Why Was Plymouth Colony Successful and the Jamestown Colony Nearly a Failure

Plymouth Colony 

Plymouth colony was formed in 1620, it was during King James reign, a group of people popularly known as the English separatist church fled religious persecution, and they boarded the Mayflower which took them to the shores of Cape Cod that is now known as Massachusetts. After a few months, the Cape Cod change to Plymouth, even though most of the people who fled to Plymouth did not survive the harsh winter climate, the ones that survived worked hard to grow Plymouth 1 . They made peace and made agreements to keep the peace, and that is what made Plymouth colony safe and fruitful. The people worked hard, and they managed to make the formerly known Cape Cod a success where people were self-sufficient with a period of five years. 

Their main reason for leaving England was aimed at reducing immorality; the pilgrims wanted a place they could do what they wanted regarding school and the corrupt society. The pilgrims were farmers before they moved to Plymouth; therefore, all they wanted was just land and a good place to sleep. The pilgrims were worried about the environment in Holland and saw it as corrupt; therefore it was not a morally upright atmosphere in which to bring up their children. In Holland, there was a conquest by the Catholic Spain to ensure all were Catholics therefore instead of the grand inquisition the pilgrims chose to leave to enjoy some peace and quiet in another area. Their freedom of worship was critical to them that is why Holland was not a good place to stay especially with the fact that they in Plymouth they had the freedom to worship and create an environment that was conducive for their children. 

Plymouth Colony was an English colonial endeavor in North America in the years 1620 to 1691. The Plymouth settled at new Plymouth a location which was first surveyed by Captain John Smith. The modern town of Plymouth Massachusetts was the first capital settlement by the colony, after its success, the territory later occupied the southeastern part of Massachusetts. The solution was formed by a group f rebels who were referred to as Anglicans and Brownist emigration; they were then called pilgrims. The Plymouth colony became successful before Virginia and Jamestown; it also became the first place the permanent English in the New England chose as their settlement. Plymouth owes its success to the chief Massasoit because of the treaty between them; the colony became a success because of the support from Patuxet people and Squanto. The support of the Plymouth colony by the Native American ensures its success however it helped them through the India Wars. The province of Massachusetts Bay is as a result of a merger between Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories. 

Plymouth colony did not exist for long, but their presence and success gave them a place in history. Most of its citizen’s this not flee their areas to explore the business opportunities on the other side, they were escaping religious persecution, and therefore for them, it was about freedom of worship 2 . Their primary desire was not to settle and become entrepreneurs like the Jamestown colony; they wanted a safe place to worship. The Plymouth people had their traditions and because they became a crucial part of America’s history some of their English customs and religious beliefs became part of the American folk. The Plymouth Rock was one of the great spiritual practice that later changed to Thanksgiving which Americans celebrate annually 3 . 

The main success aspect for the Plymouth colony was because they saw their area of settlement as a home that they could build, socialize, build relationships, to them that was a haven. However, for the Jamestown colony, their main aim was to make money there they got into every business they thought would be successful. When one company did not work, they had to look for another venture, and that is how they build their colony based on the treasure. After the pilgrims had set foot on Cape Cod they began working immediately they build makeshift houses that were meant to shelter from the harsh winter. However, the climate was too harsh for some because they became sick and by the time winter was over almost half of the population had died. At Cape Cod the pilgrims met the English-speaking Indians who had been interacting with other traders at the coast, the two colonies became friends which led to a treaty between them. Samoset was one of the Indians who spoke English, and he introduced the Pilgrims to Massasoit the chief who provided guidance in their development agendas and later became their leader. The interaction of the pilgrims with the Indians made them learn how to gather fruit, fish, and plant, which was the beginning of their success. Since they were religious people, they introduced a day where they could celebrate their harvest and Thanksgiving was born. 

After a few months the pilgrims had a place to call home; therefore they stopped their ferrying from the Mayflower to the shore. After the harsh climate had killed almost half of the pilgrims’ population, they decided to form a government; they involved every adult in the process of signing the Mayflower Compact. The separatists were few in the colony, but their strong bond and support for each other made them stronger than the others in the colony. They managed to be the control the colony for four decades without opposition. After Chief Massasoit dies William Bradford stepped up and became the governor for the next thirty years; he was among the people who advocated for the formation of the Mayflower compact that kept the colony at peace 4 . The chronicles of William of the journey of the pilgrims from Holland to Plymouth was used to write up the history of their journey because it was a first-person encounter. 

Growth of Plymouth Colony 

Plymouth was not a large colony as the others like James town and Virginia; however, the colonists decided to focus on development instead of business to grow their areas. The built more permanents houses, learned how to fish, hunt and plant crops. The size of the colony made it impossible to develop further, but the colonists saw and opportunity that no one else could. The owned the place and made it their own that way land, and the climate worked in their favor and they were able to make it self-sufficient for several years 5 . 

Due to the pilgrim's success, many other settlers wanted to join the pilgrims, but this was a wrong move because the land was already occupied and the own the place they would have to replace the Native Americans. Most of the did not fear; instead, they travelled to the colony and occupied most of the land, which made the native Americans angry, and they violated the compact and all other treaties to protest this move which led to the King Phillip War. Since the creation of the Plymouth colony their driving force was family, they were religious people who believed in working together for the greater good; all this was destroyed when they let in more settlers from Europe. They were no longer one large happy family; instead, they allowed commerce and trade to be corrupt them and leading to their separation and people started forming smaller groups that were self-centered. 

After the other settlers had come into Plymouth, they invaded the space, and they wanted a claim on all the land forcing the Native Americans out of their homes. The colony started degenerating especially because the compact was already broken and the people were not living within the set standards and morals as before. However even if the Plymouth colony did not last for a long time its population had grown, and its people were absorbed into other colonies that came up later, and they still followed the laws and regulation in the compact as their guiding principles. 

The Plymouth colony was the most successful colony of that time, it was self-sufficient, and it had a stringent collection of rules that everyone was following while still enjoying their freedoms to religion, lifestyles and other doctrines. The colony lasted for more than seventy years, and by the time it was being absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay company colony its population was about 7000 an increase from the one hundred plus colonists who survive the epidemic and the harsh weather 6 . 

The Pilgrims or Puritans as they were later known colonized Plymouth through the intention of looking for a place with non-secular independence, on the other hand, Jamestown was colonized by people who; left their land for a fresh start in business and also in search of an economic fortune. The pilgrims introduced their way of life to the people that they met in Plymouth colony; they showed them religion while they received training on corn farming, fishing and beaver hunting. They exerted authority because they were able to rule the territory for over forty years. The Puritanic residents made sure that everyone followed their religious ideals and whoever strayed from the got a punishment for the mistake. The Plymouth colony became dissolved because of the settlers who came in and disrupted the way the pilgrims were living, they mocked their religion, encouraged self-growth which was selfish and reintroduce the immorality they had worked hard to live in Holland. They also stole land from the Native Americans who for a long time considered the pilgrims as neighbors and friends. 

James town colony was mainly created by people who wanted to make money out of hunting for treasure and engaging in entrepreneurial services; they were encouraging people of no religious decent, the people were anti-Anglican. Therefore, individuals who did not find any solace in following any tradition was welcome in Jamestown. The climate change and for Jamestown, it became warm which was a conducive environment for diseases to dwell in, on the other hand, Plymouth became too cold and not many people could withstand the weather. 

Jamestown was full of opportunity, but people wasted that opportunity on hunting treasure instead of growing the colony, this behavior did not go on for long before the town started experiencing financial difficulty. To help salvage the situation, the pilgrims there began selling land patents to settlers who wanted to invest in the creation of private property. Some successful merchants agreed to the terms making the playing ground equally for the merchants and the pilgrims, this meant that they were equal partners; therefore, they could be involved in any project taking place under the agreement. 

The Jamestown colony 

Jamestown colony was formed before the pilgrims reached Massachusetts, it was established in 1607, and it was the first permanent American English colony. Its encounters also helped shape America through the adaptation of a new culture. The Virginia settlers gave helped create part of America’s heritage, especially in the language, aspirations, culture, and beliefs. The Virginia Company of London sponsored the colony, through investing in the venture because they were hoping to gain from the colonization. The company was at the forefront in trying to counterbalance the European nations abroad, by supporting the colony through a charter by King James 1. The main aim of the letter was to counteract the other countries looking for a way to the Orient, by distracting them and luring them to join the Anglican religion, the primary target were the Indians in Virginia. The people left England in 1606 aboard, the Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant to Virginia, some of them did not make it to Virginia coast because of the harsh climate during the voyage 7 . 

The people settled at James River which had broad shores, and it was a good anchoring for the ships, while the people searched for a settling place. The people did not waste time they immediately found, and location and construction work began. Seven men led the colony with one of them being the president. The settlement consisted of upper-class Englishmen who did not know anything about labor; their main aim for moving was to find a good place to establish their business. Unlike the pilgrims the Englishmen felt entitled to the land around James River; therefore they did not find any reason to inform the Indians who owned the land or even negotiate with them. That was the beginning of the problems in the outpost, mainly because the Indians did not speak English; therefore, communication was a big problem, even after establishing trading opportunities. The Englishmen were traders; therefore, anything business was right for them, but they were not prepared to work or even how to deal with the harsh climate, many of them are because of lack of water and food, and some of them could not withstand the environment. 

In 1608 is when two Englishmen arrived at Jamestown, they later increased as more women left England for James town. After Captain Smith had taken over the leadership he helped streamline the English men who were still waiting for slaves to help with looking for food and water; Smith began the no work no food movement to get the men and women to work. However, his reign did not last long after he had to return to England after his gunpowder injury. Smith did not return to Jamestown but still helped in the colonization of North America, his accounts of James-town became valuable information to historians. 

The departure of Smith left the Englishmen vulnerable because they could not continue with the policy he had initiated of no work no food, people began to starve because they did not work and they even destroyed the relationship with the Indians which led to war between them. Many colonists died from the war, starvation and disease, Jamestown had become inhabitable, and most of the colonists were prepared to leave. However before they left King James 1 ordered another bunch of people to go to Virginia, this time the convoy consisted of strong leaders, people with ambitions and with the knowledge of military law. They arrived at James town in 1610; they came with new supplies and new rules 8 . The new settlers were excited to find wealth; therefore they forged a new government with new rules forcing people to work and imposing punishment on those that went against the rules. 

The Englishmen were very ambitious they tried to form small industries to help them create products for sale, they tested, manufacturing tar and potash, producing wood and making glass but all these ventures were unsuccessful. However John Rolfe came up with the tobacco idea, he showed the other Englishmen how to grow it as a cash crop 9 . Tobacco growing became a booming business, but to make it profitable they had to produce it in large quantities, this meant that they had to occupy even the land owned by the Powhatan Indians. The problem was that even after occupying those lands the business does not thrive for long they just made the number of slaves in Virginia increase. The indentured slaves that helped with the tobacco growing were African from the west and central Africa mainly Angola and other countries in West Africa, the war with the Portuguese had led to the capturing of the slaves. The practice of owning people as slaves later became famous in mid-seventeenth century; the Africans were being traded for money because they were the primary labor source. 

The unsuccessful existence between the Powhatan Indians and the English colonist led to several wars later; these wars made the Jamestown colony inhabitable because no business was thriving which means people had no food, money and even water. However the first government was formed in 1619 in James-town, the representative government came to be because the second charter of colonists wanted to have a ruling government in place to help govern Virginia. Although the idea of a government seemed promising to the people in James-town, the Indians did not give them a chance to grow, plus there were misconduct issues among leaders of the Virginia Company. All these events prompted the king to dissolve the company; therefore, James town was dissolved 10 . Even though it was disbanded, James-town remained part of the Virginia government contributing to the social and political scene. In 1699 the administration located to Williamsburg brought an end to the Jamestown era. The James-town colony did not become successful however its heritages are still alive in the current United States. 

Reasons for Jamestown failure 

The settlers who formed James town did not work hard enough to make it a success; they chose the land near James River which had brackish water that was not suitable for drinking. The Englishmen did not consider involving the original inhabitants of the land before they settled in that way they could have been given advice on how to survive in the lands. However they disregarded their presence, and in the end, it led to hostility between them 11 . The Powhatan Indians had farming, fishing and other skills that they could have shared with the English settlers, but they were not interested in their help. The land they chose was suitable for anchorage but not conducive for settling because there were others they could settle and have safe drinking water and farm. 

The Englishmen left England in search of treasure and wealth, they only thought of Virginia as a place to do business; therefore they did not consider the location well, they did not believe in their survival beyond the firm. The colonist had no skills to survive the harsh climate because they had not sought advice from the people living in that area. Unlike the Jamestown Colony, the Plymouth Colony became a success because the people worked hard to build a bond between them and the Native Americans 12 . They bonded and shared the skills they had to help them thrive even more. The Englishmen were wealthy, and their move was driven by the thought of making more money, they did not want to work to get food, they just wanted to trade forgetting that money could not help them if they had no use for it. The Pilgrims left their homes in Holland to look for a place where they could worship in peace, therefore the first place they settled; they made sure it was peaceful and homely 13 . 

The Englishmen never cared for unity, they had to be pushed to work together to put food on the table by Captain Smith, and when he left for England, they went back to their old ways leading to more deaths because of starvation. The invasion of more colonists angered the Powhatan Indians even more because they felt entitled to their land that is why they decided to close of the colony; therefore no trade was taking place. This process meant that the colonists could not get food or water, that event led to the death of all of the Englishmen. In 1610 more settlers came in and helped grow the town again but the war continued until the time John Rolfe married Pocahontas, the daughter of the Indian, that helped build a relationship between the English and the Indians that was the only time Jamestown was lucky to even for a short while. 

Plymouth became a success because of the intentions of the settlers; they wanted a place to grow their families, mainly because they had left Holland because the environment according to them was not conducive to raising their children. The pilgrims, unlike the Englishmen, wanted a place to call home, where they would settle and do business, they build their colony on the foundations of family and religion. The Pilgrims in the Plymouth Colony worked hard to learn skills from the Native Americans which ensured they could sustain themselves even in the most difficult time. The pilgrims had only one leader Chief Massasoit who led them to the signing of treaties with the Native Americans. However, they lived in one community where each person had their role in the community 14 . Each person knew what they were supposed to do they followed divine guidance and anyone who went against Gods teaching was punished or thrown out of the colony. The family idea is what kept the Plymouth colony successfully even in trade, the Jamestown settlement, on the other hand, dwelled on chaos the people who formed this colony were wealthy Englishmen who did saw themselves as too rich to work. They were looking for people to enslave to do their bidding that led to their starvation. The colony could not sustain its self, and their only help came from the new settlers who came in with new supplies. 

They had not studied the area before occupying it, they were not aware of the dangers of living close to the river that had water which was not safe for drinking, they were not united in any way, and it was everyman for himself. That is what led to the series of unsuccessful projects attempts. 

Conclusion 

The success of the Plymouth colony was as a result of their initial plan even before they left their country, on the other hand, the failure of the Jamestown colony was also due to their lack of planning before they left England and after reaching the James River. The Plymouth chose to engage the residents of the area they were colonizing by engaging them in their activities and being open minded to learn more from them 15 . They appreciated them and asked for their permission to live on their land; however, the Englishmen did the exact opposite they invaded the land, did not take the time to find out if it as inhabitable or not, that is why their colony only enjoyed peace and sustenance for a short period. The fate of the two colonies gives us an insight on the tips for success and what happens when people choose not to work together. 

Bibliography 

Breen, T. H. (1980). Puritans and Adventurers . New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. 

Dell, P. 2004. The Plymouth Colony . Mankato, Minn: Capstone Press. 

Demos, J. (1999). A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony . Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. 

Grizzard, Frank E., and D. Boyd Smith. (2007). Jamestown Colony: a political, social, and cultural history . Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/?isbn=9781851096428. 

Robbins, Roland W. (1969). Pilgrim John Alden's Progress. Plymouth , Massachusetts: Pilgrim Society 

Sakurai, Gail. 1997. The Jamestown colony . New York: Children's Press. 

Stratton, E. A. (1986). Plymouth Colony, its history & people, 1620-1691 . Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Pub. 

üsted, M. A. (2017). The Jamestown Colony disaster: a cause and effect investigation. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=8EB1AD76-9B5D-4312-9991-49880E566065. 

1 Dell, P. 2004. The Plymouth Colony . Mankato, Minn: Capstone Press. 

2 Breen, T. H. (1980). Puritans and Adventurers . New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. 

3 Stratton, E. A. (1986). Plymouth Colony, its history & people, 1620-1691 . Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Pub. 

4 Demos, J. (1999). A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony . Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. 

5 Grizzard, Frank E., and D. Boyd Smith. (2007). Jamestown Colony: a political, social, and cultural history . Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/?isbn=9781851096428. 

6 Robbins, Roland W. (1969). Pilgrim John Alden's Progress. Plymouth , Massachusetts: Pilgrim Society 

7 Grizzard, Frank E., and D. Boyd Smith. (2007). Jamestown Colony: a political, social, and cultural history . Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/?isbn=9781851096428. 

8 Sakurai, Gail. 1997. The Jamestown colony . New York: Children's Press. 

9 Sakurai, Gail. 1997. The Jamestown colony . New York: Children's Press. 

10 Stratton, E. A. (1986). Plymouth Colony, its history & people, 1620-1691 . Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Pub. 

11 üsted, M. A. (2017). The Jamestown Colony disaster: a cause and effect investigation. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=8EB1AD76-9B5D-4312-9991-49880E566065. 

12 üsted, M. A. (2017). The Jamestown Colony disaster: a cause and effect investigation. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=8EB1AD76-9B5D-4312-9991-49880E566065. 

13 Robbins, Roland W. (1969). Pilgrim John Alden's Progress. Plymouth , Massachusetts: Pilgrim Society 

14 Demos, J. (1999). A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony . Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. 

15 Breen, T. H. (1980). Puritans and Adventurers . New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.