Colonization and the 13 Colonies

Reasons for Colonization

• Many Europeans migrated to the East Coast of North America in the hopes of a better life than what they had in Europe.
• Religious freedom was a key motivator for many colonists to escape persecution.
• Wealthy Europeans sought opportunities to increase their wealth through cheap land and labor.
• Slavery and indentured servitude forced many individuals to migrate as cheap labor.

13 Colonies

• The 13 English colonies were organized into three regions—New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.

• New England Colonies:

  • Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.
  • Known for its rocky coastline, rolling hills, and large forested areas.
  • The soil was rocky and the climate was harsh with long winters and short summers, making farming difficult.
  • Economy relied on lumber, furs, whaling, fishing, and mineral mining.
  • Many Puritans, who sought religious freedom, settled in the New England colonies.

• Middle Colonies:

  • New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
  • Warmer climate, fertile soil, flat land, easily-navigable rivers, and wide valleys.
  • Diverse population consisting of settlers from England, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and German states.
  • More religiously tolerant than the Puritan colonies in the North, housing Quakers, Mennonites, and Lutherans.
  • Major exporter of wheat and other grains, and were also involved in mining, trading, lumbering, and shipbuilding.

• Southern Colonies:

  • Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
  • Warm climate, rich soil, and broad coastal plains.
  • Economy based on agriculture, with cash crops like tobacco, cotton, rice, and indigo grown on large plantations.
  • Wealthy Europeans established plantations with Slavery and indentured servitude.