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The colonists in Virginia enjoyed more political autonomy than their friends in New England and back home. Furthermore, Virginians developed a political philosophy that is similar to the modem federal system: representative democracy and popular politics. For both Chesapeake colonies, the royal ruler shared power with the wealthiest colonists who dominated the county system of local government. As a result, the political freedom attracted many young men and there was a skewed sex ratio. In 1625, only 10% of the population were women. The gender gap indicated men greatly outnumbered women and the prevalence of single men increased social volatility.
Similar to other colonies, the Chesapeake employed both indentured servants and slave labors. The colonists occupied all of the best tobacco lands and enjoyed tremendous trade surplus. However, the economic success also came at a heavy cost. The Native Americans again lost their lives for protecting their ancestral land. The colonists also made sacrifices by accepting shorter life expectancy and poor prospects for marriage. The economic success also created some social mobility and allowed people to express their desires. Bacon’s Rebellion took place as a result from a split between people who allied with the royal governor and a group of ambitious planters. The Bacon’s Rebellion actually played an important role in facilitating Virginia’s “democratic” process. The assembly decided to build a more popular political base by reducing poll tax. The colonists also started to treat visitors with great hospitality and generosity. Furthermore, the policies allowed the African slaves to acquire freedom after a few years of working. However, as the number of African slave increased, white masters felt compelled to use brutal punishment to control and motivate slaves. The planters created a racial system of slavery and almost all blacks were slaves and almost every slave was black.
The Chesapeake was functioning similarly to a modern democratic entity for a while but slave trade and economic gains from tobacco trade turned Virginia to a usual colony that is based on exploitation and violence. On the other hand, Carolina and Georgia were two very interesting cases because they both enjoyed economic prosperity yet did not solely used violence in the slave system. Carolina primarily attracted farmers and artisans from modest origins from both the Chesapeake and the West Indies. The Carolina’s leaders knew that deerskins and Indian slaves were volatile commodities, so they decided to develop valuable agricultural staple for export to prosper in the long term. As a result, the Carolinas became the empire’s great rice and indigo colony. In terms of social manners, the South Carolina elite became renowned as more gracious and polite than the gentlemen of Virginia. By 1670, Georgia became the first and only British colony to reject the slave system in North America. The Carolina and Georgia region enabled a relatively small group of whites became rich and politically powerful by developing a strong local economy and working together with a large population of African labors.