Lesson 6: The Middle Colonies

Question 1

Cash Crop Definition

Answer 1

A crop sold for money at market

Question 2

Holy Experiment Definition

Answer 2

Penn’s colony (Pennsylvania) that included people from different religious backgrounds co-existing peacefully

Question 3

Patroon Definition

Answer 3

The owner of a large estate in a Dutch colony

Question 4

Pennsylvania Dutch Definition

Answer 4

German-speaking Protestants who settled in Pennsylvania

Question 5

Proprietary Colony Definition

Answer 5

An English colony in which the king gave land to proprietors in exchange for a yearly payment

Question 6

Quakers Definition

Answer 6

Protestant reformers who believe in the equality of all people

Question 7

Royal Colony

Answer 7

A colony under direct control of the English crown

Question 8

William Penn Definition

Answer 8

A wealthy man and Quaker leader who secured a charter from King Charles II for a new colony which eventually became Pennsylvania.

Question 9

Why was New Netherland formed?

Answer 9

To take advantage of economic opportunities in North America.

Question 10

Along which river did the Dutch establish the colony of New Netherland?

Answer 10

The Hudson River

Question 11

What source of trade did New Netherlands have? How did it impact their geography?

Answer 11

They developed the fur trade and built settlements where fur-bearing animals were abundant.

Question 12

Why did New Amsterdam become such a great place for commerce?

Answer 12

Located near good farmland and with a safe harbor for ships, New Amsterdam quickly became a center for commerce and trading valuable beaver skins.

Question 13

How did Dutch officials promote agriculture?

Answer 13

Although less interested in farming, Dutch officials did promote agriculture by granting some large parcels of land to a few rich families. A single land grant could stretch for miles. Indeed, one grant was as big as Rhode Island! Owners of these huge estates were called patroons. In return for the grant, each patroon promised to settle at least 50 European farm families on the land. Few farmers wanted to work for the patroons, however. Patroons had great power and could charge whatever rents they pleased.

Question 14

What were reasons of why people came to New Amsterdam?

Answer 14

Most of them came for the economic opportunities, working as merchants or farmers, or in trades and crafts. Many were also attracted by the chance to practice their religion freely. African slaves were in demand as well. In the early years, they made up more than a quarter of the population of the town.

Question 15

What religions did the Dutch allow?

Answer 15

Dutch colonists were mainly Protestants who belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. Still, they permitted members of other religions and ethnic groups—including Roman Catholics, French Protestants, and Jews—to buy land. It seemed like they did not even care for religion.

Question 16

What was Peter Stuyvesant ordered to do?

Answer 16

In fact, Peter Stuyvesant (STY vuh sunt), the governor of New Netherland, had been ordered not to interfere with other religions as long as they did not disturb the peace or restrict commerce.

Question 17

What created the conflict between the English and the Dutch?

Answer 17

The relationship between the English and the Dutch was complicated by their common interest in creating new colonies and expanding trade. In North America, the Dutch wanted to continue benefiting from New Amsterdam’s economic growth. However, the English wanted New Amsterdam for themselves.

Question 18

What happened at the height of the English and Dutch rivalry in 1664?

Answer 18

By 1664, the rivalry between England and the Netherlands for trade and colonies was at its height. In August of that year, English warships entered New Amsterdam’s harbor. Governor Stuyvesant swore to defend the city. However, he had few weapons and little gunpowder. Also, Stuyvesant had made himself so unpopular with his harsh rule and heavy taxes that the colonists refused to help him. In the end, he surrendered without firing a shot.

Question 19

What happened after governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered and gave up New Amsterdam?

Answer 19

King Charles II of England then gave New Netherland to his brother, the Duke of York. He renamed the colony New York in the duke’s honor.

Question 20

How was New Jersey formed?

Answer 20

At the time of the English takeover, New York stretched as far south as the Delaware River. The Duke of York decided that the colony was too big to govern easily. He gave some of the land to friends, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They set up a proprietary (proh PRY uh tehr ee) colony, which they called New Jersey, in 1664.

Question 21

How did proprietary colonies work?

Answer 21

In setting up a proprietary colony, the king gave land to one or more people in return for a yearly payment. These proprietors were free to divide the land and rent it to others. They made laws for the colony but had to respect the rights of colonists under English law. This new system of colonization was different from most that had come before. Proprietary colonies placed vast lands and power in the hands of a few men loyal to the monarch. Earlier colonies had been financed by stock companies made up of a number of investors.

Question 22

Why did people move to New Jersey?

Answer 22

Like New York, New Jersey had fertile farmland and a wealth of other resources that attracted people from many lands. Thousands of European settlers immigrated to New Jersey as a haven from war and poverty. Settlers came from Finland, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Sweden. There were also English and Dutch settlers who moved there from the colony of New York. In addition, some New England colonists, hoping to find better farmland, chose to relocate to New Jersey.

Question 23

What did the proprietors of New Jersey suggest the economy should be? What ended up happening?

Answer 23

The proprietors of the New Jersey encouraged a market economy, in which the government played a limited role in the economy. The market economy system benefited colonists. They could farm or run businesses without much control by the local government. Facing financial losses themselves, however, the proprietors eventually returned the colony of New Jersey to the English crown.

Question 24

What did New Jersey become in 1702?

Answer 24

In 1702, New Jersey became a royal colony, which is a colony under the direct control of the English king or queen.

Question 25

What did the Royal charter of New Jersey (when it became a royal colony) do?

Answer 25

The colony’s royal charter protected religious freedom and the rights of an assembly that voted on local matters. This charter could be viewed as a legal agreement between the monarch and settlers, binding to both. It was a step toward a more democratic form of government. Despite these improvements, direct English rule tended to be harsh toward colonists. New Jersey’s independent-minded settlers struggled to gain more influence over decisions that affected them.

Question 26

Who founded the colony of Pennsylvania and when?

Answer 26

William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681

Question 27

How did William Penn shock his family?

Answer 27

Penn came from a wealthy English family and was a personal friend of King Charles II. At age 22, however, Penn shocked family and friends by joining the Quakers, one of the most despised religious groups in England.

Question 28

How were Quakers similar and different from Pilgrims and Puritans?

Answer 28

Like Pilgrims and Puritans, Quakers were Protestant reformers. Their reforms went further than those of other groups, however.

Question 29

What did Quakers believe?

Answer 29

Quakers believed that all people—men and women, nobles and commoners—were equal in God’s sight. They allowed women to preach in public and refused to bow or remove their hats in the presence of nobles. Quakers spoke out against all war and refused to serve in the army.

Question 30

How were Quakers viewed in England and NEw England?

Answer 30

To most English people, Quaker beliefs seemed wicked. In both England and New England, Quakers were arrested, fined, or even hanged for their ideas. Penn became convinced that the Quakers must leave England.

Question 31

How did William Penn establish Pennsylvania? How did he rule it?

Answer 31

He took steps to found a new colony. Together with others, Penn purchased parts of New Jersey from their proprietors. Then he turned to the king for help. Charles II issued a royal charter naming Penn proprietor of a large tract of land in North America. The king named the new colony Pennsylvania, or Penn’s woodlands. During his time as proprietor, Penn took steps that aided the development of self-government in Pennsylvania. He proposed a constitution and a General Assembly. Later, he agreed to changes in the constitution and greater powers for the colonial assembly.

Question 32

What did Penn think his colony to be?

Answer 32

Penn thought of his colony as a “holy experiment.” He wanted it to be a model of religious freedom, peace, and Christian living. Protestants, Catholics, and Jews went to Pennsylvania to escape persecution. Later, English officials forced Penn to turn away Catholic and Jewish settlers.

Question 33

What did Penn’s Quaker beliefs lead him to do for the Native Americans?

Answer 33

Penn’s Quaker beliefs led him to speak out for fair treatment of Native Americans. Penn believed that the land in North America belonged to the Indians. He insisted that settlers should pay for the land. Native Americans respected him for this policy. As a result, Pennsylvania colonists enjoyed many years of peace with their Indian neighbors.

Question 34

How did Penn advertise his colony?

Answer 34

Penn sent pamphlets describing his colony all over Europe. Soon, settlers from England, Scotland, Wales, the Netherlands, France, and Germany began to cross the Atlantic Ocean to Pennsylvania.

Question 35

What motivated the “Pennsylvania Dutch” to move to Penn’s colony?

Answer 35

Among the new arrivals were large numbers of German-speaking Protestants. They became known as Pennsylvania Dutch because people could not pronounce the word Deutsch (doich), which means German. Many Pennsylvania Dutch had faced religious persecution in Europe, including the Amish and Mennonites. Because of their experiences in Europe, these German-speaking people were naturally attracted to the ideals of Penn’s colony, in which people of different ethnicities and religions could live peaceably together. The ethnic diversity of Pennsylvania contributed to a developing American identity based on ethnic diversity.

Question 36

Why was Pennsylvania established, and how was this reason similar to New England’s?

Answer 36

Pennsylvania, like most other colonies, was created for a mix of political, economic, religious, and social reasons. Pennsylvania was like the New England colonies in the religious reasons for its creation.

Question 37

True or False: Penn hoped to profit from his colony.

Answer 37

True

Question 38

What was slavery like in Pennsylvania?

Answer 38

Enslaved Africans were also brought to the growing Pennsylvania colony. They made up about one third of all new arrivals between 1730 and 1750. Enslaved Africans were present in New York, New Jersey, and the New England Colonies as well, but in smaller numbers than in the Southern Colonies. Because of Philadelphia’s location along the Delaware River, many worked as laborers in manufacturing and shipbuilding.

Question 39

How was Delaware formed?

Answer 39

For a time, Pennsylvania included some lands along the lower Delaware River. The region was known as Pennsylvania’s Lower Counties. Later, in 1704, the Lower Counties would break away to form the colony of Delaware.

Question 40

What did many people do for a living in the Middle Colonies?

Answer 40

The majority of colonists made their living by farming. Farmers found more favorable conditions in the Middle Colonies than in New England. The broad Hudson and Delaware river valleys were rich and fertile. Winters were milder than in New England, and the growing season lasted longer.

Question 41

What did farmers in the eastern counties of the Middle Colonies produce?

Answer 41

On such promising land, farmers in the eastern counties of the Middle Colonies cleared their fields. They mostly chose to raise wheat, barley, and rye as a way to earn money. Wheat, barley, and rye were cash crops, or crops that were sold for money on the market and not consumed by the farmer’s family. In fact, the Middle Colonies exported so much grain that they became known as the Breadbasket Colonies.

Question 42

Which fertile lands did the Pennsylvania Dutch settle?

Answer 42

The Pennsylvania Dutch tended to settle the fertile interior lands. They altered the environment by clearing land and starting farms, turning these regions into rich fields that are still productive today.

Question 43

What did Middle colony farmers do with their herds?

Answer 43

Farmers of the Middle Colonies also raised herds of cattle and pigs. Every year, they sent tons of beef, pork, and butter to the ports of New York and Philadelphia. From there, the goods went by ship to New England and the South or to the West Indies, England, and other parts of Europe.

Question 44

How did farms in the Middle Colonies compare to those of the New England colonies?

Answer 44

Farms in the Middle Colonies were generally larger than those in New England. Landowners hired workers to help with the planting, harvesting, and other tasks.

Question 45

In the Middle Colonies, who worked on the farms? How much work was done by slaves?

Answer 45

Enslaved African Americans worked on a few large farms. However, most workers were farmhands who worked alongside the families that owned the land.

Question 46

What did artisans in the Middle Colonies do?

Answer 46

Encouraged by William Penn, skilled German crafts workers set up shop in Pennsylvania. In time, the colony became a center of manufacturing and crafts. One visitor reported that workshops turned out “hardware, clocks, watches, locks, guns, flints, glass, stoneware, nails, [and] paper.”

Question 47

How did Settlers in the Delaware River Valley profit from the region’s rich deposits of iron ore?

Answer 47

Settlers in the Delaware River valley profited from the region’s rich deposits of iron ore. Heating the ore in furnaces, they purified it and then hammered it into nails, tools, and parts for guns.

Question 48

Why were towns less important in the Middle Colonies than in New England? What became centers of local government?

Answer 48

Because houses tended to be far apart in the Middle Colonies, towns were less important than in New England. Counties, rather than villages, became centers of local government.

Question 49

What was housing like in the Middle Colonies?

Answer 49

The different groups who settled the Middle Colonies had their own favorite ways of building. Swedish settlers introduced log cabins to the Americas. The Dutch used red bricks to build narrow, high-walled houses. German settlers developed a wood-burning stove that heated a home better than a fireplace, which sent heat up the chimney and pulled cold air in through cracks in the walls.

Question 50

In the Middle Colonies, what was life like inside houses?

Answer 50

Everyone in a household had a job to do. Households were largely self sufficient, which meant that most things needed for survival—food, clothing, soap, candles, and many other goods—were made at home.

Question 51

What were German and Scotch-Irish settlers doing in the 1700s?

Answer 51

In the 1700s, thousands of German and Scotch-Irish settlers arrived in Philadelphia. From there, many traveled west into the backcountry, the area of land along the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. Settlers followed an old Indian trail that became known as the Great Wagon Road.

Question 52

How did the German and Scotch-Irish settlers adapt to their environment, in the backcountry?

Answer 52

Although settlers planned to follow farming methods they had used in Europe, they found the challenge of farming the backcountry more difficult than they had thought it would be. To farm the backcountry, settlers had to clear thick forests. From Indians, settlers learned how to use knots from pine trees as candles to light their homes. They made wooden dishes from logs, gathered honey from hollows in trees, and hunted wild animals for food. German gunsmiths developed a lightweight rifle for use in forests.

Question 53

How did the settlers in the backcountry interact with the Indians?

Answer 53

Many of the settlers who arrived in the backcountry moved onto Indian lands. “The Indians … are alarmed at the swarm of strangers,” one Pennsylvania official reported. “We are afraid of a [fight] between them for the [colonists] are very rough to them.” However, officials did not step in to protect Indian rights. On more than one occasion, disputes between settlers and Indians resulted in violence.