The American Colonies
Twelve of the thirteen colonies were founded based on charters issued by the British government. A CHARTER provides legal authority for companies or individuals to start a colony. Most of the colonies were originally self-governing private enterprises. But by 1730, most became royal colonies. Even after England later emphasized more central control, the colonies remained largely self-government and independent. This graphic below will help you get a better understanding of how colonial governments worked in general.
Geography was a major factor in the pattern of settlement of the colonies and their their economies. Take a look at this image below that shows land forms, soil, and the growing season of each of the three regions. You can see that the coastal plains are located in the South. This means that the land is mostly flat. The most fertile soil is located in the Middle and Southern colonies. And of course, the growing season is much longer in the Southern colonies. This meant that the South would develop into a very agricultural region while the Middle colonies have the soil to grow crops however, those groups have only about a 5 month season.
The Colonies in General
The colonies were based on the English economic system known as MERCANTILISM. It was the belief during this time period, that a strong nation was built on accumulating gold and silver through increasing its exports, protecting its own industry, and establishing colonies for natural resources. It became known as the Triangle Trade Route. This map shows in red how Britain controlled trade into the 1700s in the American Colonies. Later, as England loosened control, the American colonies began to trade on their own without British consent.
Life in the New England Colonies
Every aspect of New England life was influenced by religion in the early colonial period. Church membership was a REQUIREMENT to participate in government. Strict moral codes were enforced. The larger settlements included English Puritans who settled in Salem, Massachusetts and English Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims wrote a document called the Mayflower Compact. This document created a direct democracy where each man had power in the decision making for the colony.
People in the New England colonies had a high literacy rate, meaning they could read. It was deemed important that everyone could read the Bible. Town meetings were held in the small towns to discuss local government issues. One of the main topics was trade and other relationships with the Native Americans. Colonial colleges such as Harvard, Yale, The College of Rhode Island which is now known as Brown, and Dartmouth all began during this period.
The cold climate and poor soil of New England challenged Puritan farmers who grew crops mostly for their own families consumption.
New England developed a diversified economy. Although farming was the most common occupation, New England became a center of colonial shipping with major ports in Boston, Salem, and Portsmouth as you can see in the image below. Fishing and shipbuilding were huge industries as well. Merchants and professionals made up the wealthiest social class.
Life in the Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies had a diverse population including Dutch, Germans, and the Scots-Irish. These colonies, especially New York and Pennsylvania, benefited from the fertile soil. They exported corn and wheat. This trade helped to build New York City and Philadelphia. The Middle Colonies were the most regionally diverse in religion and nationalities. To learn more about the Middle Colonies, review this Google Slides Presentation.
This map below, shows the economies of the Middle Colonies. Known as the Breadbasket, the Middle colonies provided most grains to the colonies including wheat, barley, and oats.
Life in the Southern Colonies
In the Southern colonies, a warmer climate, rich soil, and and long growing season led to the development of the plantation system. This agricultural economy was based on tobacco, rice, indigo crops grown for export, cultivated first by indentured servants and then by enslaved Africans. This plantation system set up self-sufficient farms. Very few cities developed. It was the least populated and least developed region of the colonies.
Because people were living far apart on farms, they didn't leave much! This led to a system of representative democracy such as the Virginia House of Burgesses. This group of people were elected to run government on behalf of the citizens and make decisions on their behalf. It was formed in 1619 as the first representative democracy in the colonies.
The wealthiest social class included Chesapeake tobacco planters and owners of the Carolina rice plantations. The central role of plantation agriculture led to a growing dependence on slavery to support the economic, social, and political systems of the Southern colonies. As the market for tobacco increased...so did the demand for slavery.
