Download Geography and Economics of the US Colonial Region

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Geography and Economics of the US Colonial Regions
New England Region
The New England Colonies were located in the northeastern corner of the United States. The
colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire made up the New England
region. Much of New England’s geography is made up of hills and low mountains. Thick heavy forests
cover large areas in this region. The soil is thin and rocky. There are narrow plains located along the
jagged Atlantic coast. The Connecticut River, the regions largest river, flows from New Hampshire
through Massachusetts and Connecticut before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. New England had many fine
deep harbors; off shore there were rich fishing grounds.
Winters in New England tend to be long and snowy. Summers are short and warm. This helped
early colonists in the region because they tended to catch fewer diseases and lived longer than the
colonists in other regions – especially the South. It is often said that in New England the best crop that
grew was rocks. New England’s soil was not very fertile. This was because glaciers had deposited rocks in
prehistoric times in this area, making it hard to grow a large amount of crops. Many colonists in this
region practiced subsistence farming (farming that produced only enough crops to feed the family). It was
a backbreaking activity that produced little results. Farmers also raised cattle/live stock for their own
needs. Almost everything people wore, ate, or used was made by hand at home. Men and boys worked
the farm, cared for animals, and fixed buildings. Women and girls cooked and preserved food, made soap,
candles, and the family’s clothing. They also helped at planting and harvest time.
Due to the tough farming conditions, many colonists turned to the sea to earn a living. Just off of
New England’s long, jagged coastline are some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The codfish
quickly became a source of wealth for the colonists. Codfish fisheries became known as the “gold mines”
of New England. Whale hunting began and grew rapidly until there were hundreds of ships in operation.
Commerce, the trading of goods, was done in both the importation (imports = bringing in) and
exportation (exports = shipping out) of goods. This business became an important source of wealth in this
region. Fortunes could be made in the Triangle Trade. New England’s participation in the trade began in
Boston where manufacturers would distill sugar and molasses received from the West Indies into rum.
This rum would be traded to England for manufactured goods. The manufactured goods would then be
shipped to the west coast of Africa and traded for African slaves. The African slaves were then
transported to the West Indies where sugar and molasses, destined for Boston, would be traded. The
owners of the ships that left out of Boston were able to make a profit at each stop in the triangle.
Manufacturing and factories began developing in New England, with the use of free labor (these
workers were not slaves). There were rum distilleries, factories making hats and clothing from animal fur,
iron smelting, lumber mills, shipyards and naval stores. Boston became the center for the ship building
industry. Shipyards stored ships that were built from the excellent lumber harvested from the large New
England forests. Naval stores carried items many ship owners needed like pitch, tar, rosin, and turpentine
which were used on the ships by both the British Navy and local New Englanders. The British government
benefited greatly from the natural resources available in the New England colonies and often paid large
amounts to the colonists to increase their production of products made from these resources.
Middle Region
Four colonies made up the Middle Region: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
The scenic Hudson River flows south through eastern New York before reaching New York City.
Pennsylvania’s southeastern section is a large, flat region (lowland). Pennsylvania’s largest city,
Philadelphia, is located along the Delaware River. Most of New Jersey is lowland along the Atlantic Coast.
Delaware, the regions smallest colony is located along the coast directly south of New Jersey. The Middle
Colonies’ climate is warmer than that of New England’s providing a longer growing season. Being near all
the water as the Middle Colonies are – oceans and rivers – makes for fertile soil. The fertile soil was well
suited for crops like wheat, fruit, and vegetables.
Fertile soil and hard work made farming a productive livelihood. Farmers grew more crops than
needed for their family and sold the extra surplus at market. This was known as general farming.
Cattle/livestock was raised not only for use on the farms but also to sell and make a profit. The top selling
crop was wheat, giving the nickname “The Breadbasket” to the Middle Colonies. Large framing estates
grew around wheat production. Men, women, and children all worked long hours in the fields and in the
home of these large estates. Boys helped plant and harvest crops. Girls did housework, cooking, and
sewing. These large estates also hired indentured servants (usually poor people from Europe who would
agree to work on an estate for a number of years in exchange for a place to live and the cost of travel to
the new world) to work the fields and harvest the crops. Wheat was sold to customers in the New England
Colonies as well as other nations. Philadelphia and New York became busy ports and trade centers.
Manufacturing began to pick up in this region but was no match for the manufacturing in New
England. The factories in this region produced iron, flour, glass, pottery and paper. Artisans (people who
work with their hands to make products) in towns worked in trades such as blacksmiths, shoemakers,
printers, weavers, spinners, masons, carpenters, and coopers (barrel makers) - who made barrels used to
ship and store flour and other goods long distances. Many colonial children became apprentices to learn
these useful trades. By 1750, the entire Middle Colonies region had thriving economies.
Southern Region
The colonies of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia were all located in
the Southern region. This region is divided into two areas – Tidewater and Piedmont. Tidewater is a
coastal area that is a flat lowland that included many swampy areas. The Tidewater region of the
Southern Colonies was the area that was close to the Atlantic Ocean. The Piedmont region, also known as
the Backcountry, had a landscape of rolling hills and was farther away from the Atlantic Ocean and rivers
of the South. The climate of the Southern region is warm and humid. Hot summers provide a long growing
season. The Southern Colonies had fewer towns and cities than other colonies.
Tidewater
No manufacturing took place in the South. The most powerful economic force in the Tidewater
region was the plantation, which everyone aspired to own. A plantation is a large farm where crops such
as sugar, cotton, rice, tobacco, and indigo were grown. These plantations lead to Tidewater’s economy
becoming dominated by plantation life and therefore slavery. The plantation system began in Virginia and
Maryland when settlers started growing tobacco. The system spread southward when planters realized
they could turn a profit more quickly because of the large amounts of slaves working on the plantations.
This also increased the number of slaves being brought into the Southern Colonies. The chief product in
the Tidewater region was rice, indigo, and tobacco. The crops that were grown were sold as raw materials
to northern factories or factories in the mother country, England.
These plantations were profitable because of enslaved Africans who did the hard work needed to
grow these crops. These slaves were brought to Charleston, South Carolina from the Caribbean and were
sold among the many plantation owners of the South who were willing and able to pay.
Planters’ children had private teachers. They learned reading, writing, and dancing. Later, parents
taught their children how to manage a large plantation. Most people did not live on plantations. In fact,
90% of the people in Tidewater lived on modest farms practicing general farming with maybe a slave or
two.
Piedmont (Backcountry)
The Piedmont (Backcountry) was cut off from the Atlantic Coastal Plains by poor roads and long
distances. Residents of this area found other ways to make money since plantation life was not lucrative.
In this part of the Southern region, people worked on small farms, partaking in subsistence farming,
trapping, and hunting. Families usually lived on isolated farms and did not legally own the land they lived
on. Many of these isolated farms were simply one-room shacks. Families in Piedmont did not have
servants or enslaved people for help; women and girls worked in the fields alongside the men and boys to
keep the family fed.
The Frontier Region
All of the colonial regions – New England, Middle, and Southern had frontier regions that were
located along the westernmost part of the colonies where few lived among the wild forests of the
Appalachian Mountains. This region was inhabited by woodsmen who were not afraid of being alone in
the woods or afraid of the threat of hostile Natives.
The great majority of these pioneers were subsistent farmers. While these woodsmen could have
grown more crops and sold what they did not need, they did not because there was no way to get the
crops to market before spoiling. Some frontiersmen turned their surplus of grain into whiskey, which was
easier to transport to distant markets. Other woodsmen trapped animals and brought their fur to market
to trade for other goods that they could not grow or make.