Compare And Contrast The American Colonies And New England Colonies

The original thirteen British/American colonies were all unified under one higher government (Parliament), however, every single colony was completely different by means of agriculture/production, founding government, and human resources. The most important cause that made each colony different from one another is agriculture – shaping how a colony functioned and formed overall. Proprietary colonies dominated the New England colonial landscape between 1660 and 1685, as “…powerful aristocrats could govern largely as they wished as long as they conformed broadly to English traditions.” (pg. 67), which allowed every colony to rule differently. These New England colonies had one goal in mind – mercantilism. This economic policy drove the economy to produce manufactured goods to the mother country. However, rocky soil dominated the New England colonies. Its' cold climate and short growing season barely provided for families to make a subsistent living. Crops provided families and the region with little export value compared with the staple crops of the middle and southern plantations. With little profit growing crops, this drove New England’s economy to

67). The richer land of the Middle colonies was a melting pot of self-governing farmers, fisherman, and merchants trading goods and agriculture. Richer land needed a larger workforce, like slaves or indentured servants, but not in the magnitude of the Southern colonies. Like the New England colonies, there was a need for mercantilism, driving the Middle colonies to produce goods for Great Britain. This richer land provided and satisfied the need for mercantilism, shaping the colonies into an agricultural-based society, unlike the New England