During the seventeenth century, Europe has undergone some tragic ordeals. As the Thirty Years War was gaining momentum, recent religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics emerged. War-fatigued and desperate citizens of all social classes were finding hope in the perspectives of the “New World” as they fled from Europe and particularly England in search of peace. Therefore, the Chesapeake Bay and New England’s Massachusetts Bay Colonies were founded. Even though these colonies had some initial similarities, the differences in their location, religion, and contingent created a gap between them.
The main similarity is that both colonies were inhabited by English people, who left their homeland in pursuit of a better life. Besides, for multiple reasons, both Chesapeake and Massachusetts specialized in farming as a leading economic activity. With the above-mentioned cases the similarities end and the variety of differences is established. First, Chesapeake colony was located in a more hot, swampy, and humid area, whereas Massachusetts had a more temperate climate (Lamont). For that reason, Chesapeake colony was characterized by higher mortality. Second, Massachusetts settlers tended to move from England as entire families, creating cohesive fast-growing towns. Chesapeake Bay colony, by contrast was mostly populated by single immigrants, who formed spread-out farming communities. Third, the Massachusetts Bay colony was also united by common religious and ideological views, while the Chesapeake Bay colony was not. Finally, even though the Massachusetts Bay colony did trade with the outer world and especially England, its economy was closed and self-sufficient (Lamont).
By contrast, the Chesapeake Bay colony relied on export, building huge tobacco plantations and selling its products to England. Therefore, the colonies were able to accomplish a similar goal of establishing a stable economy by taking different approaches.
Work Cited
Lamont, Edward M. The Forty Years That Created America: The Story of the Explorers, Promoters, Investors, and Settlers Who Founded the First English Colonies. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.