors include geography, climate and soil.

Volitional factors include goals of the founders, decisions concerning land ownership, labor systems, and religious practices. These factors contributed to important demographic and economic changes "in the years between settlement and the War of Independence" (51). Did these changes bring the two colonies closer together or create a larger divide? I believe these changes set in action the characteristics that make each region unique and definitely created a divide in cultural perspective. Environmental Factors Environmental factors played a direct role in how colonists from both areas made a living.

Massachusetts Bay and Chesapeake Bay vary vastly in geography and climate. While Massachusetts is rocky, coastal and spatially smaller with a shorter growing season, Chesapeake is dense forest, rich in natural resources and better weather. As a result, both communities relied on different methods of work. Massachusetts Colony and the city of Boston relied mainly on mercantilism and the functions of a seaport to generate jobs.

In contrast, the Chesapeake Bay town of Jamestown not only thrived as a center of trade but also the area provided vast quantities of land to be cultivated by farmers. Such crops in area were exported back to England were tobacco, cotton and timber. However, it was the cash crop of tobacco that would remain the stimulus of growth in the southern region.

While Chesapeake Bay thrived with natural resources, Massachusetts struggled with being able to sustain its growing population and created a codependent relationship with England to provide products and trade with Boston. This fact would later act as a catalyst for war. Chesapeake remained agrarian and had its share of struggles economically. In contrast, "Massachusetts Bay prospered almost from the very beginning" (54) and this is reflected in its baby boom.

In the area, "the average number of births per marriage was very high -- between 5.3 and 7.6" (57) and it is the conclusion of the author the population grew rapidly between 1660 and 1700 because children survived the city environment. Volitional Factors One distinct volitional factor that formed the basis of each area's unique characteristics was the way in which land was procured. In Virginia, the "population was dispersed, living on landholdings and thus breaking the English pattern of village life and discouraging the growth of large towns and cities" (53).

Southerners went out and staked their claim. They were not afraid to travel into unchartered areas. In contrast, Northerners were a bit more reserved when a town was established "men applied to the colonial government for a land grant for the entire town ....leaders of the new town were selected and the single church was organized" (54). There is also a difference in religion.

Northerners had adopted reforms in the Church of England to purify the "lingering traces of Roman Catholicism and embrace many ideas of the Protestant denominations founded in Europe" (53) while Southerners mostly remained Catholic as founders there strived to make "Maryland a haven for Catholics" (53). Still as quickly as life was established, things changed. Northerners were looking else where for employment and started moving to other cities such as Philadelphia as the population exploded and farming declined. This created a shift in demographics and economy.