In the document, History of Virginia, Captain John Smith says, " There was no talk but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold ." This quote greatly informs historians with what was really on the mind of the settlers of the colony of Jamestown in the Chesapeake region. It seems that there was a scarce intention of settling in the Chesapeake colonies for reasons other than to make profit. Henceforth, families formed much more rapidly in New England. The families lived much longer in New England than in the Chesapeake colonies. This meant that parents could expect to see their children grow up, marry, and have their own children. .
The reason people lived a great deal longer in New England was because of the conditions there. The conditions in the New England colonies were much more healthier than in the Chesapeake colonies because they had a better climate, environment, high rate of reproduction, and family situation. People lived long enough to be grandparents, who gave an additional measure of stability to their society, in the New England colonies whereas in the Chesapeake colonies, people lost more years in their life expectancy than they had in their mother country, England. Their work was harsh and their diet was worse. The colony of Jamestown was on a swamp in the Chesapeake, which had many mosquitoes that spread diseases. Other problems such as flooding and starvation occurred there. A statistic showed that in the Chesapeake colonies, women could have up to three healthy children while the women in the New England colonies could have up to seven healthy children.
The influence of religious beliefs on the lives of the colonists differed considerably. Since the intentions of the settlers of the colonies were different when they came to the New World, they clearly had different way of life regarding religion. Seeing as the New England colonists fled England due to religious persecution, they had a strong religious culture.
