The 13 Colonies Essay

Although British colonists in North America came from similar european descent, by the end of the colonial period, each territory became distinct as a result of environmental, social, religious, and political factors, with different areas being affected by different factors more than others. The thirteen colonies can be divided into three distinct regional sections: New England, Middle, and Southern. Each section had its own distinct economic and cultural framework which emerged from the geographical elements of the land and the religious beliefs of the settlers. Although founded by people of similar European origin, the regions became unique. This allowed all thirteen colonies to prosper and generate money in the way best suited for them.
The South’s unique geography was prime for large plantations. The South’s climate was warm and humid and the soil was fertile, making a great combination for growing cash crops such as rice and indigo which were extremely profitable on larger plantations. The South also had less plantations than the Middle, this created a distinct class system in the South between the rich plantation owners whose incomes were based on free labor and the average farmer or store-worker. In the beginning, indentured servants did the majority of plantation work. An indentured servant being someone who volunteers their labor, typically for 5-7 years, in exchange for transportation to the colonies as well as payment upon their term’s end. This was effective for a while and enabled Southern Plantation owners to build huge businesses upon which their economy became reliant. After some time, however, word got out that being an indentured servant was a terrible experience. This is shown in a letter from an indentured servant to her father back home, “What we unfortunate English people suffer here is beyond the probability of you in England to Conceive… Tied up and whipped to the degree that you’d not serve an animal.” This put Southern plantation owners in a bind for owners without a largely free labor force would be unable to support their plantations. This is what sparked the African Slave Trade, a disturbing fact about the backs upon which our nation was founded. As a result, slavery became an important part to the Southern Identity. Compared to the New England and Middle colonies, the slaves in the South made up a larger percentage of the population and affected the culture in every way. The proportion of slaves to the local population affected how the African and American cultures integrated. A slave in the New England colonies would work in a small shop alongside the white owner whereas a slave in the southern colonies would spend backbreaking hours in the field and only interact with other slaves. In the 1770’s more than half of South Carolina’s population were slaves, and although there were slave rebellions and groups of slaves who tried to escape, none proved extremely successful. This outsized proportion further reinforced a class system and once slaves became a part of Southern society, they yielded a huge cultural impact. Furthermore, Slaves shipped from Africa were taken from many tribes with differing languages and gods. In the Southern colonies, the slaves’ identities not only began to merge with each slave’s old tribe, but also English culture and Christianity.
The Northern colonies were a completely different story. A group of Puritans were sick of the way religion was handled. Naturally, they grouped up and went to America to start a colony: Massachusetts Bay. Massachusetts was founded on religious ground unlike the Southern goal to make money. This is shown in the iconic speech City upon a hill delivered by John Winthrop:
[...]the Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us, as his owne people and will commaund a blessing upon us in all our wayes, soe that wee shall see much more of his wisdome power goodnes and truthe then formerly wee have beene acquainted with, wee shall finde that the God of Israell is among us, when tenn of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies, when hee shall make us a prayse and glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantacions: the lord make it like that of New England: for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill...
In the speech, “City on a hill” is a biblical reference. It means that they will be the city that other places will look up to when they need guidance because of how strictly they follow the word of God. John believes the colony will succeed if he complies with God's will. He believes he was the chosen one by God to start the perfect society, and that's what he set out to do. John’s speech shows clearly that Massachusetts bay was founded on religious, rather than economic grounds. Although puritanism bound their community tightly, they collaborated with those of other religions. The pilgrims, in particular, aided the Puritans and if it weren't for them the settlers would have starved. Massachusetts became a theocracy, where someone had to have been selected “by God” in order to have voting rights. They would go so far as to execute people who were not Puritans and it was mandatory that everyone went to church. Life was good for some time until their economy started to prosper which drew non-Puritans to Massachusetts like merchants who wanted economic prosperity. These were the societies New England came to be. They were more artisanally focused, and there weren't plantations because the land wasn't fertile enough to grow anything other than basic crops. As a result, they became more city based and less compact. Massachusetts, because of its strict religious policies it had in place, caused a number of other spin-off colonies such as Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, both of which were very accepting to give an alternative to the religiously strict Massachusetts. There were not nearly as many slaves in the Northern colonies and the work they did was very different: they would work with their owners in shops and were often treated far better than their Southern counterparts. Although their land was not as fertile, the North had an abundance of fish, whales and wood. They would build ships, sell fish, and use the whale's body to make a variety of sought out goods such as perfume.
The Middle colonies took from both the North and the South.
Being sandwiched in between New England and the Southern colonies made the middle region an important pivot in the mercantile system. Larger cities such as New York and Pennsylvania lied in the middle colonies. They were so populous and prosperous because they filled the gap the colonies desperately needed. Unlike the North, the Middle colonies had rich fertile soil, and while the South grew cash crops such as indigo, tobacco and rice; the Middle colonies grew a variety of grains to feed the colonies. Due to this the plantations were much smaller and slaves would often work alongside their owners in the field. Land was relatively easy to acquire in the Middle Colonies so more people owned smaller plantations and the wealth distribution was more evenly divided. The Middle colonies were by far the most diverse and accepting region. William Penn came to the mid region to settle in a new plot of land called “Pennsylvania”, a place where Quakers and other non-Puritans could live freely and practice their religions without being executed or prosecuted. This lead to diversified ethnicities and religions i.e. Quakers, Mennonites, Calvinists and Presbyterians. Due to this the Middle colonies became the go-to places if people were unhappy with their current situation in the New England Colonies or the the empire. Similarly to the North ship building and logging were successful businesses. The middle colonies quickly became large and prosperous due to their accepting culture and fertile and accessible
land. The matured and developed colonies showed great differences primarily based upon their respective geographical regions. Although founded by people of similar origin, each colony’s founders had different intents whether it be to create a place for religion freedom, or a theocracy such as Puritanism or purely created for economic gain. This combined with the differing geographical landscaped forged the pathes the colonies took on. Once established, their locations in the trading route also determined their economic structure and cultural influences. All of these factors contribute to the vast differing structures of the colonies we see when we peer through the lens of history today.