The English colony of Virginia faced many hardships in its early years. Yet, the resilient colonists overcame many issues which transformed Virginia into a sucessful colony. Virginia grew because of the introduction of the tabacco plant, the arrival of indentured servants, and the work of African slaves. Virginia in 1606 was not a place one would like to find oneself. Disease, famine, and war ravished the new settlers. [Document A] John Rolfe is thought of as the economic savior if the colony and the father of tobacco. Soon the desire for tobacco was almost incapable of being met. Advertisements like Document B were used throughout the colony and the Old World. Tobacco was one of the first products to be advertised.
The growth of the
In Colonial America, during the 1600’s and 1700’s, there were religious, political and geographical changes which resulted in democratic and undemocratic changes. Religion had a big impact on Colonial America. Maryland had to pass the Act of Toleration because too many people were not able to exercise their religion freely. (document 1) The act stated that nobody in Maryland who exercises their religion will be embarrassed and is free to do so willingly, however this act only applied to Christians.
There are many reasons why England’s colonies were found but I believe the colonies were founded because of different religious beliefs, lack of resources, and just expanding rule not only in England but in another territory. The first settlers from England left their homeland because of their different views on religion, so rather than being tried for different crimes in England they came to North America. America was also full of resources that England didn’t have due to the climate. These resources made thee English government to expand the country’s rule in other territories, so the country’s journeyman settled in different colonies along the eastern seaboard. The colonies had trouble growing crops at first, but they eventually got the
Although New England and Virginia both bordered the Atlantic and established in the early 1600s, New Englanders lived thirty years longer (30/60 vs. 40/70), and Virginia had a prevalent presence of indentured slaves and servants. America was first settled by English aristocrats, peasants, goldsmiths, jewelers, barbers, and glassblowers who were unfit to hunt game in forests and rivers and died from typhoid, dysentery, and salt poisoning. Under John Smith’s Virginia/London Company-given rule, he established connections with Powhatan, who traded corn (that kept colonists alive) for iron and guns. His departure made some settlers turn to cannibalism. When tobacco was found profitable, the only other activities men engaged in were sleep and drink.
In the 1600s many emigrants from England came to settle in North America. Most of the English at the time were Christian, and one of the several reasons to explore was to spread the word of God. Most of the documents mention how the new colonists must serve their God and keep themselves holy and to not indulge in temptations that would stray them from their original goals. However, by the 1700s the distinct group that settled in the New England region was split into two groups. The split of the two groups came from gold diggers, the temptation of gold overweight their original goal, thus causing the group to split into two groups, the Christians and the Gold Diggers.
The process of black slavery taking route in colonial Virginia was slow. Black slavery mostly became dominant in the 1680s. Slaves became the main labor system on plantations. The amount of white indentured servants declined so the demand for black slaves became necessary in the mid-1660s. The number of white indentured servants that Virginia had up until the mid 1660s, was enough to meet white peoples labor needs.
Colonial Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia until 1779 while the American dream was taking shape. People across the globe came to the United States for a life like that of in Williamsburg. It was, at the time, the largest, and the most important of the American colonies. It had the largest population (approximately 5,000). The colony was a very wealthy and influential colony.
I am enlightened by your desire to come join me here in Jamestown, but life has been a never ending roller coaster as the years slowly pass by. Some days I wonder if leaving the slums to avoid my peasant status was worth risking making an attempt at creating a new life in Jamestown. I have trouble falling asleep as I am persistently worrying about whether or not I will wake up the next morning, or if I will die in my sleep during a surprise Indian attack. Even tobacco alone cannot soothe my nerves and paranoia, nor can the money that has been produced from the tobacco market keep my mind in a state of peace. Even though the colony has recently prospered from the blooming tobacco business, I would strongly recommend for you all to refrain from coming here unless you enjoy an indentured servant life, constant Native American threats, and terrible living conditions.
Prior to the American Revolution, history had shown cases of tyrannical governments taking advantage of the people. In most cases these tyrannical governments were shown no mercy and many times they were overthrown. For the American Colonies and the British Government this was completely different. It was different in the way that the American Colonies had shown great dislike for the lack of representation, taxes, and its plain disrespect from its mother land.
Those in Massachusetts were puritans and looking for a place where they would be free from religious persecution. Wealthy people who could afford the boat journey and did not have to become indentured slaves went for a more settled life. In 1616 John Rolfe imported tobacco seeds to Virginia, as the plants needed long and hot humid seasons. The first people who were granted the right of possessing land authorized the people to cultivate worn out land and grow better crops, as tobacco depletes minerals and nutrients from the ground.
The Virginia colony intended to reproduce into an English society when they settled. With tobacco becoming a huge crop in Virginia, they invested heavily in servants to help with the plantations, “Our principal wealth…. consisteth in servants.” (Takaki 53). Whites
Massachusetts searched for religious freedom, and lumbered and fish because of their geography and climate and their reasons for their economy. However, the Virginia colony farmed for geography and climate reasons, and for their economy. They also enslaved Africans for crop production on plantations. Due to their differences in development, each colony had evolved in separate
The early Virginia and New England colonies differed politically, socially, and economically due to the situations that the settlers faced. Throughout many of the letters written about some of the experiences of the earlier settlers, one can easily see a major difference in the way of life of the two colonies. Although many of these colonies differed in the way of life, each colony faced some similar things that they each had to overcome. These challenges made a massive difference in the way that each of the colonies started out and directly influenced the future for both colonies. When these challenges are faced, many of the settlers will create the foundations of their political, social, and economic systems.
In the 17th centuries early settlers came to America in the hope of taking their custom and traditions forward. However, the environment and geography brought changes to their lifestyles. Soon, people became to alter their pattern of living in the different colonies. During the 17th and 18th centuries, geography and the environment profoundly influenced the economic development and overall health and success of the two regions called the Chesapeake and the New England, which began to form in the early 17th century.
Looking back to the 1500s, the English had been situating settlements in Ireland and used a familiar model in the New World. The early years of Jamestown were difficult for the settlers. The land was hot, humid, and mosquito-infested, and the settlers were mostly aristocrats and artisans that spent much of their time searching for gold. Those who didn’t die on the trip, died once they arrived from diseases and starvation. In 1607, about 3 ships-each holding more than 100 English passengers, arrived on the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia.
The New England and Chesapeake colonies were established during the early 1700s. Despite the population originating from England, the regions had distinct societies. This was due to the fact that many settlers voyaged to the New World in search of riches, to seek new lives, or for religious freedom. They differed socially, politically, economically, and geographically.