Beyond its remarkable economic success, it is difficult to generalize about the economic history of British America, mainly because of the extraordinary diversity of the experience. As early as 1650, distinct regional patterns were firmly established in British America, and it seems more accurate to speak of several regional economies rather than a single entity. Still, the regions shared some characteristics, and the regional differences were patterned, not random. One important shared characteristic is that all the colonies were overwhelmingly rural and agricultural. Boston, the largest 17th-century town in British America, counted fewer than 7,000 residents in 1700, while Philadelphia and New York, the only other sizable towns of the 17th
