Comparison of North Middle and Southern Colonies

In the year 1606, King James I of England issued a charter which authorized overlapping grants of land in the New World to two separate joint-stock companies, the Virginia Company of Plymouth and the Virginia Company of London. This simple act of authorizing colonization led to the establishment of thirteen English colonies, with the first settlement called Jamestown, located in Virginia. While slowly attaining an identity that was distinctly American, these colonies developed into three easily identifiable regions in the years 1600 to 1754. The Northernmost of these regions, the New England Colonies, included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Located in the middle section of Britain’s colonial lands, and including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, the second region was appropriately called the Middle Colonies. The final five colonies, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, made up the southernmost region of England’s original thirteen colonies. This region was referred to as the Southern Colonies. As the colonies grew, each of these three regions began to develop its own distinct identity, as reflected in each region’s geography, economics, religion, education, and society.
The first factor that makes the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies identifiably different is found in the geography of each region. When North America was first being inhabited by the British, much of the land was covered in densely packed forests, particularly in the areas that became the New England and Middle Colonies. The New England Colonies were established on lands that were rich in timber, which led to several successful industries, such as shipbuilding. There were many natural harbors in this region, allowing for strong commerce and trade, and the waters located right off the shore teemed with fish. The farmland was generally good, but growing seasons were very limited due to cold, long, and harsh winters.