Download The Middle Colonies later became the states of New

The Middle Colonies later became the states of New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES [ edit ]
Compare the culture of the Middle Colonies with that of other English Colonies.
Identify the individual colonies that make up the Middle colonies
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Much of the area captured the British from the Dutch in 1664 became the Province of New York.
The Duke of York and the King of England would later granted to others land which became the
Province of New Jersey and the Province ofPennsylvania. The Delaware Colony later separated
from Pennsylvania.
The Middle Colonies flourished economically due to fertile soil, broad navigable rivers, and
abundant forests.
The Middle Colonies were the most ethnically diverse British colonies in North America, with
settlers coming from all parts of Europe.
The Middle Colonies were the most religiously diverse part of the British Empire, with a high
degree of tolerance.
Rhode Island was not initially counted as part of New England, having been excluded from
the New England Confederation, but later joined the Dominion of New England. Thus, the
definition of the Middle Colonies sometimes changed and overlapped with Rhode Island's
colonial boundaries.
Indentured servitude was especially common in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York in
the eighteenth century, though fewer worked in agriculture.
TERMS [ edit ]
New Netherland
New Netherland was the 17th­century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United
Netherlands on the East Coast of North America.
New England Confederation
The United Colonies of New England, commonly known as the New England Confederation, was a
short­lived military alliance of the English colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and
New Haven.
indentured servant
A debt bondage worker who is under contract of an employer for a specified period of time in
exchange for transportation, food, drink, clothing, lodging, and other necessities.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
The Middle Colonies consisted of the middle region of the Thirteen Colonies of the British
Empire in North America. In 1776, during the American Revolution, the Middle Colonies
became independent of Britain as the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and
Delaware .
Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies, comprised of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
Unlike New England, The Middle Colonies had richer, less rocky soil, allowing the area to
become a major exporter of wheat and other grains. Its large exports led to its constituent
colonies becoming known as the Bread Basket Colonies. Pennsylvania became a leading
exporter of wheat, corn, rye, hemp, and flax, making it the leading food producer in North
America from 1725 to 1840. Broad navigable rivers like the Susquehanna, the Delaware, and
the Hudson attracted diverse business. Abundant forests attracted the lumbering
and shipbuilding industries to the Middle Colonies. New York and Philadelphia became
important ports. While the Middle Colonies had far more industry than the Southern
Colonies, it still did not rival the industry of New England.
The Middle Colonies were the most ethnically diverse British colonies in North America, with
settlers coming from all parts of Europe, many as indentured servants. They were also the
most religiously diverse part of the British Empire, with a high degree of tolerance. The Penn
family was Quaker, and the colony became a favorite destination for that group as well
as German Lutherans, German Reformed, and numerous small sects such as Mennonites,
Amish, andMoravians, as well as Scotch Irish Presbyterians. The Dutch Reformed were
strong in upstate New York and New Jersey, and Congregationalists were important in Long
Island.
The Middle Colonies tended to mix aspects of the New England and Southern Colonies.
Landholdings were generally farms of 40 to 160 acres, owned by the family that worked
them. In New York's Hudson Valley, however, the Dutch poltroons operated very large
landed estates and rented land to tenant farmers.
Henry Hudson explored the Middle Colonies on a journey into the Hudson River and
Delaware Bay in 1609. The Dutch soon claimed the land. Although the Swedes and the Dutch
fought over the land in the 1630s, ultimately the Dutch claimed the land as New Netherland.
In the 1660s, the English largely conquered this land, renaming the area New York after the
Duke of York, James II. The colony's land was periodically granted to various proprietors
and split into the Province of New York and the Province of Pennsylvania .
Pensylvania Nova Jersey et Nova York cum Regionibus Ad Fluvium Delaware In America Sitis,
Nova Delinatione ob oculos posita . . .
A fine and rare 1756 example of Tobias Conrad Lotter's important map of the Middle Atlantic and
New England regions during the British colonial period. One of the most desirable, interesting and
attractive pre­Revolutionary maps of the Middle English Colonies, particularly New York, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania obtainable. Covers from Lake Ontario in the northwest eastward to the
Atlantic and as far south as Maryland, Delaware and the Chesapeake Bay. Cartographically this
map is heavily based upon the exceedingly rare 1849 map of the same region published by Lewis
Evans in 1749. German immigration to Pennsylvania and New York was flourishing in the mid­18th
century and consequently the demand in Germany for a good map of the region was high. Evans'
map offered the perfect solution to this need and was almost immediately pirated as the, "Special
Land Charte von Pensilvanen..." by an unknown Frankfurt publisher. The Frankfurt map in turn
was also almost immediately (in the same year) pirated by the prosperous firm of Mattias Seutter.
Seutter's son­in­law, Tobias Conrad Lotter, was charged with the preparation and engraving of this
map and it is his hand and style that we see here. The Seutter firm issued and reissued this map in
several variants over the upcoming decade. In 1756 Lotter, following Suetter's death and his
subsequent takeover of the firm, replaced Seutter's name on the map with his own. This is thus third
state or 1756 edition. The original Evans map was intended as a map of the British colonies of New
York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is shown bounded by the Appellations in
accordance with the land purchases William Penn made from the Iroquois League. New York in
divided into three parts comprising of what is today New York and Vermont. Manhattan is shown
attached to the mainland and Brooklyn appears as "Brockland". On a more furtive level, Evans'
maps was also a spy map of the Indian territories west of the Appellation Mountains. As the
inhabited parts of Pennsylvania and New York slowly stretched westward into Indian lands, the
governing bodies became increasingly aware of the need for accurate reconnaissance of the region.
Evans was one of the first cartographers to penetrate and offer a reasonably accurate map of these
areas. The map offers good reference to previously unmapped Indian villages, tribal regions, forts,
and river ways. The portions of Lotter's map that were drawn directly from the Evans map are
therefore surprisingly accurate. In a departure from the Evans, map, however, Lotter also decided
to include within the boundaries of his map the coast of New England and the colonies of Rhode
Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. These areas appear as if they were added as an
afterthought and are consequently wildly, almost humorously, inaccurate. Indeed, it almost seems
as if New England was molded to fit the map plate rather than the map made to fit New England.
Boston and Cape Cod are drawn well within the boundaries of Connecticut. The western border of
New Hampshire is entirely made of up the Atlantic seaboard. Rhode Island just obscenely into
Connecticut which itself in distended along the vertical. All four of the New England colonies shown
are also miniaturized along the horizontal. The decorative title cartouche in the upper left quadrant
depicts William Penn surrounded by the flora and fauna of the region – turkeys, deer, rabbits, etc…,
purchasing land from the indigenous American Indian tribes. Many issues of this map have a very
weak impression due to overuse of the original plate. This particular map on the other hand has a
fine dark impression and is consequently a rare find.
James II later granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two
friends who had been loyal to him through the English Civil War. This land grant became the
Province of New Jersey. In 1665, the Concession and Agreement was written to entice
settlers to New Jersey. This document provided for religious freedom, no taxes
withoutassembly approval, and a governor appointed by the proprietors. When one of the
proprietors sold his share to the Quakers, this sale divided New Jersey into East Jersey and
West Jersey; however, the border between the two remained disputed. From 1701 to 1765,
colonists skirmished in the New York­New Jersey Line War over disputed colonial
boundaries. In 1702, Queen Anne united West and East Jersey into one Royal Colony, the
Province of New Jersey.
King Charles II granted the land for the Pennsylvania Colony to William Penn in 1681 as
payment for a debt the crown owed his family. Penn wrote the Frame of Government of
Pennsylvania, which called for religious tolerance towards many, including the Religious
Society of Friends and local natives. As a proprietary colony, Penn governed Pennsylvania,
yet its citizens were still subject to the English crown and laws. In 1704, Dutch land given to
Penn by the Duke of York was separated and once again became part of the Delaware Colony.
From 1692 to 1694, revolution in England deprived Penn of the governance of his colony.
The Pennsylvania Assembly took this opportunity to request expanded power for elected
officials. Upon visiting the colony in 1669 and 1701, Penn eventually agreed to allow
theirCharter of Privileges to be added to the constitution.
Delaware changed hands between the Dutch and Swedes between 1631 and 1655. The Dutch
maintained control of Delaware until 1664, when it was renamed New Castle after the Duke
of York. A Deputy of the Duke governed Delaware from 1664 to 1682. When William Penn
received his land grant of Pennsylvania in 1681, he received the Delaware area from the Duke
of York, and dubbed it "The Three Lower Counties on the Delaware River". In 1701, after he
had troubles governing the ethnically diverse Delaware territory, Penn agreed to allow it a
separate colonial assembly. Delaware expelled the royal officials in 1775 and became part of
the United States of America.