Chapter 4Chapter 4

The Colonies DevelopThe Colonies Develop

Where would you settle?Where would you settle?

• Would you settle on a farm? Why?

• Would you settle in a town? Why?

• How would you make a living?

THINK about this…

Regions DevelopRegions Develop• By 1750, more than 1 million settlers

called the English colonies home.

• The colonies formed into 3 regions:

– New England ColoniesNew England Colonies

– Middle ColoniesMiddle Colonies

– Southern ColoniesSouthern Colonies

• WHY? Different climate, resources and people in each region made them different.

The New England ColoniesThe New England Colonies• Made up of:

– Massachusetts (including Maine)Massachusetts (including Maine)– New HampshireNew Hampshire– Rhode IslandRhode Island– ConnecticutConnecticut

Climate Resources PeopleLong, cold winters / short growing season

Rocky soil / not good for planting

Forests & sea

English settlers

Quick Look:

A picture of Boston – one of the A picture of Boston – one of the largest cities at the timelargest cities at the time

The New England Colonies The New England Colonies EconomyEconomy

• Rocky soil and a short growing season = little farming.

• Subsistence farmingSubsistence farming – produced just enough food for themselves & little to trade.

• Atlantic Ocean provided a fishing/whaling industrya fishing/whaling industry.• New England’s forests provided timber / lumber

to build boatsbuild boats to fish.

Economic ActivityEconomic ActivityFishing, whaling, shipbuilding,

lumber, little farming, trading

The New England Colonies TradeThe New England Colonies Trade

• Triangular TradeTriangular Trade – trading route with 3 stops. (makes a triangle)

– Slaves, rum, spices, tobacco, rice, indigo, gold, sugar & molasses

EXAMPLE – ship leaves New England with rum. Stopped in Africa, traded rum for slaves. Stopped in West Indies, traded slaves for sugar & molasses. Came home with sugar & molasses.

• Navigation ActsNavigation Acts – laws passed by England to ensure they make money from trading.

EXAMPLE – taxing any goods not shipped to England. All shipping to be done in English ships (make $).

Triangular TradeTriangular Trade

The New England Colonies The New England Colonies SocietySociety

• Few slavesFew slaves in New England. WHY? Not many farms where slaves could work.– Some slaves did work as house servants, cooks.– Blacks in New England could buy their way to

freedom. New England had more free blacks than any other region.

• Puritan religion began to decrease (fade out)– WHY? Increasing competition from other religions– Cared more about business and

$$$$ than religion.

The Middle ColoniesThe Middle Colonies• Made up of:

– New YorkNew York– PennsylvaniaPennsylvania– New JerseyNew Jersey– DelawareDelaware

Climate Resources PeopleShort winters / long growing season

Fertile soil / good for planting

Diverse population

Dutch & German farmers

Quick Look:

The Middle Colonies EconomyThe Middle Colonies Economy• Diverse population – immigrants from all over

Europe came to take advantage of productive land.

• LONG growing season = LOTS of farmingLONG growing season = LOTS of farming.

• Grew cash cropscash crops – crops raised & sold for money.• Produced so much bread / grain products, they

became known as the Breadbasket ColoniesBreadbasket Colonies.

Economic ActivityEconomic ActivityFarming (grain & bread), BIG cities from -

Trades

The Middle Colonies CitiesThe Middle Colonies Cities• Harbors & riversHarbors & rivers along the

coast were ideal cites for BIG cities to form.– New York City– Philadelphia (fastest growing city

in colonies)– WHY?WHY? Use water for Use water for

transportation/trade routestransportation/trade routes

• Had diversity (variety) of different peopleEXAMPLE – French, Swedish, Welsh, German, Dutch, English, Scots-Irish, African

The Middle Colonies Religion/SocietyThe Middle Colonies Religion/Society

• There were many different religions because of the many different people.

• People in Middle Colonies were very tolerant (accepting) of different religions.

• QuakersQuakers in Pennsylvania honored religious tolerance (letting you believe what you wanted).

– Quakers believed all people were equal – Did not believe in slavery

• Slavery did exist in the Middle Colonies, about 7% of the population were enslaved. Many worked in big cities (New York)

The Southern ColoniesThe Southern Colonies• Made up of:

– MarylandMaryland– VirginiaVirginia– North CarolinaNorth Carolina– South CarolinaSouth Carolina– GeorgiaGeorgia

Climate Resources PeopleYear-round growing season

Fertile soil / good for planting

English & Enslaved Africans

Quick Look:

The Southern Colonies EconomyThe Southern Colonies Economy

• Year-round growing seasonYear-round growing season = rice, tobacco, & indigo crops.

– Needed much labor to produce these cash crops (slaves)

• PlantationsPlantations formed - large farm that raises cash crops

• Tried to force Native Americans to work, but they caught disease. To meet the labor need, planters used enslaved Africans.

• African pop. grew in South. 85% lived in Southern Colonies

Economic ActivityEconomic ActivityPlantation farming (tobacco, rice, indigo), slave labor needed

The Southern Colonies Economy & SlaveryThe Southern Colonies Economy & Slavery

• Slave intensive cropsSlave intensive crops = rice & indigoindigo – Indigo - a plant that makes a deep blue dye.

• Rice required back-breaking labor & skill. Many West Africans had these skills

Planters became wealthy off $$ from crops. They called themselves the Planter Class– They would buy more slaves with

their money to make more money.

Life As A SlaveLife As A Slave

• Overseers were men hired by the slave owner to watch over and direct the work of slaves.

• Work 15 hours a day, lived in small one-room houses, little food.

• Africans preserved many customs – dances, music, stories and even religion

• Strong family values

Identify the 13 ColoniesIdentify the 13 Colonies

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Connecticut

New York

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

Natural borderNatural border• What natural border lies west

of the thirteen colonies that prevented settlers from moving too far west?

Appalachian Mountains - known as the Backcountry

Back toTransparencies

Visual SummaryNEW ENGLAND: COMMERCE AND RELIGIONNew England was distinguished by its small farming towns and profitable fishing and trade.

MIDDLE COLONIES: FARMS AND CITIESMiddle Colony farms produced large cash crops that fueled trade in its coastal cities.

THE SOUTHERN COLONIES: PLANTATIONS AND SLAVERYThe South’s plantation economy and large number of enslaved Africans made it different from the other regions.

THE BACKCOUNTRYThe Backcountry was distant from the denser coastal populations, so settlers there developed an independent and rugged way of life.