Jamestown and Plymouth – the former founded in the state of Virginia and the latter in Massachusetts – were the successful attempts of the English to found their own colonies on the American territory. The link between both settlements, according to Egloff (2020), among others, is that both are thought of as the American origins’ histories. The reasons for their establishment, however, varied drastically: while Jamestown was intended to be utilized as a source of riches, Plymouth was a place for Puritans to practice their Protestantism with no interference (Corbett et al., 2017). This influenced the religious landscape of both colonies, as Anglicanism was traditionally practiced in Jamestown, while Plymouth, as has been mentioned before, was a puritanic residence.
The colonies’ social structure was notably different from one another since the society of Jamestown was stratified – and Plymouth was a place of diversity founded on English culture and traditions. Jamestown’s economy was based on the cultivation of monocultures, tobacco, and rice being the main ones. Corbett et al. (2017) note that the subsequent enlargement of plantations led to a place’s dependency on slavery, while Plymouth’s small businesses depended on wage laborers. Examples of small businesses included local craftsmen, traders, and small farmers.
In Jamestown, the county was ruled by a wealthy elite who lived on plantations, large and small. In Plymouth, people tended to live in small, dispersed settlements, which stimulated the growth of the county government. Both establishments suffered from difficulties, including diseases, famine, and conflicts with Native tribes. However, the people of Jamestown and Plymouth overcame all of the struggles and now are looked at as the first stories of so-called English origin on the land of America.
References
Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M. (2017). U.S. history. Samurai Media Limited.
Egloff, N.D. (2020). A ‘grant [to] the adventurers of the northerne collony’: Jamestown connections with Plymouth. Jamestown Settlement and American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. Web.