The Middle Colonies

1
The Middle Colonies

• The breadbasket colonies

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Overview

• THE MIDDLE COLONIES
• Society in the middle colonies was made up of
  settlers from many different countries, many
  different religious groups, and was much more
  tolerant than in the New England Colonies.
• Settlers from all over Europe came for new
  opportunity and greater freedoms.

3
Pennsylvania

• Algonquian and Iroquoian Native Americans lived
  in the Pennsylvania region when Dutch explorers
  first visited in 1609. Henry Hudson sent word of
  the area after sailing into the Delaware Bay in
  search of a trade route to Asia.
• In 1615, Cornelius Hendricksen reached what is
  now Philadelphia.

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• Sweden established the first permanent
  settlements near Philadelphia in 1643. Dutch
  troops conquered the area in 1655 until England
  conquered it in 1664.
• In 1681, King Charles II granted the land to
  William Penn. He named the region Sylvania,
  meaning woods. Penn was added later by the
  King in honor of Williams father.

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• William Penn, a Quaker, desired religious freedom
  and self-government for all who settled in
  Pennsylvania.
• Shortly after arriving, Penn signed treaties with
  the Native Americans and paid them for the land
  he was given by the King of England
• In 1682, he founded the city of Philadelphia.
  Penn returned to England in 1684.
• Several conflicts arose in his absence, and many
  changes resulted in Pennsylvanias government.

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• In many ways, Pennsylvania and Delaware owed
  their initial success to William Penn.
• Under his guidance, Pennsylvania functioned
  smoothly and grew rapidly. By 1685 its population
  was almost 9,000.
• The heart of the colony was Philadelphia, a city
  soon to be known for its broad, tree-shaded
  streets, substantial brick and stone houses, and
  busy docks.

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• Although the Quakers dominated in Philadelphia,
  elsewhere in Pennsylvania other groups were well
  represented. Germans became the colony's most
  skillful farmers and cottage industries such as
  weaving, shoemaking, cabinetmaking and other
  crafts sprung up everywhere.
• Pennsylvania was also home to the Scots-Irish,
  who settled in the colony in the early 1700s.
  They hated the English and were suspicious of all
  government. The Scots-Irish tended to settle in
  the backcountry where the government had less
  control. They cleared the land and lived by
  hunting and subsistence farming.

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New York

• As mixed as the people were in Pennsylvania, New
  York best illustrated the polyglot nature of
  America. By 1646 the population included Dutch,
  French, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, English,
  Scots, Irish, Germans, Poles, Bohemians,
  Portuguese and Italians -- the forerunners of
  millions to come.

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• The Dutch continued to exercise an important
  social and economic influence on the New York
  region long after the fall of New Netherland to
  the English.
• Their sharp-stepped, gable roofs became a
  permanent part of the city's architecture, and
  their prosperous merchants gave Manhattan much of
  its original bustling, commercial atmosphere.

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• For more than three centuries England and Holland
  (the Dutch) had been the closest of friends but
  now, the power of Spain was crushed, and the
  Dutch, no longer having anything to fear from
  Spain decided to try and become a Naval power.
  This upset England who were already upset that
  the Dutch traded with the English colonies
  freely.
• Their ships carried great quantities of goods
  such as Virginia tobacco to Holland, and thus at
  least 10,000 a year was lost in taxes to the
  English government.

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• The English Parliament passed The first
  Navigation Act (Law) in 1651 which would stop
  Dutch ships from trading goods. The Dutch traders
  ignored the law and continued as before.
• The fact that Dutch traders were essentially
  stealing English tax dollars and that New
  Netherlands split the English colonies in two led
  the English to decide to conquer the Dutch
  colony.
• The English claimed New Netherland and Charles II
  gave the entire country to his brother James,
  Duke of York, ignoring the claims of the Dutch
  colony. A small English fleet and about five
  hundred of the king's veteran troops were joined
  by several hundred of the militia of Connecticut
  and Long Island. They all sailed for the mouth of
  the Hudson where New Amsterdam and Manhattan lie.

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• Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch colonial Governor had
  heard of the fleet's arrival at Boston, but
  believed the King was cracking down on the
  Puritans in New England. Stuyvesant had been away
  stopping an Indian uprising when he heard the
  fleet was heading for New Amsterdam. He arrived
  at New Amsterdam only one day before the English
  fleet came into view.
• Nicolls, the Fleet Captain demanded the surrender
  of the fort and Stuyvesant refused. He fumed and
  fretted and swore and stamped his wooden leg.

• He tore to bits a polite letter sent him by
  Nicolls. He mustered his meager forces for
  defense but the people were not with him.

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• They were tired of his tyrannical control where
  they had no say in the government and tired of
  enriching the colonial company at their own
  expense, and the choleric old governor had to
  yield. The fort was surrendered (1664) without
  bloodshed and New Amsterdam became New York
  (named after the Duke of York) and all of New
  Netherlands was under English control.

14
New Jersey

• In 1609, Henry Hudson claimed New Jersey and New
  York for the Dutch. By 1630, Dutch settlement of
  New Jersey began along the Hudson River but
  because of Indian attacks, the first permanent
  town, Bergen, wasnt established until 1660.
  Swedish fur traders began settling southern New
  Jersey in 1638, but were quickly forced out of
  the area by the Dutch.
• England gained control of New Jersey in 1664
  after taking New York with soldiers from the
  English colonies along the coast.
• Many settlers arrived looking for cheap land and
  political and religious freedom. The colony was
  later divided into West and East Jersey. After
  land disputes caused rioting in the 1690s,
  England again united the two colonies into one
  colony.

15
Delaware

• Two groups of Native Americans lived in the
  Delaware region when European explorers first
  visited the area. The Lenape and the Nanticoke.
• In 1610, an English ship sailed into the Delaware
  Bay from the colony of Virginia. Captain Samuel
  Argall named the bay after Virginias governor,
  Lord De La Warr. The bay, river, and land
  surrounding the region became known as Delaware.

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• One year earlier, Henry Hudson had entered the
  Delaware Bay for a Dutch company. The Dutch
  tried to establish a settlement in 1631, but
  Indians killed the settlers and destroyed the
  fort.
• Sweden also made claims to Delaware. In 1638,
  colonists arrived and established Fort Christina,
  the first permanent settlement in the region.
  Sweden also claimed land from New Jersey and
  Pennsylvania and named the entire colony New
  Sweden. The Dutch captured New Sweden in 1655.

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• When England captured New Netherland Delaware
  became part of the colony of New York. In 1681,
  William Penn was granted land that included
  Pennsylvania and Delaware. Delaware then became
  known as the Three Lower Counties, because of its
  position down the Delaware River from
  Pennsylvania. As the population in
  Pennsylvanias counties grew the Three Lower
  Counties had less votes in government. As a
  result, in 1704 Delaware was given its own
  legislature, but continued with Pennsylvania
  governors until the Revolutionary War.
• Delaware flourished under English rule. The
  lumber industry brought thousands to work in
  sawmills built along the Delaware River. By
  1760, nearly 35,000 people lived in the Delaware
  region.