Christian Carreon

History 140

The English in North America

American Colonies 8 – Chesapeake Colonies Maryland and Virginia attracted little

of the English hierarchy. This led to hard driven merchants and farmers to claim the fortunes of the land and the highest offices.

Because of this there was a lot of disobedience amongst the laborers who refused to meet the requirements of their authorities.

Laborers were guaranteed position of independence, especially those who were planters. Independence cherished amongst the British people who were used to living in a dependent society. These planters received large amounts of land and made profit in their own benefit.

American Colonies 8 – Chesapeake Colonies

The wealthy planters of the Chesapeake colonies were on top of the local government because tobacco cultivation and the river system sparked their hierarchy.

Chesapeake had only two towns which consisted of Jamestown and St. Mary’s City. These were very small towns and relied heavily on the “counties” to keep everything in order.

The counties or county courts held trials, executed sentences, licensed taverns and ferries, established and conducted elections to the assembly, and enforced provincial legislation. The Governor appointed judges sheriffs and county clerks.

American Colonies 8 – Chesapeake Colonies

In Virginia, the county doubled, and was led by the leading planters of its region. These planters created a board that was responsible for building and maintaining churches, hiring parsons, and providing poor relief. All of this was looked over by the king.

The Church of England also played a very important role in the colonies. They were responsible for the loans lent to the colonies and were entitled to support the taxes put on all of the inhabitants.

It’s said that most of the British people believed that cohesion amongst the people was only possible when the church and state acted together and accordingly as it promotes political obedience as well as religious.

In 1668 Virginia had an astonishing sixty-two Anglican churches throughout its lands.

American Colonies 8 – Chesapeake Colonies

The Chesapeake Colonies were composed of four tiers of authority.

1 tier: Consisted of the distant king in England and parliament

2 tier: The people answered to a provincial government which consisted of : the governor, council and assembly that would meet in Jamestown or St. Mary’s City.

3 tier: Composed of the county court and parish vestry.

4 tier: Consisted of the family where Husband of the household would decide how the family would be organized.

American Colonies 8 – New England The Chesapeake colonies were not the only ones that were

spawned by the British but another name New England. Colonists who settled here had to adapt to a colder , less

abundant, but in the end, far more healthier place to live in. It consisted of very rich last that included many mountains,

abundance in trees, and good soil. However it was said, living in New England was beneficial to the individual, but it required a lot of hard work to maintain one’s lifestyle.

In England there was plenty of work to do but very little land to spare, however it was quite the opposite in New England where there was a giant abundance of land, but little labor involved to develop productive farms

American Colonies 8 – New England-Puritans The Puritans were seekers of reform as

they were considered a “mingle mangle” of Protestant and Catholic doctrines and ceremonies.

Although the Puritans seemed like a cohesive group, there was actually division in there ranks. Most remained with the Anglican Church, seeking to capture and reform it only to preserve the idea of the church and state being one. The division of the Puritans who were more radical in nature became known as the Separatists.

The Puritans main goal was to bring back the “original” , pure form of the simple church of Jesus Christ.

American Colonies 8 – New England

Here shown is a map of Colonial New England

American Colonies 8 – New England The New England Colonies were

different from the Chesapeake colonies.

New England colonies gave lands to men who banded together to form a corporate type of system whereas the Chesapeake colonies relied on there leaders to allocate the land mainly toward rich individuals.

Through this process, New England had an advantage as they created a “compact settlement in towns to concentrate people sufficiently for defense, to support public schools, to pormote mutual superviion of morality, and, ablove all, to sustain a convenient and well-attended local church” (Taylor 170).