Colonies

Melanie Williams
9/17/06
A.P US History
Pd.12

  The Effect Of Geography On English Colonies

The New England, Middle and Southern colonies were all English ruled, but yet very different. Among their distinctions, was the geography which played an important role in shaping   these colonies. New England attracted Puritan farmers who wanted to separate from the Catholic Church. But because of the bone dry soil in the North, these colonists found they couldn't continue with their traditional ways of farming. However, with the immense amounts of water that surrounded them, they found that they could fish   and trade. The Middle colonies on the other, hand   had a moderate amount of everything.   The fertile soil and the major seaports such as Philadelphia and New York, allowed these Middle   colonists to   make a living any way they saw fit. This led to the brisk development of the Middle Seaboard . Unlike the Middle and Northern colonies, the Southern colonies had large amounts of fertile land allowing for the development of large plantations. Because farming the plantations was the economic thrust for the South, towns and cities developed slowly. Thusly Geography greatly affected the lifestyles of these regions in the New World.
The characteristics that came to shape the life in New England were the rocky, barren soil, the extreme climate and the rich waters. Although there was farming in New England , colonists looked to other means of survival. They looked to the rich waters for fishing and trade. The coastline of New England was very fertile with sealife. So, fishing became a way of commerce and trade providing a steady economy to New England. Because of the rocky soil and extreme climate, the colonists were forced to plant many different crops on a small parcel of land. Although the cold climate may have prevented tremendous amount of farming, it did quell the spread of disease that flourished in the warmer climates. Therefore, because life expectancy... [continues]

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