The 13 English Colonies Ch 1-4
By 1732, England had 13 colonies in North America They were divided into 3 regions New England Middle Colonies Southern Colonies Each region had a unique economy and society
The New England Colonies Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, & New Hampshire Massachusetts founded by Puritans (English Protestants) Very strict about the practice of religion Several settlers left to found their own colonies Roger Williams founded Rhode Island Minister Thomas Hooker founded Connecticut New Hampshire founded by colonists looking for better farmland
New England Colonies Continued Cold climate with rugged land and rocky soil Small farms Most people practiced subsistence farming (growing enough to feed themselves) Fish & forests were abundant Allowed many colonists to make a living fishing or working in shipbuilding & trade
The Middle Colonies New York, New Jersey, Delaware, & Pennsylvania Lay between New England & Virginia English took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664 & renamed it New York William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1682 Penn was a Quaker, a member of a Protestant group that opposed war and supported equality & religious freedom New Jersey & Delaware split off from New York & Pennsylvania
The Middle Colonies Continued Had good land & mild climate Bigger farms that produced cash crops (crops grown to be sold for profit) Developed a variety of crafts & industries
The Southern Colonies Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, & Georgia Maryland was formed in 1634 for English Catholics Maryland’s assembly passed the Act of Toleration (gave religion freedom to all Christians) Carolina was created by a group of proprietors in 1663 & was later split into North & South Carolina James Oglethorpe founded Georgia as a place for debtors (people who could not pay their debts) to start a new life
Southern Colonies Continued South had a warm climate & huge plantations that grew cash crops like tobacco & rice Enslaved Africans did most of the plantation work Slaves had no rights Farther inland, on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains, settlers cleared their own land & lived by subsistence farming.
Colonial Trade American merchants developed many trade routes One route went up & down the Atlantic coast 2nd route carried goods across Atlantic to England 3rd route (“triangular trade”) linked the colonies to the Caribbean & Africa New England slave ships carried captive Africans to the West Indies
Navigation Acts Regulated colonial trade England benefited from trade laws-restrictions created jobs for English workers who turned raw materials into finished products Colonies resented the trade laws because they were intended to benefit English manufacturers, not the colonists