The New England Colonies consisted of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was initially settled by Puritans who due to the strict rules demanding a godly community caused them to depart. Jamestown which was the first colony became a corporation. The Southern Colonies were Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Maryland. It was initially settled by Pilgrims under the royal charter of the Virginia Company. The settlers and the stock holders desired profits from crops and gold. The Middle Colonies had New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The first settlers were the Dutch followed by the Swedes and lastly the English.
Starting with governance, the New England Colonies endured more independence from the Britons in early years. All colonies in this region were under control of the crown by the 1690s. The colonies had local government town meetings that allowed white male Church members owning property to gather and make critical decisions on local importance. There was also the central government consisting of a bicameral legislature and a governor who were responsive and representative of the majority. The Southern Colonies had corporate, proprietary and royal governance. For instance, Maryland was a proprietary colony that gave the Calverts the right to control the government and appoint all governors. Georgia, North and South Carolina were all royal; a King had the power to freely appoint governors. The Middle Colonies endured very diverse settlement. The territory was divided by England into three chartered colonies in the1660s. Pennsylvania became the most inclusive and democratic colony as all free men were allowed to vote regardless of church recognition and the land they owned.
Southern Colonies main economic project was single crop economies. Georgia and Carolina grew rice but also had cotton, indigo and tobacco. Virginia and Maryland specialized on tobacco. For maximum profits, they acquired cheap labour which eventually resulted to an enormous population of slaves. New England Colonies on the other hand mainly had small and family-run farms including household manufacturing thus the need for slaves was minimal. For the Middle Colonies, the Dutch created a strong commercial economy while the Swedes established a fur-trading community that was independent. These colonies thus under English control were oriented commercially and were fuelled further by merchants, craftsmen and farmers. As a result of the diverse economy in the Middle Colonies, there was growth of dispersed, small and inner-connected kind of settlements. The Southern was on the contrary corporate in nature thus growth of plantation economy. New England demonstrated a more homogeneous economy.
The Southern Colonies Society was bi-racial consisting of both the white and black. It was a stratified society mainly based on English tradition. Religion in the colonies was not influential in the economy or the politics. They dwelled on Anglican faith. The Middle Colonies lived in a very diverse society with the diversity ranging from religions, cultures and languages. It was multiracial. Religion had a minor role to play in economy and politics. Religious tolerance was tight as they accepted the beliefs of the Baptists, Shakers, Quakers, and Presbyterians amongst others. New England Colonies on the other hand were mono-racial and had developed a more homogeneous society. Social lives of the colonists, economic and political decisions were strictly dictated by religion. The strict religion in this region was the Calvinist faith.
Works Cited
Nobleman, Marc Tyler. The Thirteen Colonies. Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Books, 2002. Print.
Risjord, Norman K. The Colonists. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. Print.
