Compare (what was similar) and contrast (what was different) between the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies

Can you help me understand this History question?

Your essay will compare (what was similar) and contrast (what was different) between the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies, using for your topic focuses the various factors that affected each colony — like their founding motive (why they were started); economy (how they made money or survived economically); food situation (or lack thereof, relating to health and sickness); type of labor force used; relations with the Native Americans; and/or type of government.

FORMAT:

* cover page (near the top: assignment title, your name, date; near the bottom: course, instructor’s name, school)

* 3 pages of typed(not including cover page), double-spaced, 12-pt. font text for the body of your essay

* body of essay to include introductory & concluding paragraphs summarizing the main points you’ll raise …

* … plus a penultimate (2nd to last) paragraph discussing which colony you’d have preferred to live in

* use past tense throughout, except for penultimate paragraph (where you say which colony you’d prefer)

* please mention in moderate detail at least 2 of the following terms from each colony (lists below).

SET #1 = VIRGINIA COLONY (around Chesapeake Bay)

the Virginia Company of London, 1606-1624

the “starving time”, 1609-1610

Bermuda, 1609+

headrights vs. indentured servitude, 1618-1690s

food crops vs. cash crops

the Virginia Massacre, 1622

Set #2 = PLYMOUTH COLONY (around Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bay)

the Established Church of England (Anglican Church), 1530+

Separatist Brethren (“Pilgrims” in Plymouth Colony, 1620+) vs. Puritans (1629+ to Massachusetts Bay Colony)

“religious freedom”

the “Mayflower Compact”, Nov. 1620

Squanto, d. 1622

Thanksgiving (1619+ in Jamestown, 1621+ in Plymouth)

— to keep in mind these 3 aspects of each term, when you study them:

* what is the context ? (background or what led to it)

* definition

* what is the significance (or after-effect) of this term, i.e., how things changed as a result of it?

GRADE TO BE BASED ON:

Historical Analysis (12 pts.) Writing Style (8 pts.)

accuracy of historical details * clarify of thesis

understanding of historical factors * organization & flow

* grammar & spelling