New England vs. Chesapeake Colonies

The Northern Region, New England, was a mostly Puritan society with impeding religious values. Religion played a vital role in almost every activity performed by the colonists. Before establishing the famous “City on a Hill” in present day Boston, John Winthrop wrote, “if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, we so cause him to withdraw his present help from us.” (A) Religion was the primary motivation for New Englanders to settle in the New World; many had fled from religious persecution or regulation and wished to please their own God in their new lives. Most of these religious-oriented colonists came over in large families with their wives, children, and even se

` In contrast, the Southern Region of the Chesapeake Bay area was not prominent religiously or commercially. New Englanders “do not enrich themselves suddenly,” writes a regulation board in Connecticut. (E). This, however, was exactly what colonists in the Chesapeake Bay region were seeking. It was quick profit and wealth that motivated these colonists; religion played a small role compared to the lives of their northern neighbors. On this topic Bacon writes, “Let us observe the sudden rise of their estates compared with the quality in which they first entered this country. Let us consider their sudden advancement,” (H) Most colonists who made the journey to this region came for no other reason than to get rich and leave quickly. Many were sponsored by joint-stock companies or were on other various business ventures. Profit was their primary motivation such that, “there was no talk but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold,” (F) Furthermore, almost one third were single freemen in their twenties or younger who clearly did not have a family yet

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