New England New England was made up of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Fishing, whaling, and timber forests for shipbuilding created bustling seaports that distributed trade goods throughout the world. The center of business was Boston, the city that would become the birthplace of The Revolution!

The Middle Colonies New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware hosted a rolling landscape of grain fields and iron mines, and these resources created a thriving middle class. The cities of New York and Philadelphia were crammed with diverse nationalities that created the first steps toward a unique level of tolerance in America.

The Southern Colonies Primarily small farmers and tradesmen lived in Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia Yet 75 percent of the wealth was owned by a small group of grand plantation owners. Their vast estates depended on slaves to work the fields of tobacco, cotton and rice

French Colonies France established colonies in much of eastern Canada and on a number of Caribbean islands. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, sugar, and furs. As they colonized the New World, the French established forts and settlements that would become such cities as Quebec and Montreal in Canada Most French settlements were established for trade purposes (not for settlement)

Spanish Colonies Spanish “conquistadores” explored for the Monarchy of Spain. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Catholic faith through indigenous conversions. (convert natives to Christianity) Beginning with the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus and continuing for over four centuries, the Spanish Empire would expand across most of present day Central America, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and much of the rest of North America including the Southwestern, Southern coastal, and California's Pacific Coast regions of the United States.

Portuguese Colonies Portugal was the leading country in the European exploration of the world in the 15th century Portugal colonized parts of South America (mostly Brazil), but also made some unsuccessful attempts to colonize North America in present day Canada.