During the 1600s the New England and Chesapeake regions began to be settled and colonized. Although both came from English backgrounds and dreamed of wealth and freedom, differences began to form as soon as they settled, and by 1700 the two regions will have evolved into two distinct societies. Due to exposure to different circumstances, both regions have developed unique issues from each other and caused them to build their societies differently. Therefore, the differences socially, politically and economically present in the two regions caused the divergence. The first settlement, Jamestown, was founded in the Chesapeake region. Geographically the position was unhealthy but easy to defend from Spanish ships (but not from inland Indians). The colony lacked leadership, John Smith tried to impose order but conditions in the region were also not good and many died within the first year from starvation (Document F) because many settlers did not work or had no experience in farming. Many of the settlers who came from England to the Chesapeake were young males (Document C). Because of this, the region is almost extinct because there has been no natural population growth. It wasn't until John Rolfe introduced tobacco that the Chesapeake region began to generate wealth. The rapid growth of tobacco required heavy labor to encourage tobacco cultivation; the right-head system began which also contributed to large population growth in the region. Because tobacco plantations created such wealth, they became the key economic product. Despite the profits from tobacco, the Chesapeake was still a terrible place to live with a high mortality rate from disease and attacks by the Powhaten Indians. A key change in the region was that the... middle of paper... long enough to see the grandparents. The Community was also much more switchable than that of Chesapeake, where each town was governed independently by members of the local church (Congregationalism) unlike the House of Burgesses in Virginia which dealt only financially. With lands other than the Chesapeake, New England relied on livestock, grains, and fishing for its economy. Although they both come from English origins, the two regions are very different from each other. The Chesapeake, a region more for investment and wealth, while New England is a region more of a religious paradise. The two regions have differentiated into two distinct societies mainly due to the different locations of the two and the issues that have arisen from this. Although both became different in the 17th century, the two regions united despite huge differences when the quest for independence began.