Jamestown_V_Virginia

10-6-2011 A Thought: New England People in Virginian Lands When we begin to analyze the successful first colonization’s of our American pastime, we can see that Theology played an exciting role in the missions and futuristic goals of the New England settlers. Now imagine taking those religious ideas and intentions towards a new land, a place filled with plantations and vast lands of fertile soil for the production of various products such as tobacco, cotton, and ultimately slavery. You ask yourself, would they aspire for wealth and stability like the Virginian settlers did or would they take the side of faith and theology' Religion has always been a true root of tradition, sacrifice, culture, and finance. Religion has ties that can make wars, create movements, instill economic systems and change governments. You have to wonder if the comparisons and differences of New England and Virginia rest far more between what is more important for settling: Religion or Stability of life' Regardless, one thing is for sure, Jamestown, Virginia would be a much different place. As we close our eyes and slowly envision New England settlers moving into the Virginia lands, you cannot help but wonder what would be the cash crop of choice. The New England lands were meant for more useful vegetation, as well as crops that could be of use to survive rather than for the gain and wealth of the family. New England would be pushed to a place where they “were met by thick forests. The river sides were covered with swamps, marsh and stagnant water. Wild animals included deer, moose, elk, bear, wolf, lion, squirrels, rabbits and a total species of twenty-eight creatures roamed the forests” ( Our Ancestors 1). When you analyze what can be grown in climate with efficiency, you would figure that tobacco and eventually more cotton would be planted. But in saying so, one might fail to recognize the pure power that the New England Protestant faith possessed. They went to the depths to leave towards the Americas. They would value their faith more to grow food to feed their families longer periods of time simply because Puritan faith favors a family-oriented household. Using tobacco itself cannot bring any impacting positivity to families’ diet and health. The New England people would grow crops to survive instead of for profit and/or gain. The way of profit would always be different between Virginians and the Puritans of New England. The Puritans would use their household-orientated belief to grow crops needed to survive regardless of environment, instead of the Jamestown method of trading slaves and growing cash crops in plantations. Puritans and slavery would never be affiliated because of the enormous family support associated with Puritan children. For example, the children would be put to work before money would be spent on a service to fix the house. In a sense, the class level associated with the Puritans and the Anglicans before they left England determined work tendencies and values that came to be known with either group. Originally the New England settlers derived from East and North of London while Jamestown settlers came from the West and South. When both groups left for the Americas, Southern England was dominated by estates. Jamestown came from environment where class mattered. Both groups had different expectations and plans as a result. The Anglicans planned to continue their profiting merchant careers while the Puritans strived for pure hard work and family unity to support the household financially being that they were not as financially stable as the Anglicans. When looking at the origins of the New England people, you must recognize the purity in their beliefs and values. They left England because of the injustice towards their faith. The Pilgrims would deny the idea of growing crops more for profit to provide stability in life support large households. The Puritan people had established large household because they were determined to be united and be a strict pure community. The idea of large households really would shine light on the ways of the Virginian folk because Jamestown relied heavily on the African slave trade. So when determining if slavery would be existent, one would ultimately have to decline. The Angelican people made up 98% of the Jamestown faith. They believed that to keep family strong, stability with wealth was needed. What more efficient way to establish wealth than with gathering slaves for the plantations of Jamestown' Slavery was not necessarily seen as humane but as a means to wealth and prosperity. It was “in 1619, the first Africans arrived on a Dutch trade ship that had run low on food and traded the Africans for food supplies. These Africans became indentured servants, as slavery did not develop in Virginia for another sixty plus years “(Our Ancestors 5). Slavery eventually took over most of the commerce because it was the easiest chance to profit. I don’t however want to imply that Anglicans were money thriving people but believed to truly take care of family one had to live in a stable business environment where they would prosper to support their families. For the New England people, religion permeated every aspect of the region towards Theocracy over Democracy thus the reason that Slavery was never considered for the New England Puritans. Religion speaks volumes about the history of colonization. Every religious group had different views and contrasting goals for their living ways. Their faith determined a lot about their family household. The Anglicans, being more orientated towards prosperity and conformability, help nothing back in becoming businessmen. After all it was because of Jamestown that the Virginia Company became so successful. The Puritans strived to involve their families within the caring of the household. That is the sole reason slavery would never be as popular as it was for Jamestown. Religion determined their culture and family functions. Religion established the finances of the household because wealth wasn’t in the interest of the Puritans, it was simply taking care of their bigger than average families and how to survive. Their religious beliefs changed the course of both sides and regardless of region, the concept of religion versus profit/wealth will always be at a split decision. Cites: "Our Ancestors of Jamestown, Virginia." Genealogical Gleanings Homepage. Genealogical Gleanings, 1997. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. .