Gina Tangelo

AP US History
9/18/17

Comparison and Contrast of the Settling and Development of Virginia and

Massachusetts
Virginia and Massachusetts were British colonies that both prospered very well. Both

colonies moved to the New World because of problems in England and though both Jamestown

(Virginia) and Plymouth (Massachusetts) suffered in the beginning because of the climates, they

got help from another group of people to help them stabilize again. They differed because of the

different types of government in these colonies along with the gender diversity and religious

tolerance.

People were willing to cross the sea because of all the problems in England, causing for

King James to issue a voyage: the Virginia Company. This mostly annoyed the Native

Americans, most of them almost dying, because of all the settlers kicking them out of their land.

Because Virginia was built on a swamp, it could not form properly causing for malaria to arise,

and so it was unsustainable for the settlers. The Puritans and the Separatists similarly wanted to

leave England because of the problems and the disagreements between these sects and the

Church of England. They decided to move to Virginia to try and purify the people but ended up

landing in Massachusetts instead. Prepared for the Virginia climate, the Puritans were also not

able to cope with the climate of Massachusetts and this lead to suffrage for a while. The only

way for both colonies to continue to survive was through the help of the Native Americans. In

Jamestown, the Powhatans were the settlers’ guides and interpreters to help them trade with the

Powhatans’ trade partners. Similarly, with the help of Squanto, the Puritans were able survive by

being taught to fish and grow plants where it was much easier to plant compared to the swamp of

Virginia. Both colonies were created in response to an event that occurred in England and went

through a similar process before becoming stable.

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Gina Tangelo
AP US History
9/18/17

When King James issued the Virginia Company, he only sent young men and boys to the

colony, meaning that since there were no women, they could not reproduce and grow the

population. Virginia had a new kind of government called the House of Burgesses. This was the

first elective democratic body in the new world where males had to own certain property to be

able to really be able to do anything in the government. They did not necessarily care about

religion and so it was never a big concern for them. They just wanted people to live there no

matter what religion they had. The Puritans thought differently and brought families in the ships

with them so that there would not be a problem of reproduction. In Plymouth, the people

established a theocracy instead of using the House of Burgesses because the Church wanted to

rule as well. They decided everything by town meetings where more people could be involved

instead of just wealthy males who owned property. They, however, were not tolerant of religion

even though they wanted religious tolerance. Church attendance was required and it became the

social place for young people. While Virginia was focusing more on trying to create a colony,

the Puritans in Massachusetts were trying to purify people, as usual.

Both of these colonies ended up becoming one of the 50 states of the United States of

America today. They both had domestic servants from West Africa which eventually diminished

because of the constant rebellions and the realization of what was right and wrong. They both

had cities that suffered in the beginning because of failed comprehensions of the places they

were supposed to be going to and had to get help from the people living around them to be able

to survive. They differed in how they ran the colonies since Massachusetts wanted more religion

in the government while Virginia became a basis for many other events in history while

Massachusetts continued to thrive.