Florida, Georgia. and Chesapeake colonies
Florida, Georgia, and Chesapeake colonies were among the thirteen colonies that were established during the British colonization in North America during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Chesapeake colony consisted of the territory of the dominion of Virginia and the province of Maryland. The Chesapeake colonies were among the first colonies to be established compared to Florida and Georgia, which were among the last. The colonies being communities that were living mainly together before the colonization had notable similarities and differences. The significant similarity was primarily in the main economic activity that was agriculture due to the fertile soils in the areas. Differences ranged from the way of life, the religious beliefs and the way of governance.
While the Chesapeake colonies encouraged slavery, Georgia was the only colony among the thirteen to prohibit slavery. The slaves were taken from Africa to work on tobacco farms, which was the major cash crop. Drinking was banned in the colony of Georgia as opposed to the other Chesapeake colonies. Besides, the trustees of the province also believed that alcohol disoriented their people, and therefore, alcohol drinking was banned, and the rum containers destroyed. Georgia was created to act as a buffer by connecting the colonies and preventing from the invasion of enemies which the British feared that could take over their territories while Chesapeake colonies were for economic gains and agriculture. Florida, on the other hand, had little labour and the Spaniards established there very few plantations, but rather cattle ranches were built.
The southern colonies depended on Agriculture as their main economic activity. Agriculture was influenced by the swamp areas, long rivers, hilly coastal plains, fertile soils, forests and large tracts of land that were present in the regions. The warm climate in the colonies also encouraged agriculture and supported large plantations throughout the year. The temperate climate, however, urged the spread of disease in the provinces. The settlements also were not dominated by a specific religion which leads to the rise and growth of different faiths. Roman catholic and protestants, for example, lived together harmoniously in Maryland apart from the protestant revolution that came up in 1689 where the Puritans had a rebellion against the proprietary government. Besides, the governments in the southern colonies were democratic and were elected by their legislature with royal and proprietary government systems being practised in the provinces.