Characteristics Of The English Colonies

1. There were three main regions with varying characteristics in the English colonies. The Southern Colonies were primarily settled with intentions to use plantation agriculture, so cash crops, tobacco; cotton; and rice, could be shipped to Europe for huge English profit. The Middle colonies were progressive, as they were settled for trading and manufacturing purposes and for a place to establish a representative government and freedom of religion (William Penn and his Quakers). In fact, New York was taken over by the English settlers from the Dutch, which had already been set up as a center for commerce, for the Dutch company. The Northern colonies, such as Plymouth and Massachusetts, were usually settled for Religious purposes, such as escaping …show more content…
Because England was a mercantilist country, its main goal was to increase its wealth as much as possible by controlling aspect of its economy. In order to do so, they enacted the Navigation Acts, told the colonist who they could and couldn’t trade with, and tried consolidating many of the Middle and Northern Colonies into the Dominion of New England. The Navigation acts were intended to hinder any foreign ships from transporting any British owned goods, so no other country but them would benefit from its colonies. From the Navigation acts, the British claimed the colonists could not sell or buy products with other countries, forcing them to purchase, usually expensive, British products. Furthermore, the British tried to consolidate New York, New Jersey, and the New England Colonies into the Dominion of New England. The purpose was to rid the representative assemblies, town meetings, and to increase taxes. All of these efforts were unsuccessful as they only increased the animosity the colonist had for the British, and they inspired the colonists to become more sovereign during the time of Salutary …show more content…
The climate and soil types of the different regions influenced how the regions developed and their cultural/societal values and beliefs. In the South, fertile soil mixed with humidity and warmth, the perfect conditions for cash crops such as tobacco, sugar, cotton, and rice were present. This meant, as stated before, plantation agriculture was extremely popular here, as was slave labor. The Middle Colonies also had very fertile soil, because of the valleys they lived in, which meant, with the colder climate conditions, an abundance of food was grown, in commercial agriculture style. There were large farms that would produce food others. This inspired the prosperous and industrialized Middle Colonies to manufacture and earn money. The Northern Colonies had very shallow soil and lived in Mountainous areas. Because the Europeans did not know how to grow food in this condition, they had to look to the Natives for help; The Pilgrims did this in their “starving time.” However, its protected harbors and bays meant ports of trade were established, which developed the religiously focused