Greater New England

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Though New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of

English origin, by the 1700s New England evolved into a more stable and well ordered society

than the Chesapeake. One reason why this difference in development occurred was because of

how much longer the people in New England lived than the people in the Chesapeake. Another

reason why the difference in development occurred was because the people who migrated to

New England arrived in families, while most people who migrated to the Chesapeake were

young and single men. Also, adding to a reason why the difference in development occurred was

because of the homogeneous nature of the Puritan New England colonies.

The people of New England having a longer life span than people in the Chesapeake

region led to a more stable and well ordered society for New England. The people in New

England, were much healthier than the people of the Chesapeake. Clean water and cool

temperatures retarded the spread of killer microbes. In the seventeenth century, New Englanders

added ten years on to their life spans by migrating from the Old World to New England. Then

again, the people of the Chesapeake had to deal with malaria, dysentery, and typhoid which took

away ten years of their lives.The people of the Chesapeake had shorter lifespans. Shorter

lifespans meant thatthe Chesapeake's population steadily declined, while the longer lifespans

meant that New England's population grew from natural reproductive increase. Shorter lifespans

also contributed to unstable family life , while the longer lifespans of New Englanders

contributed to family stability.

The longevity of the New Englanders contributed to family stability because children

were able to grow up in nurturing environments where they received guidance from not only

their parents, but their grandparents as well. The more stable and well-ordered society the New

Englanders enjoyed was also due to Puritan migration as intact family units to New England.

The men would bring their wives, sons, daughters, and servants. Puritans placed great

importance on the family. Young people were guided by their parents. Family stability was

reflected in the strong, social structure characteristic of colonial New England. Families of the

Chesapeake were both few and fragile. The majority of immigrants were men in their late teens

and early twenties, and very few women. Most Chesapeake settlers came as male indentured

servants to work for tobacco fields. Men outnumbered women six to one, which hindered the

development of family life. Most marriages were destroyed because of the death of a partner. It

was rare that a child knew a grandparent. Due to the migration of Puritans as intact family units,

New England had a more stable and well-ordered society than that of the Chesapeake.

New England had a much more stable and well-ordered society was because of the

homogeneous nature of the Puritan New England colonies. There was more of an importance of

literacy to the people of New England then there was to the people the Chesapeake. Towns of