Environmental and volitional factors shaping Chesapeake and New England colonies

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.

Conclusion

This paper discussed the environmental and volitional factors that contributed to these differences. Environmental factors included geography, climate and soil. Volitional factors included goals of the founders, decisions concerning land ownership, labor systems, and religious practices. These factors contributed to important demographic and economic changes, which lead to two separate cultural perspectives.

Reference

Author. (year). Rhythms of Colonial Life: The Statistics of Colonial Chesapeake Bay and Massachusetts Bay. City: Publisher.