APUSH DBQ Essay

Submitted By attitudegirl98
Words: 645
Pages: 3

In the period up until 1700, the Chesapeake and New England colonies developed differently, most notably in religion, economy, and government. The Chesapeake and New England colonies differed in the area of religion as they developed. The intent of the Chesapeake colonies was rarely to stay permanently; rather, they were interested in economic opportunities. One of the most famous incentives was the rumor of gold, among other precious metals and stones. This can be seen in Document C, which is a list of emigrants bound for Virginia. Very few are women, and the majority of the male population is between the ages 15 and 30. No children were brought, and there are very few familial relations between the colonists. They were obviously not planning on staying and making a new life. In New England, the majority of colonists had a family. Also, the colonists in New England were more organized, and had more of a plan than simply finding gold. This can be seen in Document D, part of the Articles of Agreement, which has specific rules defining their lives in the New World. Document E is also crucial to this argument because of one specific characteristic: It pinpoints an issue in the colony, and then gives a “solution” to it. Document E details the regulation of prices and wages in the Connecticut colony, and tells the colonists who offer a service or trade to keep prices fair for their neighbors. No such document can be found from the Chesapeake area because they were not prepared to deal with such issues, whether it was political, social, or physical. The New England and Chesapeake colonies also differed in the development of their economies. New England relied on their waters for their profits, while the Chesapeake colonies relied on gold profits, and then agriculture. Document B shows this. The list of emigrants has a variety of age and gender, with about 8 families present in the list of about 40. This shows that the colonists in New England were ready to provide for themselves and any future generations by bringing their children. They didn’t yet know that New England had poor soil, and that the growing season was not very long. Those who came to the Chesapeake colonies, however, had no plans for the future. Document F recorded this from Captain John Smith’s point of view. At one point, he says, “There was no talk…but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold…” There was no