Because the majority were men, eligible women didn't stay single for long. The native population eventually became immune to Chesapeake diseases. Settlements in the Chesapeake region grew slowly due to diseases such as malaria. Most of these colonists were male immigrants from England who died soon after their arrival.
The native population eventually became immune to Chesapeake diseases and these colonies were able to continue despite all the difficulties. Like the colonists in Virginia, the Maryland colonists grew tobacco, which became a staple crop of their economy. Farmers grew large quantities of tobacco, often on plantations where slaves worked under brutal conditions and then sold or exchanged their harvest for other commodities.
Chesapeake Bay
was a convenient port for transporting tobacco, and by the 1670s, more than ten million pounds of tobacco were leaving the bay every year.The Chesapeake colonies were generally considered to have a more challenging environment, both physically and emotionally. Death rates in Chesapeake were high, and most children had lost one or both parents before adolescence. The Chesapeake Bay region is an important stage in African-American history. The region was a gateway for the first blacks brought from Africa to the colonies.
In the mid-19th century, the bay and its rivers were important thoroughfares along the underground railroad. After the war, newly emancipated blacks came to the shores of Chesapeake, where they helped build the region's economy and shape its culture. Chesapeake Bay served as a crucial maritime route for the tobacco trade, and shaped the region's economic and social landscape. Chesapeake Bay and other local waterways provided a convenient means of transporting cash crops, and the local environment was ideal for creation of tobacco plantations.