American Colonies

In the 3 colonies, Religion, the role of women in society, and Native American relationships were all affected by the different characters of the immigrants.

The colonies of New England and Pennsylvania were motivated by religion, but Chesapeake Bay was an economically driven colony. The puritans that arrived in New England came to the New World in order to build a religious utopia. Puritans did not separate church and state and forced people to follow their religion. Puritans also stressed literacy and education in order to pass the bible and their religion on form generation to generation. Quakers also immigrated to the New World for religious purposes. Quakers were seen as a threat the England so they were given a grant of land to leave England. The Quakers were a pacifist group and created a colony of religious freedom. Quakers lived together in groups of their families and beliefs. The pacifist belief of the Quakers created a peaceful society that attracted and accepted many other persecuted groups. The purpose of creating Jamestown was to convert natives in the New World into Christianity. However the growth of tobacco and the presence of joint stock companies quickly changed Jamestown into a place to make money. Jamestown attracted many money seeking people, however these people did not have any skills and did not work or contribute to Jamestown. The different religious beliefs of the colonists developed the various social lives within the 3 colonies.

Women in Chesapeake and New England colonies were not as respected ion terms of social standing as women were in the Quaker colonies. In New England, Women were very important in daily life. Puritan women mothered, weaved, and gardened in Puritan villages. Puritans valued family life much more than the Chesapeake colonies, where money was prized over family. In Chesapeake, where the goal of the colonists was fortune, many men left their families including their wives at home. Three fourths of the Chesapeake colonists were male. Also the spread of malaria killed many pregnant women making women