American Stories, 3rd edition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Stories, 3rd edition - Assignment Example The Virginia Company founded Jamestown, the first English colony in North America, after receiving a charter from King James I in 1606. The settlers established the colony predominantly for economic reasons. On the contrary, religious separatists seeking autonomy from the Church of England founded Plymouth Colony. On the other hand,  Massachusetts Bay Colony  began as a commercial adventure in 1630. It  became home to many Puritans who abandoned England due to persecution from the Crown and the Anglican Church.1 Most people wanted to break free from the oppression of the Catholic and the Anglican Church. They desired to worship God in the way they found legitimate. The Puritans believed that the Anglican Church of England resembled the Catholic Church, hence wanted to purify it2. The Puritans were intolerant to those who refused their beliefs. On the contrary, the separatists  wanted to separate from the Anglican Church altogether. The religious differences thus caused them to diverge into different colonies. The initial settlers suffered from malaria and other diseases since it was founded near swampland. They also experienced internal strife and starvation. They relied heavily on supplies from the mother nation and  assistance  from Native Americans. Although its economy stabilized upon the successful cultivation of tobacco, it was destroyed during Bacon’s Rebellion of 1698. It had to struggle to rise again. Initially, Carolina colony was reminiscent of feudal kingdoms. Over time, it was popular for religious and political freedom. However, slavery was introduced since the proprietors had investments in the slave trade. While the labor forces of other colonies had indentured servants, the Carolinas embraced slavery. The Gullah people came about because of the transatlantic slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries. They are descendants of the slaves from Sierra Leone, who worked on rice plantations in Georgia and South Carolina. They live in