The settlement of British and other European settlers over American is one of the most interesting aspects of US history. These colonies were established when it was dangerous to travel. People risked their lives to settle there and make a good life for themselves.
New England Colonies
The New England Colonies were composed of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island Colony and Providence Plantations, Providence of New Hampshire, and the Connecticut Colony. These colonies were first populated in the early 1600s by the Pilgrims and Puritans. Composed of Puritans who fled religious persecution in England, they were searching for a place to settle and practice their faith in peace. These people were very deeply religious and held themselves to strict guidelines when it came to things like how someone should act, how a family should be raised, and how a life should be lived.
The New England Colonies had a very substantial fishing industry in the beginning. Since it was mostly small villages at first, they established fishing or farming communities. The land was rather rocky so it wasn’t suitable for huge amounts of farming, which is what’s required to really build an industry. Yet, they were able to grow wheat and corn and ship it to England. On the other hand, they had many resources, including timber, which was often sold.
Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies were considered the “catch all” of the Colonies. Settlers from all over Europe settled here when they didn’t fit in with the demographics of the other two regions. While many were looking to make a lot of money, they did not want to do it by farming. Many of the settlers were immigrants who fled to the Middle Colonies because of their freedom of religion laws, which were rare at the time even for British colonies. Most men did not bring their families and they worked in the shipyards and ironworks.
The main export from the Middle Colonies was grain and wheat as the land was extremely fertile. They also had a very large lumber industry due to the abundant forests in the area. As they were on a coast as well, a large shipbuilding industry developed as well. In particular, Pennsylvanian had a large pig iron and textile industry. Many mills were erected in the area. Printing and publishing industries also flourished there.
Southern Colonies
The Southern Colonies consisted of the Providence of North Carolina, the Province of Georgia, the Province of South Carolina, the Province of Maryland, and the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. People who lived in these colonies settled here almost primarily to make money. The region was rich in resources and provided good land for planting, which spawned many of the nation’s largest plantations. Although they did bring their families and establish them, their main purpose was to make money. Most people also owned slaves.
Since there was so much highly fertile land in the region, the Southern Colonies had many plantations. These plantations were used to grow “cash crops” like tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, indigo, and rice. Slaves were also a huge part of the economy. They were constantly being bought, sold, and traded. Interestingly, the plantations were actually the second major industry to spring from the Southern Colonies. Originally, the main economy consisted of deerskin trading and Native American slave-trading as opposed to African slave-trading.