Middle Colonies Vs New England Colonies Essay

Many differences characterize the four regions of the English Settlements including the reason for establishment, and the resources within the colony. The reason for establishment varies between the colonies, as the colonists varied in their intentions for settlement. The Southern Colonies were established to seek natural resources and to seek wealth thus raised funds “to send indentured servants and slaves to farm: rice, indigo, and tobacco” (notes from class) were provided, while the New England colony were established for spirituality reasons and to glorify God. In comparison, the Middle Colonies were established as a way for people of diverse cultures to settle down, and the backcountry was established as a place for families, Germans, and Scottish- Irish people to live within. Another difference amongst the colonies was the resources they had that provided the economy and the people with economically viable goods. The New England Colonies were centered on the industry of

shipbuilding, while the Southern colonies relied heavily on agriculture. In fact, “the Southern Colonies were primarily agricultural with few cities and limited schools.” In conjunction to this, The Middle Colonies relied heavily on farmers, merchants, and fisherman for agricultural purposes, while the backcountry had an abundance of forests and wood.

Alongside the differences of reason for settlement and resources, climate and lifestyle are two additional differences amongst these 4 distinct regions. The New England Colonies were ideal for water-powered machinery due to the cold climate it endured. This cold climate varied from the middle colonies, which had a moderate climate (adequate for farming.), from the Southern colonies, which were warm, and the Backcountry, which was very moist. Lifestyle: the last contributing difference amongst the colonists. People in the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies centered their life around religion; the New England colonists went to the Puritan Church, while the people of Southern Colonies went to the Anglican Church. In comparison, to the religious people of the New England and Southern Colonies, people in the Middle colonies and the Back Country experienced a rural life that was rugged and focused on farming because agriculture was a prominent aspect of society.

As the English Settlements established along the Atlantic Coast, people found different ways to settle in the settlements including ways to obtain religious freedom, ways to get economic gains, ways of avoiding prison, and ways of providing involuntary services (enslavement). Religious freedom was a primary reason people moved and settled in the English settlements. In Maryland, people tried to escape the Church of England so they came over on the Mayflower, a ship that transported Pilgrims to the New England region. In Massachusetts, the Puritans arrived with the intentions to escape persecution in England, and with the intention to purify the church. In addition to religious freedom, people settled in the English Settlements for economic gains especially in the Southern Colonies. The southern colonies attracted people who wanted revenue through crash crops, which were grown to sell for profit and included tobacco, rice and, indigo. Enslavement, the last key component to the reasons why people settled in the Atlantic Coast, in which slaves and indentured servants were brought to the colonies because they were forced to work on lands to pay others back (indentured servants) or to live the rest of their life in forced labor (slaves). Evidently people had different motives for going to the English settlements, whether it was voluntary or involuntary.

England saw the colonies as a profitable source of wealth by the 1700’s, which allowed them to view the colonies as a source of natural resources: lumber, fur, tobacco, fur, sugar, and iron. This mentality of acquiring riches from the colonies also caused England to view the colonies as a marketer “ for England’s goods such as silk, linens, and teas” (Cornell et al, p.61), which allowed for a mercantilism system, a system in which “ the wealth of the mother outcry England would be increased by heavy government regulations of imports and exports to the colonies” (Cornell et., al p.61) to arise. Due to the mercantilism system, the colonies supplied raw materials and were forced to purchase consumer goods, allowing England to create strict enforcement and strict acts, such as the White Pines Act and the Sugar Act. “The White Pines Act forbade Americans from cutting down white pines, while the Sugar Act placed increased taxations on foreign molasses imports” (notes from class). Evidently, England became wealthy through the mercantilism system they enforced and imposed upon the colonists.

England was one of the most powerful countries, due to the colonist’s quest to find new opportunities in the English Settlements of the New England, Middle, Southern colonies, as well as in the Back Country, which are characterized by their differences in their reason for establishment resources, climate, and lifestyle,.

These differences among the 4 regions led to a heterogeneous mix of settlers to spread among the Atlantic Coast, as people wanted to acquire better conditions away from England: avoid persecution, obtain economic gains, avoid prison, and provide enslavement. The 13 colonies, which are the 4 regions of the New England colonies, the Middle Colonies, the Southern Colonies, and the Backcountry are essential to our understanding how aspects of today’s current world has come about including the need to contend menacing mother countries, the need for a strong government structure, the establishment of states, the need to survive hardships of a mother country, and the

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