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New England Colonies
Colonial Culture
Life in the Colonies, 1607 – 1776
New England Colonies
Geography
• Every colony had access
to the coast
• Short growing season
• Harsh winters/cold
climate
• Hard/rocky soil
• Also :
– Mayflower Compact – 1st doc of self-gov’t
– Fundamental Orders of CT – 1st constitution
• Large forests
• Subsistence farming
• Whaling
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• Pilgrims and Puritans were original settlers
• Movement toward more Religious freedom
• Great Awakening began here
Middle Colonies
• Towns formed by congregations
– Boston was major city
• Farms established around common area with
Meetinghouse
Middle Colonies
Geography
• Every colony had access
to the coast
• Moderate growing season
• Mild winters/warm
summers
• Fertile soil good for
farming
• Large forests
• Iron ore mined in the
mountains
• New York and New Jersey taken from the
Dutch
• Pennsylvania – limited government, granted
religious freedom and other liberties
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• “Breadbasket Colonies”
– Gristmills ground grain
• Artisans (craftsman)
• Trade (ports) export crops/import manufactured
goods
• Small scale
manufacturing
Woodworking/sawyer
Candle-making
Textiles
Blacksmith
• Quakers, Dutch influence religious tolerance
• Great Awakening
• Most ethnically (nationalities) diverse
colonies
– English, Dutch, Germans, Africans
• Treated most people as equals
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Southern Colonies
Southern Colonies
Geography
• Long growing season
• Hot climate
• Flat land and good soil
• Many rivers to transport
crops
• Every colony on the coast
• Representative Assemblies
• VA House of Burgesses - 1st rep. assembly
• Planter Class controls most of political power
• Indentured Servants/Slavery
• Planters control economy
• Best suited for mercantilism
(country controls the trade)
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• Maryland – haven for Catholics
• Great Awakening
• Charleston, Jamestown, Balitmore, Richmond
• English, African, Scots-Irish
• Plantations are self-sufficient
– Not many towns
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