The Middle Colonies

U.S. History to 1877

The “middle” colonies, late 1600s

Like New England

Family farms

Few slaves

Healthier

Like the South

Individualistic

Rural

New York

New Amsterdam in Dutch New Netherlands

New York, taken by English, 1664

Diverse, contentious, profit-oriented

Pennsylvania, 1682

William Penn & Quakers

Spiritual equality, suspicion of hierarchy

Austerity and intense work ethic

Pennsylvania and Philadelphia

Pluralism and tolerance

The Carolinas

Planning a feudal utopia, 1669

The Barbados connection

Black majority

Rice and race

Malaria and yellow fever

Gullah

Charleston, the South’s only city

Rice plantations

Scotch-Irish

Settle in the backcountry

Cultural pessimism

Clannish

Violent; intolerant of other’s opinions

Liberty means freedom from restraint

Growing diversity

1700: 250,000

1775: 2,500,000

Most immigrants not English

250,000 slaves imported

Total of 500,000 by 1776

An empire for trade

Royal colonies

No coordinated central control

Mercantilism

Navigation Acts, 1660

Staple Act, 1663

British Trade Routes in 18^th century