Ch 4 Lesson 3 – The
Middle Colonies Student Notes
Student Name: _________________________________________________
Class: ________________________________________________________
Date: ________________________________ Period: _________________
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of
Manhattan Island, which served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland
territory. In 1664, it was home to around 8,000 people. That city still exists, but we no longer
call it by that name. It is currently home to over 8 million people. Can you guess what we call
it now?
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Students will know…
… the reasons the colonists migrated to America.
… the society, culture and economy of the Middle Colonies.
Key Words:
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Patroon
Proprietary Colony
Quakers
Pacifist
This information can be found on pages 119 - 122 in your textbook
 By the mid-1600’s, England had
two groups of colonies in North
America – the New England
colonies and the Southern
colonies, which included
Maryland and Virgina. The
area in between was controlled
by the Dutch and it was called New Netherlands.
o The primary settlement in New Netherlands was called New Amsterdam, located
on Manhattan Island.
o The Dutch West India Company controlled New Netherlands.
 To draw more settlers to the colony, the company offered large land grants
to anyone who could bring at least 50 people to work the land. These
landowners were called Patroons.
 The Patroons lived like kings. They had their own courts and laws; the
common people owed them labor and a share of the crops.
 The English noticed the success of New Netherlands and wanted to gain control of the
territory.
o England believed they had rights to this land because of their explorations back in
the late 1400’s.
o In 1644, England’s King Charles II sent a fleet to
attack New Netherlands. The dutch governor,
named Peter Stuyvesant surrendered without a
fight.
o King Charles II gave the land to his brother, the
Duke of York, who renamed the colony New York.
 New York was a proprietary colony, which
means an owner (or proprietor) owned all the land and controlled the
government. The citizens of New York weren’t allowed to vote for a
legislature until 1691.
 New York had a very diverse population and was one of the fastest growing
places in North America.
 The Duke of York decided to divide his colony.
o He gave the land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers to two proprietors
named Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They named this area New
Jersey after the area where Carteret was born.
o To attract settlers, they promised large land grants, freedom of religion, trial by
jury and the chance to vote.
 The colony of Pennsylvania was founded by the Quakers, a protestant group that had
been persecuted in England.
o In 1680, William Penn, a wealthy
English Quaker received the land as a
payment for a debt King Charles II
owed his father.
o Penn viewed his new colony as a “holy
experiment”, or a chance to create a
society based on Quaker beliefs.
 Quakers believed that everyone was equal.
 They thought everyone should follow their own ‘inner light’ rather than the
teachings of a religious leader.
 Quakers were also Pacifists, meaning they refused to fight.
o In 1682, Penn sailed to America to direct the construction of Philadelphia.
 The name means ‘city of brotherly love’.
 Penn designed the city and wrote their first constitution.
o Within a year, more than 3,000 settlers from all over Europe arrived in
Pennsylvania.
o In 1701, William Penn wrote the ‘Charter of Privileges’, which granted his
colonists the right to elect representatives.
 People from Sweden had settled land in southern Pennsylvania before the Dutch and
English formed their colonies. Penn allowed these counties to form their own
legislature.
o This area became a separate colony, known as Delaware.
Practice Questions:
1. Explain the significance of the following words: Patroon, Pacifist
A patroon was a landowner in the Dutch colonies. A pacifist is someone who refuses to fight
in wars or use force to resolve conflict.
2. Why did King Charles II send a fleet to attack New Amsterdam?
England felt that they had rights to the land because of prior exploration. Also, they saw the
success of the colonies and wanted to take them over.
3. William Penn viewed his colony as a “holy experiment”. What did he mean?
Penn saw it as a chance to put his Quaker ideals into practice.