The Middle Colonies

• Explain how Dutch New Netherland became English New York.

• Describe William Penn’s relationship with Indians in Pennsylvania.

• Compare and contrast the Pennsylvania Colony to other colonies.

Objectives

Terms and People

• push factor – events and circumstances that motivate people to leave their homes

• pull factor − events and circumstances that attract people to a new location

• William Penn − wealthy Quaker Englishman who founded Pennsylvania

• Quaker − unlike Puritans, sought inner understanding of Bible, considered women equal, and were pacifists

What were the characteristics of the Middle Colonies?

The English settled on the northern and southern Atlantic coast of North America. Swedes and Dutch settled small colonies on the mid-Atlantic coast.

Later the English came to control most of the Atlantic seaboard.

Rivers were important to the Middle Colonies for many reasons.

1609: Sent ships up the Hudson River to trade for furs from Indians.

1614: With traders and farmers, founded present-day Albany, New York.

1625: Founded New Amsterdam, now present-day New York City.

The Dutch West Indies Company spurred the development of New Netherland.

• Settled mainly by farmers and traders from the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Norway.

• Colonies tolerated various religious groups including Jews, Baptists, and Lutherans.

• The Dutch West Indies Company appointed a governor and advisory council of colonial leaders.

• No elected assembly was permitted.

• The Dutch West Indies Company bought land from Indians.

Characteristics of Dutch Colonies

Push and pull factors decreased or increased immigration.

The Netherlands England

People enjoyed religious tolerance and had no religious reason to leave.

Puritans were persecuted and wanted freedom to worship their way.

The country had a booming economy and few poor people.

The country had a stagnant economy with a large number of poor people.

• In 1638, Swedish and Finnish farmers and traders built a small colony on the lower Delaware River in what is present-day Delaware.

• The colony expanded to parts of present-day New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

• Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant sent warships to New Sweden and assumed control of the colony.

In 1655, the Dutch took command of New Sweden.

The English and Dutch were intense rivals for global trade in the 1650s and 1660s.

In 1664, the English sent an expedition and forced Stuyvesant to surrender the colony.

English DutchEnglish

• They renamed New Amsterdam to New York after the Duke of York.

• The Duke of York took over governing the colony as a proprietary colony.

• York designated formation of a new colony in 1664, now present-day New Jersey.

When the English moved into the Middle Colonies:

The Pennsylvania Colony was founded in 1682.

• Started by William Penn, a wealthy Quaker who cultivated peace with the Indians.

• Quaker beliefs:• no clergy leadership• women spiritually equal to men• pacifist―do not fight wars or bear arms• tolerate other faiths

Unlike other English leaders, Quaker William Penn bought land from the Indians.

Pennsylvania became William Penn’s “holy experiment” for political and religious freedom.

• Penn wrote a constitution that guaranteed fundamental liberties.

• Tolerant policies encouraged people from a broad range of religious backgrounds to immigrate.

• The colonists did not try to convert the Indians.

• Penn named the capital Philadelphia, which means “city of brotherly love.”

This early grid of Philadelphia shows wide streets and public spaces.

Each colony had its own approach.

Founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom

Founded by Quakers seeking religious freedom

Founded by people looking for new ways to succeed financially

Elected governor and assembly Had a constitution Appointed governor and

elected assembly

No religious tolerance Religious tolerance Little religious tolerance

Tried to convert Indians

Did not try to convert Indians Tried to convert Indians

Took land from Indians Bought land from Indians Took land from Indians

Massachusetts Bay Pennsylvania Virginia

The Middle Colonies enjoyed diversity.No single ethnic group or specific religious group had a majority in the Middle Colonies.

This peaceful diversity went against the traditional belief that political order depended on ethnic and religious uniformity.

The ethnic and religious pluralism in the Middle Colonies was an early example of how the United States later developed into a multi-cultural society.

The Middle Colonies’ diversity became part of the nation’s character.