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New England Colonies Similarities And Differences

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When the British first set out to colonize America, they were expecting their colonies to be similar, even uniform in extreme cases. However, they quickly realised that this would be a difficult task to accomplish, if not impossible all together. Not only were the colonists vastly different, depending on where and when they came from, but the continent was so vast and the land varied so much that what worked for one colony would ensure the fall of another. This caused the colonists to adapt different ways of life depending on where they lived in America, due to the variance in land types.. The original colonies were divided into three main regions, the North, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South. Though split by their regions, they all shared …show more content…

This, combined with the fact that there was very little emphasis on farming, allowed the people of New England to focus their attention on other things, such as crafts and shipbuilding, which turned them into an artisan, trade-oriented society. A mixture of the northern and southern colonies, the Mid-Atlantic colonies were nicknamed the “breadbasket colonies,” and for good reason. Their fertile soil and mild climate allowed them to grow a large quantity of crops, most of which were grains. As such, that was also their main export. Not only did they grow an abundance of crops, but their population grew rapidly as well. Areas such as Pennsylvania and New York attracted an abundance of settlers, due to the large size of the land that was being given away. It was also the most diverse of the regions, from Quakers in Pennsylvania to the Dutch Calvinists in Albany, and as such, the most religiously tolerant. Due to its size, diversity, and abundance of goods, the Mid-Atlantic colonies played a large role in the Enlightenment and Great Awakening’s effect on America. They were home to one of the Enlightenment’s greatest thinkers, Benjamin Franklin, and housed some very liberal ideals, such as religious freedom and a greater role for women in society. Lastly, there were the Southern Colonies. They profited off of large amounts of cash crops such as tobacco, indigo, and rice, which required large plantations, and in turn, a source of cheap labor. This labor came in

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