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How Did Geography Affect Where Colonists Settled Essay

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Beginning in 1607, when ambitious English colonists settled in Jamestown, and continuing until the last of the thirteen colonies was established; geography was a substantial factor in the development of colonial America. The crops that essentially saved the colonists lives, such as tobacco, rice, and indigo, wouldn’t have grown without a certain type and amount of soil to grow properly. Also, the Appalachian Mountains and the dense forests provided a barrier for the colonists, preventing them from going too far west right away, and causing the colonies to form in the arrangement they did. Finally, the population was the most dense in middle colonies, such as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania partly because of the mild …show more content…

This, in turn, made it so that the population were more dense, and there was a higher concentration of people. The dense forests of the eastern seaboard disallowed for large cities to be created right away. This geological factor forced colonists to spread out within the perimeters of the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, without being too close together. Both of these factors could be overlooked easily enough, but did have a reasonable impact of the development of colonial America. Finally, the geography of the middle colonies, such as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania played a big role on the development and population of this area. In the sixteen and seventeen hundreds, the above colonies were the most populated of the thirteen establishments. There was plentiful and fertile soil, in which tobacco was heavily grown. The Susquehanna River also flowed through this region, opening the possibility of fur trade. Other minor rivers that were found in the middle colonies were gentle, which provided for easy transportation and fishing. The land in the middle colonies was broad and expansive, making it easy for even the middle class residents to create an enjoyable and profitable lifestyle. In conclusion, there were many factors that contributed to the development of the colonial America, but geography was clearly a sizable influence. If the geography of America wasn’t the way it was, the colonists who settled here may have not survived as

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