AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: The Chesapeake Colonies (Day 19/309)

Welcome to day 19 of APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

Today I will be explaining the main characteristics of the Chesapeake Colonies.

1714 Homann Map of Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey Geographicus.com

The Chesapeake Colonies were composed of the present-day states of Virginia and Maryland. This region has a generally mild climate with a long growing season.

Tobacco Plantation World History Encyclopedia

With the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 and the introduction of tobacco in 1610, the Virginia colony quickly attracted many young, single, men looking for wealth. In fact, the male to female ratio was approximately 6:1.

Large Broadside on the Maryland Toleration Act Wikimedia Commons

Maryland, also cultivated tobacco, but became known as a religious refuge for Catholics who had been persecuted in Protestant England. They enacted one of the first laws regulating religious freedom- The Act of Toleration- in 1649.

Armstrong's picture of the First Assembly in Jamestown 1619 Wikimedia Commons

The labor intensive nature of tobacco cultivation, plus a high death rate in the colony, fueled both the demand for cheap labor and a prosperous economy. The Virginia Colony quickly established a local assembly, the House of Burgesses in 1619, to aid in the governing of the growing society.

The Chesapeake Colonies should be most remembered for the goal of acquiring wealth, Jamestown, the cultivation of tobacco, and the forced labor of indentured servants and enslaved Africans.

Join me tomorrow as I introduce Puritans in our next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!