Who Are We?We are Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. The first to be settled in was New York in 1664. After New York, it was Delaware and New Jersey in late 1664, ending with Pennsylvania in 1681. This land was settled in because of its rich soil, which made it a major exporter of grains.
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ReligionThere was a good amount of religious freedom between the colonies, with New York colonists beginning their own settlements and New Jersey colonists already establishing religious freedom.
The Quakers did not have much religious freedom in Europe, so when Pennsylvania was granted, William Penn came to America, along with other Quakers. Some Quakers ended up settling in Delaware. |
FoundersNew York, formerly known as the "New Netherlands," was founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1664 as a royal colony. That same year, New Jersey and Delaware were founded by Sir William Berkeley, Sir George Cateret, and Peter Minuit as royal colonies.
Pennsylvania was founded a couple of decades later by William Penn in 1981 as a proprietary colony. |
Government and EconomyNew York, New Jersey, and Delaware were royal colonies, but Pennsylvania was a proprietary colony.
The Middle colonists made their living off of farming and crops. The colonies were named the "breadbasket colonies" because colonists grew wheat, oats and other grains. The climate consisted of longer growing seasons, which helped the agriculture. Slaves were very important to the survival and economy of the Middle colonies. They were used to plant and collect the grains that ran their entire economy. |
SpecialtiesWilliam Penn's Holy Experiment (1981): Pennsylvania was discovered as a "holy experiment" by Penn. This ended up leading to Quakers settling in the colony to escape religious persecution.
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