Differences Between the New England and Chesapeake Regions

Despite the fact that people of both the New England and Chesapeake regions came from the same English origin, by 1700, their social, economical, and political differences caused an obvious division. The New England region included Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the Chesapeake region included Virginia and Maryland. Colonists adapted to their region, and evolved to benefit their beliefs in the aforesaid categories.

People settled in Chesapeake for money. (Doc. F). Colonists set up plantations and made profit from tobacco. The tobacco crop was an enormous economic factor for the Chesapeake region, but with an increased demand for tobacco, came an increased demand for land. Once tobacco was planted, all nutrients from the soil were depleted, so land was in constant demand. As for New England, lumber and ship building quickly took off, and created huge success for the region. Increased lumber led to increased ships, which lead to a solid trading system, known as triangular trade, which was trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Socially, in the Chesapeake region, women were in fewer numbers than men. (Docs. B and C). Because of this, some women ended up marrying multiple men. People in the Chesapeake region were often uneducated, which was socially acceptable. Dissimilarity, the people in the New England region were exceptionally educated, and the evidence of Harvard being one of the first schools built to teach people to read and write, justifies this. Colonists in New England were expected to be educated, because they lived in a theocracy,