The Chesapeake Colonies refer to Virgina and Maryland.  The colonies where mostly made up of Plantations on which the owners grew Tobacco which appeared to be the mainstay of the colony.  There was little urban development.  The hard work and day to day planting and harvesting of this crop Tobacco was done by indentured serventsand slaves.  Indenture was a system whereby servants would typically work four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and eventually freedom dues.  Over the years, the population of these indentured slaves would greatly reduce due to disease.
The main form of religion was Anglican.  However, there were Catholics found mostly in Maryland.
We would not be able to look at life in the Chesapeake colonies without examining the government and politics of that region.  The region was ruled by Governor William Berkeley.  He appointed justices of the peace, who set tax rates and saw to the building and maintenance of public works, such as bridges and roads.  In the 1650s, thecolonial system adopted a bicameral pattern: the House of Burgesses (the elected lower house) and an appointed Governor's Council.  The assembly met regularly, not so much for representative government as for the opportunity to raise taxes.