Making a New Home in a New Land—Resettling in the United States

Abstract

Once the decision to migrate is made, the next most important decision for those on the move is to choose a destination. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, migrants from Europe often made their new homes on property that was granted them by charter from the Crown to immigration and resettlement agencies such as the Plymouth Company and the Virginia Company. Colonists often selected new homes because of the abundance of available land, favorable climate, rich soil suitable for crop cultivation, and proximity to transportation arteries such as the ocean or rivers. While some Englishmen and women such as comprised the Puritan community settled in the North Atlantic coast, others chose the more moderate temperatures of the mid-Atlantic and southern regions. The waters of the mid-Atlantic region were free of ice more months of the year than those to the north, perfect for commerce. The rich lands and warm moist climate of some parts of the South attracted those who hoped to make their fortunes growing tobacco. Friends, relatives, coreligionists all followed a chain pattern of migration that would continue into the following centuries.