Geography played an important role in developing the British colonies in North America, but it was not the primary reason. Religion was definitely the most significant factor in characterizing the British colonies. The differences in religion of New England, the Chesapeake, and the Southern colonies had a much greater effect than those in geography and politics. Geography did help create distinctions amongst the three areas in the British colonies, New England, the Chesapeake, and the Southern colonies. In New England, the settlers experienced long, harsh winters, resulting in short growing seasons, making it an undesirable region for agriculture. The multitudes of large ports in this area, however, made New England …show more content…
The South was a largely plantation-based colony and the lead farmers of these plantations held most of the power. The House of Burgesses was founded in Virginia in 1619, and was the first representative democracy. It was modeled after the British parliament because the Southern colonies maintained stronger ties with Britain. The elected officials in charge of this government were the wealthy landowners. The Southern colonies had a large population of people in poverty and they essentially had no representation. In New England, however, there existed a form of direct democracy. This was in the New England Confederation. It was an inter-colonial alliance between the Bay Colony and Plymouth in Massachusetts, and New Haven and the scattered valley settlements in Connecticut. Each region had 2 votes, that all male colonists could take part in. This was the first united representative government in America. The Chesapeake region again sits in the middle between the extremes of New England and the Southern colonies. A number of democratic principles were featured in these colonies. There were some officials that were appointed by the monarch in England, and other leaders that were elected by the colonists themselves. Politics had some impression on the differing regions in colonial America, but this was far less significant than religion and geography. Factors that shaped the development of British colonies included geography, religion, and politics. Politics showed the populations represented in each region of colonial America, New England, the Chesapeake, and the Southern colonies. More important than this, however, was geography, which began to characterize the industries found in the colonies. Most important was religion which ultimately formed the diverse regions in colonial