Why Was Chesapeake Founded

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Pages: 3

The reasons for which Chesapeake was founded was much more economical in purpose. The Chesapeake region included both East and west New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and virgina. while New England was established on the idea of religious refuge Chesapeake Bay was founded on the idea of making a profit. The Virginia Company of London was the first joint-stock company to travel to America. After learning stories of prosperity that the Spanish found in South America the Virginia Company investors thought it would be easy to find gold if they started a new settlement also. In 1607, 144 English boys and men settled the JAMESTOWN colony, named after King James I. The first Virginians landed 13 years ahead of the Pilgrims landing in Massachusetts. They arrived on an unfamiliar land and …show more content…
The colonists were informed that if they did not accumulate any wealth, financial support for their efforts would come to an end. Many of the men spent their days futilely searching for gold they would never find. One of the largest problems the Jamestown settlement faced was the fact that most of the first colonists were gentlemen of wealth that did not posses any useful skills and were not used to manual labo. Instead of putting their efforts toward building and hunting the majority of the men spent endless hours looking for gold. Therefore, much of their energy was wasted and their pursuit of gold was in vain. If it were not for the leadership of John Smith the colony may well have perished. He imposed strict rules and discipline on the colonists. “he who shall not work, shall not eat”" was a saying he used frequently to ensure each colonist spent four hours per day farming. Before too long they learned how to grow the primary food crops of the natives which included corn and maize. They also discovered a habitual pleasure of the natives,