Name
INTERACTIVE SUMMARY
Date
CHAPTER 4, LESSON 2
Characteristics of
the Colonies
Life in the Colonies
The three regions of the colonies had different characteristics.
In New England, the ocean was an important part of the
economy. Many colonists fished and built ships. Religion
shaped people’s lives and the government. In the Middle
Colonies, proprietors chose governors. Farming was very
important, and New York City and Philadelphia were
centers for shipping, trade, and culture. In the Southern
Colonies, farmers grew cash crops such as tobacco. Many
workers on plantations were enslaved Africans. Proprietors
also controlled many Southern Colonies.
Valuable Resources
A network called the triangular trade formed among the
colonies, Europe, and Africa. Each region supplied goods
the others wanted. Colonists sent food and raw materials
to England. English traders sent finished goods to the
colonies. England wanted to grow rich from the colonies
through mercantilism. The English government passed
strict laws that controlled the trade of the colonies. This
made many colonists angry.
Find and underline a form
of each vocabulary word
or term.
economy noun, the way in
which the people of an
area use the resources
around them
proprietor noun, a person
who owned and
controlled all the land
in a colony
cash crop noun, a crop that
people grow and sell to
earn money
plantation noun, a very
big farm
mercantilism noun, a
system in which the
government controlled
the economy of its
colonies in order to
grow rich from trade
Who chose governors in
the Middle Colonies?
Highlight the sentence that
tells the answer.
What was the name of the
trade network among the
colonies, Europe, and
Africa? Circle the sentence
that tells the answer.
SKILL
Reading Maps
Do you know directions on
a map? Highlight one route
for travel to the east in the
triangular trade.
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