Chesapeake Colonies
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Chesapeake Colonies
OR:
Chesapeake Colonies on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Chesapeake Colonies were the
Colony and Dominion of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (hist ...
, later the Commonwealth of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, and
Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British Empire, British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in American Revolution, rebellion ag ...
, later
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
, both colonies located in
British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas fro ...
and centered on the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
. Settlements of the Chesapeake region grew slowly due to diseases such as
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
. Most of these settlers were male immigrants from England who died soon after their arrival. Due to the majority of men, eligible women did not remain single for long. The native-born population eventually became immune to the Chesapeake diseases and these colonies were able to continue through all the hardships. The Chesapeake region had a one-crop economy, based on tobacco. This contributed to the demand for slave labor in the Southern colonies. The tobacco also depleted nutrients in the soil, and new land was continually needed for its cultivation. White
indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of Work (human activity), labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensa ...
s were also common in this region early in its settlement, gradually being replaced by African slaves by the latter half of the seventeenth century due to improved economic conditions in Europe and the resulting decrease in emigration to the Chesapeake region. Indentured servants were people who signed a contract of indenture requiring them to work for their Chesapeake masters for an average of five to seven years, in return for the cost of the Atlantic crossing. When finished, they might be given land, or goods consisting of a suit of clothes, some farm tools, seed, and perhaps a gun.


See also

*
Atlantic Creole Atlantic Creole is a cultural identifier of those with origins in the transatlantic settlement of the Americas via Europe and Africa.British colonization of North America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
*
Colonial families of Maryland The Colonial families of Maryland were the leading families in the Province of Maryland. Several also had interests in the Colony of Virginia, and the two are sometimes referred to as the Chesapeake Colonies. Founders and scions See also * Fi ...
* Colonial South and the Chesapeake *
First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsbur ...
* History of White Americans in Baltimore *
Old Stock Americans Old Stock Americans, Pioneer Stock, or Colonial Stock are Americans who are descended from the original settlers of the Thirteen Colonies of mostly British ancestry who emigrated to British America in the 17th and the 18th centuries. These Old ...
*
Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British Empire, British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in American Revolution, rebellion ag ...
*
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
**
Middle Colonies The Middle Colonies were a subset of the Thirteen Colonies in British America, located between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies. Along with the Chesapeake Colonies, this area now roughly makes up the Mid-Atlantic states. Mu ...
**
New England Colonies The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colo ...
** Southern Colonies * Tobacco colonies


References

*Mark C. Carnes & John A. Garraty, The American Nation: A History of the United States, Pearson Education, 2006. {{Thirteen Colonies -03 Chesapeake Bay Province of Maryland Colony of Virginia English colonization of the Americas History of slavery in Virginia History of the Thirteen Colonies History of the Southern United States Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas