Notes

Although many North American colonies were established based on issues of religion, not all were focused on creating a safe place for people to practice their faith. Most of the Middle Colonies were set up purely for economic reasons.

The Middle Colonies included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. These were the most diverse of the New World English colonies. The entire region started out as the Dutch colony of New Netherlands. The area attracted many immigrants from Germany and France. After years of conflict between the British and the Dutch, New Netherlands eventually came under British control. Located between the New England colonies and the Southern colonies, these Middle Colonies were the breadbasket of England’s colonial empire. The region became a focus of the French and Indian War during the late colonial era.

In this lesson you will learn about early development in the Middle Colonies and what daily life was like for colonists in this area.