Despite being settled and originally colonized by mainly English settlers, the New England colonies and the Chesapeake region were distinctly different by the beginning of the eighteenth century. A series of events leading up to the beginning of the seventeenth century can account for the vast differences between these two colonial regions. The Chesapeake region, which was situated in the modern day Virginia area, had drastically different climactic circumstances, one's that were more life threatening than the climate of the New England colonies. The New England colonies came under intensely different political influence and control. The New England colonies had a backbone of religion and worship, while the Chesapeake region was not founded on religious principles. The drastic differences between the Chesapeake region and New England colonies were a result of the intensely different applications and relevance of religion, the different ideologies of the original political leaders, and the very different social structures of the particular colonies.
The New England Colonies and the Massachusetts Bay Colony came under the tremendous leadership of John Winthrop shortly after the commencement of the Great Migration. The New England colonies and Massachusetts especially were founded on the basis of religion. (Document D) It is note worthy that all social life revolved around religion and worship in the New England Colonies. This was mainly due to the influence of the majority Puritan population. (Document A) John Winthrop's, Model of a Christian Charity, is a reliable document because it was he who steadfastly governed the colony for just over twenty years. In the Chesapeake region, religious doctrine and worship were secondary to inner turmoil and outside invasion. The Chesapeake colonies were constantly under the pressure of inner turmoil, (Document H) or an inability to defend against outside invaders.