Essay Database

Colonization Although New England and the Chesapeake regions were settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. I have described both societies in an attempt to demonstrate their developments. Virginia Colony In 1607 a group of merchants established England’s first permanent colony in North America at Jamestown, Virginia. They operated as a joint-stock company that allowed them to sell shares of stock in their company and use …

…the Puritans built stable communities, developed the economy and constructed effective government, their leaders, as early as the 1640s, complained that the founding vision of Massachusetts Bay was faltering. Material concerns seemed to outweigh religious commitments and the individual prevailed over the community. However, New England had achieved economic success and political stability by the end of the seventeenth century. Towns functioned efficiently, poverty was uncommon, public education was mandated and family life was stable.