The Thirteen Colonies

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The Thirteen Colonies

• Geographic Regions
• The Colonies
• Economies
• Climate
• Natural Resources
• Population
• Religion

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Three Geographic Regions

• The New England Colonies
• The Middle Colonies
• The Southern Colonies

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Native American Groups Living in the thirteen Colonies in the 1700’s

The New England Colonies

• Colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
• People: were from England.
• Economies: Farming in the New England Colonies was difficult due to the poor soil, cold climate and short growing season. Families in New England grew enough food to feed their families but had to rely on manufacturing and trade to earn livings.
• Climate: was colder than the other two regions due to the northern location.
• Natural Resources: The natural resources of New England were fish, whales, trees, and furs.
• Geography: was mostly hills and rocky soil.
• Religion: The established religion was Puritan. Religious freedom did not exist in New England.

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Massachusetts

• Colony: The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1620 by Separatists and Puritans.
• People: Separatists in England fled to Holland in 1608 and then decided to find refuge in America. They came over on the Mayflower. The population in Massachusetts was homogenous, meaning there were not people from other nations or religions.
• Economy: Farming was difficult in the Massachusetts Bay Colony so people found other means of making a living by establishing a manufacturing base and trade. Major industry for the colony included Agriculture (fishing, corn, livestock), Manufacturing (lumbering, shipbuilding).
• Natural Resources: The main natural resource in Massachusetts was timber. The timber from the region provided the raw material for shipbuilding.
• Religion: The exclusive religion in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was Puritan. There was no religious freedom or tolerance in the colony.

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New Hampshire

• Colony: founded in 1623 by Captain John Mason. New Hampshire was a planned colony. The land was granted to Mason who lived in Hampshire County, England. He sent settlers to the new land to establish a fishing colony.
• People: were from England. The population was homogenous meaning there were not people from other nations or religions living in New Hampshire.
• Economy: The economic and social life in New Hampshire revolved around sawmills, shipyards, merchant's warehouses, and established village and town centers. Lumber, fish, masts for the Royal Navy, and turpentine were the main exports.
• Natural Resources: The major natural resource of New Hampshire was the forests. The timber in the region was used for masts and shipbuilding.
• Religion: The dominate religion of the New England colonies was Puritan. There was no religious freedom or tolerance.

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Connecticut

• Colony: The Connecticut Colony was founded in 1635/1636 by Thomas Hooker and a group of Massachusetts colonists.
• People: The people who settled and lived in the Connecticut Colony were colonists who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 looking for more religious and economic freedoms. The Colony of Connecticut was formed in 1636.
• Economy: Conditions for farming were marginally better in Connecticut, so the major industry in Connecticut was agriculture. The crops produced in the colony were wheat and corn. Access to water-ways also supported a fishing industry.
• Natural Resources: The natural resources found in the Connecticut Colony included better soils, timber, and fish.
• Religion: The colonists who settled the Connecticut Colony were seeking more religious freedom but were still strict and intolerant of other religious beliefs.

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Rhode Island

• Colony: The Rhode Island Colony was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams. Williams was banished to England by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his beliefs in separation of church and state and freedom of religion. He fled and lived with the Narragansett Indians and formed Providence in 1636.
• People: were mainly English from other colonies and England who were looking for more religious freedom and tolerance.
• Economy: was more mixed than in the other New England Colonies. Better soils and warmer climate of the colony made agriculture more profitable (raising livestock and producing dairy). Access to water also allowed a fishing industry to flourish. The forests of the region supported a lumber industry.
• Religion: The colony was founded on the principals of religious freedom and separation of church and state meant that there was much more religious tolerance and freedom in this colony.

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The Middle Colonies

• Colonies: consisted of Delaware: consisted of Delaware, Pennsylvania: consisted of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey: consisted of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
• People: the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen original colonies because of the influence of their Polish, English, Dutch, French and German origins.
• Climate: was relatively hot. This allowed for a longer growing season. It was warmer than its northern counterpart New England but cooler than the Southern colonies
• Geography: made up of hills and flat lands with good soil.
• Natural Resources: The natural resources of the middle colonies were iron ore and good soil.
• Religion: The Middle colonists were a mixture of religions, including Quakers (led by William Penn), Catholics, Lutherans, Jews, and others.

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Delaware

• Colony: The Delaware Colony was founded in 1638 by Peter Minuit and the New Sweden Company. It was first European settlement in the Delaware Valley on the Christina River.
• People: The population of the Delaware colony was more heterogeneous than population in the New England Colonies. The nationalities represented in the colony included English, Dutch, and Swedish.
• Economy: The economy of the Delaware Colony was mixed. The fertile land of Delaware made agriculture profitable and farms produced grain, rice, and indigo. The forests in the colony supported a thriving lumber industry. Industry in Colonial Delaware included shipbuilding, ironworks, trading and shipping lumber.
• Religion: There was a mixture of religions practiced in the Delaware Colony due to their stance on religious freedom and tolerance.

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Pennsylvania

• Colony: The Pennsylvania Colony was founded in 1681 by William Penn. The land was granted to Penn by the British Crown to pay off debt owed to Penn’s father.
• People: Penn established the colony as a safe haven for Quakers who were persecuted in England.
• Economy: The economy in the Pennsylvania Colony was mixed. Fertile soils provided support for agriculture, the products of the farms were wheat, corn, cattle, and dairy. There was also manufacturing established in the colony. The manufacturing industry was made up of textiles, paper making and ship building.
• Religion: The colony was founded for the purpose of providing freedom and tolerance for the Quakers of England, and once established Penn and the Quakers granted religious freedom to everyone in the colony.

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New Jersey

• Colony: The New Jersey colony was founded in 1664 by Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Land was given to the two men by their friend, James Duke of York when he had received New Netherland.
• People: The colony was advertised and promised settlers many benefits including representational government and religious freedom. The colony quickly grew attracting people from different nationalities and religions.
• Economy: The economy in colonial New Jersey centered around agriculture including breeding of livestock. Iron was also mined and manufactured in New Jersey.
• Religion: The colony of New Jersey was established on the principal of religious freedom, therefore there were many religions represented in the colony.

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New York

• Colony: The New York colony was founded in 1664 by the Duke of York. New York was first settled by refugees from France and Holland, and was established on the broad foundations of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. Charles II, King of England regarded territory as British by virtue of discovery and in 1664 granted the land of New Amsterdam to his brother Duke of York. The name was changed to New York to honor the Duke.
• People: The population of New York was diverse. There were colonists from the Netherland, France, England, and elsewhere living in the colony.
• Economy: The economy of New York was made up of agriculture and manufacturing. Agriculture products included cattle, grain, rice, indigo, and wheat. Manufacturing centered around shipbuilding and iron works.
• Religion: The New York Colony had such a diverse population that also brought a large mix of religions that were practiced in the colony.

The Southern Colonies

• Colonies: In contrast to the New England and middle colonies were the rural southern colonies of Virginia: In contrast to the New England and middle colonies were the rural southern colonies of Virginia, Maryland: In contrast to the New England and middle colonies were the rural southern colonies of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina: In contrast to the New England and middle colonies were the rural southern colonies of Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina: In contrast to the New England and middle colonies were the rural southern colonies of Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
• People: The populations in the southern colonies were diverse and consisted of many European nationalities.
• Climate: The climate in the southern colonies was the warmest of the three regions and boasted the longest growing season.
• Geography: The geography of the Southern Colonies which had a broad, coastal plain that was hilly and covered with forests.
• Natural Resources: The natural resources found in the south were the rich farm lands, forests, and fish.
• Religion: Religion did not have a large influence on the daily lives of southern colonists. The Southern colonists had a mixture of religions including Baptists and Anglicans

Virginia

• Colony: Jamestown, the first English Colony in the New World, was founded in 1607 by John Smith. The colony of Virginia was established in 1624 as a royal colony and included the original Jamestown settlement. Jamestown was established because of England’s desire to gain wealth and to convert the natives to Christianity.
• People: The population of the Virginia Colony was primarily English.
• Economy: The major economic undertaking in the Virginia colony was Plantation agriculture. Plantations in Virginia focused on growing tobacco, wheat, and corn.
• Religion: Law in the Virginia colony mandated Virginians worship in the Anglican Church. Virginian colonists were not tolerant of non-Christian religion

Maryland

• Colony: In 1632 George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) was granted a charter from the British crown to own land north of the Potomac River.
• People: Calvert wanted a settlement that would generate profit but would also offer refuge for Roman Catholics who were being persecuted in England. The first settlers landed in Chesapeake Bay in 1634 on the Dove and the Ark.
• Economy: Manufacturing in colonial Maryland concentrated on shipbuilding and iron works. Agriculture focus was on corn, wheat, rice, and indigo.
• Religion: Maryland was established as a safe haven for Catholics of England, but policy of separation of church and state and the stance on religious freedom made the religious base of Maryland diverse.

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North Carolina

• Colony: The colony of North Carolina was established in 1653 by Virginia colonists.
• People: The charter for the Carolina Colony was granted to eight English proprietors and included the territory that would later become South Carolina. The Colony was established by Englishmen but boasted a more diverse population than the English colonies of the North.
• Economy: The economy of North Carolina was centered on Plantation Agriculture. Plantations in North Carolina produced indigo, rice, and tobacco.
• Religion: There were a wide range of religions tolerated and practiced in the North Carolina Colony.

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South Carolina

• Colony: The South Carolina Colony was founded in 1663 by English Colonists. The colony was originally part of the Carolina Colony. A single government ruled the Carolina’s until 1712 when there was a separate government established in the north. In 1719 the Crown purchased the South Carolina territory from the absent proprietors.
• People: The population of the South Carolina Colony was diverse.
• Economy: The South Carolina Colonial economy was based on Plantation Agriculture that produced indigo, rice, tobacco, cotton, and cattle.
• Religion: The diverse population of the colony brought diverse religious beliefs and practices to the colony.

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Georgia

• Colony: The Georgia Colony was established in 1732 by James Oglethorpe. Georgia was the last of the English colonies in the New World.
• People: Oglethorpe envisioned the colony of Georgia as a location for resettlement of English debtors and the “worthy poor”. Oglethorpe also wanted to establish a garrison province that would defend the southern part of British colonies form Spanish Florida.
• Economy: Agriculture was the dominate economy in colonial Georgia. Crops included indigo, rice, and sugar.
• Religion: There was religious tolerance and freedom in the Georgia Colony that brought many religions into the region.

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The Thirteen Original Colonies

• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Delaware
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• New York

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• Virginia
• Maryland
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia

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Economies of the Colonies

• New England’s economy centered on manufacturing. Agriculture was difficult and unprofitable in the north due to poor soils, cold temperatures, and the short growing season. Manufacturing in New England focused on shipbuilding due to the abundance of lumber. Trade in New England was mainly exporting the goods that they produced.
• Agriculture had a large role in the economies of the Middle Colonies. The middle region had better soils, warmer temperatures, and a longer growing season. The Middle Colonies agriculture produced corn, vegetables, grain, fruit, and livestock. Manufacturing in the middle region was focused on iron ore products. The Middle Colonies both exported agricultural products and natural resources and imported manufactured goods.
• The Southern Colony’s economy was based solely on agriculture. The south has exceptional farming soil, warm climates and a long growing season. The agriculture practiced in the region was Plantation Agriculture, focusing on one or two cash crops. The southern region had no manufacturing so all goods needed were imported or bought from traders.

Climate in the Colonies

• In the thirteen colonies the climate changed on a north to south direction.
• The coldest temperatures and shortest growing seasons were in the north. Temperatures and growing seasons both increased steadily down the coastline.

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Natural Resources

• The natural resources found in the New England Colonies included: fish, whales, trees, and furs.
• The natural resources found in the Middle Colonies included: iron ore and good soil.
• The natural resources found in the Southern Colonies included: rich farmlands, forests, and fish.

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Population demographics of the �Colonies

• The population in the New England Colonies was primarily English.
• In both the Middle and the Southern Colonies the population was more diverse. In both the southern regions there were colonists and settlers that came from Holland, France, Sweden, and elsewhere.

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Religion in the Colonies

• In New England Territories there was no religious freedom. The Puritans were very strict moralists and did not tolerate others who believed differently.
• In the Middle Colonies there was more religious freedom and tolerance. Many who had established colonies in the middle region were fleeing persecution in Europe or the strict New England Colonies.
• Religion had a very insignificant role in the Southern Colonies. Colonies in the south were established for profit rather than for religious freedom, therefore religion played a small role in the lives and policies of the Southern Colonies.

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