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TOPIC 2 – EUROPEAN COLONIZATION OF NORTH AMERICA (1500-1750)

Lesson 2.4 – The Middle Colonies (Vocabulary & Notes)

Key Terms (Vocabulary):

1. patroon - the owner of a large estate in a Dutch colony

2. proprietary colony- an English colony in which the king gave land to

proprietors in exchange for a yearly payment

3. royal colony - a colony under the direct control of the English

crown

4. Quakers - Protestant reformers who believe in the equality

of all people

5. Pennsylvania Dutch- German-speaking Protestants who settled in

Pennsylvania

6. cash crop - a crop sold for money at market

7. William Penn - (1644-1718) played a significant role in founding

the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681. He supported religious freedom and self-government in Pennsylvania.

Lesson 2.4 – The Middle Colonies

Obj: to explain the reasons for the establishment of the colonies of New York and New Jersey; to explain the reasons for the establishment of the colonies of Pennsylvania and Delaware; to describe the economy of the Middle Colonies, including the relationship between the economy and the physical environment.

By 1700, England had four colonies in the region just south of New England. These colonies became known as the Middle Colonies because they were located between the New England and the Southern Colonies.

The Middle Colonies had a greater mix of people than either the New England or the Southern Colonies. (See pg 84 in TB)

A DUTCH COLONY BECOMES ENGLISH

Each colony along the Atlantic coast had been established in by different people for different purposes.

• Sometimes to escape political oppression

• Sometimes to escape social tensions

The New England colonies served as refuge for people who faced religious persecution.

• Many created to profit a European company across the ocean

o As were many colonies to the south

In the case of New Netherland, however, the conditions back home for the Dutch were stable and fairly prosperous.

• The colony was founded simply to take advantage of economic opportunities

New Amsterdam

• Dutch

• Set up along the Hudson River

• Developed the fur trade

o Built settlements where there were fur-bearing animals

• Earlier:

o Settlers traded with Indians and built New Amsterdam into a thriving port

▪ Located near good farmland

▪ A safe harbor for ships

▪ Quickly became a center for commerce and trading for beaver skins

• Dutch less interested in farming, but:

o Promoted agriculture by granting large parcels of land to a few rich families

▪ One single land grant could stretch for miles

▪ Owners of these estates were called patroons

o In return, each patroon:

▪ Promised to settle at least 50 European farm families on the land

o Few farmers wanted to work for the patroons

▪ Patroon had great power and could charge whatever rent they wanted

England Gains Control

Many settlers lived in the trading center of New Amsterdam

• by 1664 its population was 1,500 people

o they came from all over Europe

o most for economic opportunity

o merchants and farmers, or

o trades and crafts

o chance to practice their religion freely

o mainly Protestants

▪ belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church

o permitted members of other religions and ethnic groups to buy land, including:

▪ Roman Catholics

▪ French Protestants

▪ Jews

• African slaves were in demand as well

o Earlier, they made up more than a quarter of the population

• Peter Stuyvesant – governor of New Netherlands

o Ordered not to interfere with other religions as long as they did not disturb the peace or restrict commerce

The relationship between the English and the Dutch was complicated by their common interest in creating new colonies and expanding trade.

▪ The Dutch wanted to continue benefiting from New Amsterdam’s economic growth.

▪ The English wanted New Amsterdam for themselves.

By 1664, rivalry between England and the Netherlands for trade and colonies was at its height

▪ August – English warships enter New Amsterdam’s harbor

▪ Governor Peter Stuyvesant swore to defend the city

o Unfortunately:

▪ He had few weapons and little gunpowder

▪ Was unpopular with his harsh rule and heavy taxes

▪ Colonists refused to help

o In the end, he surrendered without firing a shot

King Charles II of England:

▪ Gave New Netherland to his brother, the Duke of York

o The colony was renamed in his honor – New York

New Jersey Forms Out of New York

Initially, when English took over, New York stretched as far south as the Delaware River.

▪ The Duke of York decided it was too big to govern easily

▪ He gave some of the land to friends

o Lord Berkeley

o Sir George Carteret

▪ 1664 - They set up a proprietary colony

o They called in New Jersey

A Proprietary Colony and a Market Economy

Land given to proprietors in return for a yearly payment

▪ Proprietors were free to divide the land and rent it to others.

▪ They made laws for the colony but had to respect rights under English law.

▪ A new system of colonization – different from most before

o Vast lands and power were in the hands of a few men loyal to the monarch.

▪ Earlier colonies were financed by stock companies made up of a number of investors

Like New York, New Jersey had fertile farmland and a number of resources.

Thousands of Europeans settlers migrated there as a haven from war and poverty.

Settlers came from:

▪ Finland

▪ Ireland

▪ Scotland

▪ Germany

▪ Sweden

▪ Also, some English and Dutch moved there from New York hoping to find better farmland

The proprietors of New Jersey encouraged a market economy

▪ Government played a limited role in the economy

▪ They could farm or run businesses without much control by the local government

o Facing financial losses themselves, the proprietors eventually returned the colony over to the English crown

A Royal Colony

1702 – New Jersey became a royal colony.

▪ under the direct control of the English king or queen.

▪ But, the colony’s royal charter protected religious freedom and the rights of an assembly that voted on local matters.

o Viewed as a legal agreement between the monarch and settlers

▪ This was a step toward a more democratic form of government

Despite these improvements, direct English rule tended to be harsh toward colonists.

▪ The colony’s independent-minded settlers struggled to gain more influence over decisions that affected them.

Pennsylvania Becomes a Colony

1681 - West of New Jersey, William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania

William Penn –

▪ Came from a wealthy English family

▪ A personal friend of King Charles II

▪ At the age of 22, he shocked family and friends by joining the Quakers

o One of the most despised religious groups in England

The Quakers Seek Religious Freedom

Like Pilgrims and Puritans, Quakers were Protestant reformers.

• Their reforms went further than the other two groups

• They believed that all people, were equal in God’s sight

o Men and women

o Nobles and commoners

• They allowed women to preach in public

• They refused to bow or remove their hats in the presence of nobles

• They spoke out against all war

• They refused to serve in the army

To most English people, Quaker beliefs seemed wicked.

They were arrested, fined, or even hanged for their ideas in both England and New England.

Penn was convinced that Quakers need leave England

He took steps to found a new colony

• With others, he purchased parts of New Jersey from their proprietors.

• He then turned to his friend, the king, for help.

• Charles II issued a royal charter naming Penn proprietor.

o The king named the new colony Pennsylvania

▪ Meaning “Penn’s woodlands”

• Penn took steps that aided the development of self-government

• He proposed a constitution and General Assembly

o He later agreed to changes in the constitution and greater powers for the colonial assembly

Showing Fairness to All

Penn thought of his colony as a “holy experiment”.

• He wanted to be a model of religious freedom, peace, and Christian living.

• Protestants, Catholics, and Jews went there to escape persecution

o Later, English officials forced Penn to turn away the Catholic and Jewish settlers.

• His beliefs led him to speak out for fair treatment of Native Americans

o He believed that the land in North America belonged to them

o He insisted settlers should pay for the land

• Native Americans respected Penn for his policies

• As a result, Pennsylvania colonists enjoyed many years of peace with their Indian neighbors.

Pennsylvania Expands

Penn sent pamphlets to Europe describing his colony.

Soon, settlers began to cross the Atlantic Ocean to come to his colony

• England

• Scotland

• Wales

• the Netherlands

• France

• Germany

Among the new arrivals were large numbers of German-speaking Protestants.

• They became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch

o People could not pronounce Deutsch – which means German

o It became translated as the word Dutch

Many Pennsylvania Dutch faced religious persecution in Europe, including Amish ad Mennonites.

• Naturally attracted to Penn’s colony

o Where different ethnicities and religions could live peaceably together.

o This ethnic diversity contributed to a developing American identify based on such diversity.

Pennsylvania, like most other colonies, was created for a mix of political, economical, religious, and social reasons.

• New England –

o For its religious reasons

• New York –

o Its political roots in a proprietor’s ties to the king

• Rhode Island –

o Social goals of harmony among different groups

• Like most proprietors –

o Profit from the colony

Enslaved Africans were also brought to the growing Pennsylvania colony

• Between 1730 – 1750 - They made up about 1/3 of all new arrivals

Enslaved Africans were present in:

• New York

• New Jersey

• All the New England colonies

• But there will be no comparison as to the number of Africans in the Southern colonies.

Because of Philadelphia’s location along the Delaware River, many worked as laborers in:

• Manufacturing

• Shipbuilding

Delaware is Born

For a time, Pennsylvania included some lands along the lower Delaware River.

This region was known as Pennsylvania’s Lower Counties.

Later, in 1704, the Lower Counties would break away to form a new colony.

The colony of Delaware.

The Middle Colonies exported so much grain that they became known as the “Breadbasket Colonies”

The Pennsylvania Dutch tended to settle the fertile interior lands

They altered the environment by clearing land and starting farms.

These regions would be turned into rich fields that are still productive today.

Landowners hired workers to help with the planting, harvesting, and other tasks.

Enslaved African Americans worked on few large farms

Most workers were farmhands who worked alongside the families that owned the land.

Aside from farmers in the Middle Colonies:

• Skilled artisans

o German crafts workers set up shop in Pennsylvania

▪ The colony became a center of manufacturing and crafts

• Hardware

• Clocks

• Watches

• Locks

• Guns

• Flints

• Glass

• Stoneware

• Mails

• Paper

o Settlers from the Delaware River valley profited from the region’s rich deposit of iron ore

▪ Heating the ore in furnaces

• Purified it

• Hammered it into:

o Nails

o Tools

o Parts for guns

Home Life

Houses were farther apart in the Middle Colonies than in the New England Colonies

• Towns less important

• Villages became centers of local government

The different groups who settled the Middle Colonies had their own favorite ways of building:

• Swedish settlers

o Log cabins

• Dutch settlers

o Red brick – narrow high-walled houses

• German settlers

o Wood-burning stoves

▪ Heated better than fireplaces

Everyone in the household had a job

Households were largely self-sufficient

• Most things needed for survival were made in the home

o Food

o Clothing

o Soap

o Candles

o Other goods

Expanding Beyond Philadelphia

1700s – thousands of German and Scotch-Irish settlers arrived in Philadelphia.

• Many traveled from there into the backcountry.

o An area along the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains

o Settlers followed an old Indian trail

▪ The Great Wagon Raod

• Farming the backcountry would prove more difficult than believed.

o Settlers had to clear thick forests

• From the Indians - settlers learned how to use knots from pine trees as candles to light their homes

• They made wooden dishes from logs

• Gathered honey from hollow in trees

• Hunted wild animals for food

• German gunsmiths developed a lightweight rifle for use in forests

• Many who arrived in tpg he backcountry moved onto Indian lands

• Disputes between the two would often result in violence

o Officials did not step in to protect Indian rights.

(pg 91 in TB – graphic organizer comparing New England and Middle Colonies)

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