Keerthana Yogaratnam
Stephanie Volage
10/22/15
Period 4

Jamestown and Plymouth: Differences
After the 1400’s two men by the names of John Smith, leader of the Jamestown settlement, and William Bradford, the Governor of the Plymouth, decided to cross the Atlantic
Ocean in a ship in search of the "New World.” The Puritans and Jamestown settlers left England in search of a new way of life. While the individuals in both settlements were English, they were different in many important ways. They both had different climate conditions, religious preferences, and had different relationships with the Indians. To fully appreciate our Pilgrim heritage, it is important to understand the differences between Plymouth and Jamestown.
One important point that suggests the differences between Jamestown and Plymouth would be the climate. In the introduction to the Byrd journal account, the reader learns that “The
Southern climate was kinder” (52).Jamestown was located around a swampy area along the
James River where there was a warmer climate and the soil was fertile; however, Plymouth
Colony was founded off the Massachusetts coast, with a cold climate and rocky soil. According to the article, “The Southern Planters” the Southerners had a softer and warmer weather, the land was enormously fertile; however, the Northern climate was harsh” (52). Springs and summers were brief and winters were long and colder in the North. As stated in “The Southern
Planters”, the land in New England was hard; it's outcroppings and bedrock broke plows and made farming difficult because they were not well prepared for the harsh weathers” (52)
Another important point between Jamestown and Plymouth would be their difference of religion. In the Byrd journal account it says, “In religion, most Southerners belonged to the
Church of England. But the Puritans, who had rejected the established church, were constantly looking inward and questioning themselves”(52). In general, the southerners were more

Keerthana Yogaratnam
Stephanie Volage
10/22/15
Period 4 interested in the outside world, then they were in the scrupulous examination of their own souls.
Where the Puritans loved the world as much as anyone else did, they feared that its beauties were lures and sources of temptation. “Puritanism was a way of life”, “Believers wished to purify their religion” (The History of the Dividing Line). The settlers at Jamestown were members of the
Anglican Church. In contrast, the Pilgrims who were dissenters from the Anglican faith, established their own form of “pure” religion. The Southerners were aware of the presence of an omnipotent God, but religion was not a focal point of their lives”.
The most important point in the Plymouth and Jamestown difference would be the rivalry between Indians. Stated by The History of the Dividing Line, "As the Colony grew, violence frequently erupted between the settlers and the Indians" (55). In order for Jamestown settlers to make peace with the Indians, they had to intermarry with them, unlike the Northerners who were scared of the Natives. The Natives helped Jamestown settlers by showing them how to fish, harvest, and build shelters, while the Puritans had everything they needed. The Southerners persuaded to the Indians that there is a God. "He told us he believed there was one supreme god, who had several subaltern deities under him" (The History of the Dividing Line 57). The
Southerners never got in touch with the Natives, they were comfortable within themselves. There were vast differences between the difficulties experienced by the first settlers of
Jamestown, Virginia and the Puritans who settled in more ways than one. They both had various climate conditions, religious preferences, and different types of relationships with the Indians.
The Southern climate was kinder, however; the Plymouth Colony had a much cold climate and rocky soil. Although each group’s faith is different, their cultures and traditions were divergent.
Jamestown colonists did not fish or hunt and largely due to their dependency on this Powhatan

Keerthana Yogaratnam
Stephanie Volage
10/22/15
Period 4 tribe.The pilgrims establishing the Plymouth colony hunted, fished and took care of themselves.
Where the Puritans succeeded the Jamestown settlers failed, aslike where the Jamestown succeeded the Puritans failed.