Differences Between the Bringings of North and South Colonies

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While colonists eventually came to rule all of North America, the land was originally inhabited by the native people who lived there first. New Englanders treated the natives with a different objective mind while the Southerners preferred to rid them completely of the land to make way for their colonies. Governor Berkeley describes Virginia’s relations with the Indians to be very hostile towards one another. Berkeley explains how their defenses against Indian attacks may not prove to be successful. This letter shows the constant fighting that occurred between the whites and the Indians due to their lack of seeing eye to eye with one another. In “Bacon’s ‘Manifesto’”, he believes that attacking the Indians was in the best interest for everyone in Virginia. Bacon explains that while the governor was focusing his attention on other matters, the fight against the Indians was also just as, if not more, important than advancements in trade or other activities. This rebellion shows the distaste colonists had towards Native Americans, and their desire to fight back even if the governor failed to do so. Northern colonies were much less about completely wiping the Native Americans of the face of the Earth, and more about establishing some relationship with them. While the New Englanders did not see them as equals, on the contrary, they saw them as less of a people, they still felt that it was their religious duty to try to convert them through missionaries and camps. Pennsylvania eventually even develops a sort of save haven for Indians, allowing them to walk amongst them freely without worry or fear. The Native Americans also provided fur and fish which contributed to the North’s specific economy which was different from the South’s. New England’s society was much less aggressive towards the Natives, while the South showed heavy resistance.

Finally, the societies that emerged in the North and South diverged somewhere during their creations due to their motivations for establishing their colonies, the types of groups that established the colonies, and the relationships established with the Native Americans. Eventually, these early colonies heavily influenced the middle colonies which would come to be established later in time. These colonies would contain components from both societies found in the North and South. The middle colonies were the middle ground for the North and South.