Virginia And New England Essay Example for Free

Virginia And New England Essay Virginia and New England stand out as very distinct states that experienced different historical background especially in the early period of colonization. The New England region consisted of such states of modern day Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. First European settlement in New England was in 1620 by European religious pilgrims who were fleeing Europe because of persecution. When the first settlers first came they believed the whole of North America was virgin and forested that thus the name Virginia. Jamestone was the first permanent European settlement in May 1607. (John Smith 122) Initially when the Europeans started settling in these areas they peacefully coexisted with the natives because they were few in number and posed no threat. The first tribes that controlled these areas were mainly the Algonquian tribes and had quite a different culture from the Europeans. Although the interactions thrived at first and peace prevailed, conflict bordering on land control and ownership stated increasing. (John Smith 132) In Virginia and New England the Europeans stated cultivating tobacco as a cash crop and as the demand increased more land was being cleared leading to an increased number of more settlers streaming in. There was bound to be an increased conflict between the Native Americans and the new settlers. The Native Americans depended wholly on the forested woodland as the source of food especially from hunting. As more land was being cleared to provide land for tobacco the natives could not stand it, they fought the encroachment. This would lead to the Indian massacre of 1622 and another one in 1644 against the Europeans by the Powhatan tribe. (John Smith 162) As time elapsed, by the 17th century there was an increased number of settlers who arrived from Europe in droves, on the other hand there was a serious decline of the native tribes as a result of assimilation with the general population which meant that their heritage and identity was being heavily compromised. Soon thereafter, because of the expansion of the land under tobacco, most of the land came under the control of the colonists who in turn started practicing slavery as a source of labor. The colony was under British control by 1622 ending the control by the Native Americans. (John Smith 167) Works Cited John Smith : The generall historie of Virginia, New England the Summer Isles : together with The true travels, adventures and observations, and A sea grammar Glasgow : J. MacLehose ; New York : Macmillan, 1907. P. 122-167