Chapter 6

The Middle Colonies

Chapter 6 – Lesson 1

Settling the Middle Colonies

Middle Colonies

• New York• New Jersey• Delaware• Pennsylvania______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The “Breadbasket”Colonies

• The Land:– Flat plains– Rolling hills– Thick forests– Grassy Meadows– Access to inland

waterways• The Climate:

– Long summers– Amount of yearly

rainfall was good for crops (wheat, corn, and rye)

New Netherland

• The Netherlands was a prosperous country– Its people had freedoms– Few Dutch people wanted to leave to go

to the colonies• The Dutch West India Company

– Controlled New Netherland– 1647: Sent Peter Stuyvesant to govern

the colony and raise profits

New colonists

• People from other countries were allowed to settle in New Netherland

• The group included Jews and Africans

BelgiumDenmarkFrance

ItalySpainBrazil

Slave Auction

Free Africans• Most Africans had been captured and

brought to the colony as enslaved workers

• Some Africans were able to buy their freedom– They had to pay their employers each

year to remain free (money or goods)• 1660: First community of free

Africans– Stuyvesant gave land to about 40

formerly enslaved Africans

The English Take Over• King Charles II (of

England) wanted control of the Atlantic Coast– More settlements– More lands rich in

natural resources– Control of the fur

trade• One thing is in his

way:– New Netherland -- the

Dutch colony King Charles II

Conflicts over Land• 1664: Duke of

York sent warships to New Netherland

• English told Stuyvesant to give up… if he did not, they would attack

• Stuyvesant tried to get the colonists to fight, but they would not – they knew they were outnumbered

• Stuyvesant surrendered the English took control of New Netherland without a fight

New York and New Jersey• James, the Duke of York split the colony

– New York• Kept for himself• New Amsterdam New York City

– New Jersey• Gave to two of his friends: John Berkeley and George

Carteret• English treated the Dutch settlers fairly

– Rights– Religious freedom– Property– Elect some of their own leaders

• Most Dutch settlers chose to stay in the colonies

Quakers• Most of the

colonists lived in New York

• New Jersey offered land at low prices– Society of

FriendsReligious group A.k.a. Quakers

• Quaker Beliefs:– All people are equal– Refused to fight in wars– Refused to swear loyalty to any

king or country• Others were often cruel to the

Quakers– Hoped to find a refuge to live and

worship• Bought Berkeley’s share of

New Jersey founded Salem– First Quaker settlement in North

America

William Penn

• 1681: King Charles II made William Penn the proprietor of what is now Pennsylvania– “Penn’s woods”– The land was given

to him because the king owed money to his father

Pennsylvania• Penn wanted all people living in

Pennsylvania to live together peacefully– Quakers and non-quakers

• 1682: Frame of Government of Pennsylvania– Set up legislature: General Assembly– Gave citizens freedom of religion and the

right to a trial by jury• Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges

– white males colonists can elect representatives to the Assembly

Delaware• 1682: Duke of

York gave (what is today) Delaware to Penn

• 1704: Penn gave Delaware its own assembly

William Penn

Chapter 6 – Lesson 2

Life in the Middle Colonies

A Mix of People• Settlers from different places and

backgrounds diversity• Philadelphia = “Brotherly Love”

– Founded on the idea that people of different backgrounds could live peacefully together

– Immigrants came to Philadelphia• Escape war• Find religious freedom• Better economic opportunities

– Buy land and start businesses

The Great Awakening• Religious

movement in the 1720’s

• “awakened”interest in religion

• Changed the way many people practiced their religion

• George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards –ministers that practiced religion differently– Speeches

• Emotional• Long distances

George Whitefield

Religious Toleration• The Great Awakening helped bring

people together– Everyone was welcome at revivals

• Poor people• Women• Africans (free and enslaved)

• The Great Awakening was not popular with all people– Differences split the movement

• Increased diversity of religious beliefs• Increased number of church members• Increased free exercise of religion

Religion and Social Life

• Stronger religious beliefs led some colonists to think slavery was wrong– 1688: Quakers in

Germantown, Pennsylvania -- first group to protest slavery in the English colonies

• Middle colonies were home to many different religious groups. All in the same town:– Presbyterian

church– Quaker

meetinghouse– Jewish

synagogue

Free Time

CITIES(Philadelphia and New York)

• Dances• Plays• Concerts• Social Clubs• Horse Races• Sleigh Rides• Ice-skating

RURAL AREAS• Barn raising

– Farm family would invite their neighbors to help them put in place the frame for a new barn. Afterward, everyone enjoyed a big meal

Philadelphia Grows• Philadelphia became the largest

city in the English colonies– 1682: only 10 houses– 1732: 11,000 people– 1770: 28,000 people

Benjamin Franklinprinter, writer, scientist, and inventor

• Set up the first trained firefighting company

• Raised money to help build the city’s first hospital

• Set up a militia• Founded

Pennsylvania’s first college and first public library

• Printed the Pennsylvania Gazettenewspaper

• Wrote and published Poor Richard’s Almanack– Calendar– Weather forecasts– Stories– Jokes– Wise sayings

Chapter 6 – Lesson 3

Busy Farms and Seaports

Rich Farmland• Different from New England• Farmers would take crops/livestock

to nearby market towns. – General Store: Middle colonist farmers

could buy things they could not grow or make themselves

Crops Livestock TradeWheatCornRye

Dairy CowsPigs

Iron toolsPaintButtons

Port Cities• Merchants took

goods to port cities– Major trade

centers in the Middle Colonies

• Middle colonies’prosperity depended on the ports

Important Port CitiesNew York City

• Hudson River– Farmers, fur traders,

and lumber workers could float goods down the river

• East River Harbor– Good place for ships to

dock• Growth

– 1664: 35 ships each year

– 1750: 600 ships each year

• Second busiest port in the English colonies

Philadelphia• Delaware River

– Farmers, merchants, and traders

• From Philadelphia: down the river into Delaware Bay, then across the Atlantic Ocean

• Busiest port in the English colonies– Many relied on the

Philadelphia port• Pennsylvania• New Jersey• Delaware

Exports and ImportsAlmost all trade was with England or other English colonies

Exports ImportsFursSalted meatLumber*Wheat and Grains

FurnitureTeaGunpowderMedicinesMetalsEnslaved Africans

Some Imports from England

Colonial Jobs• Many jobs to

choose from– Farming– Shipping– Ironworking– Other trades

• Many artisans came to the colonies as indentured servants

Learning a Trade• Most artisans used raw materials to

make goods• A few went to college to become

lawyers, bankers, or minister (rich)• Other skills were not taught in schools

– Carpenters– Coopers – Blacksmiths– Etc.

• Apprentice Journeyman Master– These professions were practiced by men

Working Women• Women and girls:

– Fewer chances to work outside the home

– Most could not own property or businesses

• When a woman’s husband died:– Take over his business– Widows ran taverns,

printing businesses, and silversmith shops