Religion was of paramount importance in the early colonies. It influenced their way of thinking, speaking and life, as a whole.
The first colony was at Virginia in 1607. The people who formed part of this colony left England to avoid religious persecution. These people were referred to as Puritans. Puritans are so-called because they strive to attain "purity" of worship and doctrine. The Puritans were only after changes of the system not total separation from the church. Puritans immigrated to North America because they dislike the practices and leadership of the Church of England at that time.
Most of the Puritans settled in New England. The immigrants were comprised mostly of large families - women, men and children. This point in history is often referred to as Great Migration.
In the seventeenth century, the social and economic troubles in England created two major English colonies in America- Chesapeake colonies in the south and New England in the north.
New England and Virginia
New England colonists differed from their Chesapeake counterparts. Chesapeake was comprised mostly of poor and short-lived servants while New England was made up mostly by "middling sorts" who preserved their freedom because they have money to be able to travel across the Atlantic.
New England settlers practiced a more demanding faith than the Anglicanism practiced in the Chesapeake. New England settlers were called Puritans because of their quest to purify the Protestant faith, whether in England or creating a New En-land if needed.
New England environment is characterized as colder, less abundant, but far healthier than Chesapeake. It is hilly land of dense forests, sharp slopes, stony soils, and a short growing season. New England settlers have to work hard to be able to farm. It did not offer much prospect of becoming wealthy. New England was described as, "the air of the country is sharp, the rocks many, the trees innumerable, the grass little, the winter cold, the summer hot, the gnats in summer biting, [and] the wolves at midnight howling." But the Puritans were grateful having to work hard. One explained:
If men desire to have a people degenerate speedily, and to corrupt their mindes and bodies too ... let them se[e]cke a rich soile, that brings in much with little labour; but if they desire that Piety and Godlinesse should prosper ... let them choose a Country such as [New England] which may yield sufficiency with hard labour and industry. Emigrants who wanted to become rich could go farther south to the Chesapeake.
To make farms, the colonists had to do a number of things requiring hard labor such as cut clearings in the forest, chop firewood, erect fences, build barns and houses, plow and plant fields, harvest crops, and construct mills. This work needed to be done in cold and rocky New England and in flatter, warmer, and fertile Chesapeake. Despite harder work, the New England farm earned smaller profits than the Chesapeake plantation. This was because of the shorter growing season and rougher land prevented the cultivation of the colonial staples with the most demand in Europe such as tobacco and sugar.
The New English farmers were forced to raise small crops - wheat, rye, maize, potatoes, beans, and garden plants. None could be sold to England, because of the lack of demand for those products.
New England farmers did not have slaves to do the farming for them. They depended on their families for the labor. Thus, distribution of property and power was more fair in New England than in their richer counterpart, Chesapeake, where a group of elite exploited servants and slaves.
The New England colonies granted lands to men who formed a corporate group to build a town. The town system contrasted was in sharp contrast with the Chesapeake colonies, where the leaders gave land directly to individuals particularly the wealthy. This Chesapeake practice scattered the settlers causing them problems in maintaining schools and churches and to discourage Indian attacks.
New England settlers were less scattered which helped them defend their town; sustain public schools, promote morality, and, above all, to maintain a local church.
The colonial legislature served as the basis for town boundaries. Each town corporation allocated land for household farms and a village center with church and school. The town was not just a tract of land; it was also a local government. In contrast, Chesapeake colonies depended on the larger county. They gathered in town meeting where the male property holders elected their local officials comprised by a board of selectmen.
Unlike in Chesapeake, differences in social status were not felt in New England
where majority of the settlers were middle class. Also, the New England economy distributed its share more equitably among the farmers and tradesmen compared to Chesapeake.
New England society was formed on the basis of Puritan family whether economically or religiously. The women were responsible of molding their children into ideal Puritan adults. Success was measured by harmonious marriage and godly children. The success of the Great Migration therefore rested to a great extent on the shoulders of women.
