The Founding of the Middle Colonies

The “Middle Colonies”:New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,

Delaware

Home to several previous non-English settlements: Dutch in New Netherlands, Swedes on Delaware Bay

Several large, powerful Indian tribes in the area: Iroquois Nation, Lenni Lenape (the Delawares)

Part of the “second wave” of English colonization after 1660

Became most ethnically and religiously diverse part of the American colonies

Charles II and the “Restoration”

Stuart monarchy restored in 1660

New English attention to its American colonies

Charles created several “proprietary” colonies to reward his supporters

Actual form of government in each colony depended on the will of its proprietor

Colony of New York

Named for James, Duke of York (younger brother of King Charles II)

Originally it was founded by the Dutch as New Netherlands (town of New Amsterdam)

English defeated Dutch in war in 1650s New Amsterdam became New York City in

1664 Many Dutch remained there but no longer

governed the colony

William Penn

Son of an English admiral, became a Quaker

Inherited father’s proprietorship, founded Pennsylvania in 1681

1) Established policy of religious toleration for all; 2) sought good relations with Indians; 3) encouraged German immigration to Pa.

Penn’s Treaty with the Indians

Edward Hicks, “The Peaceable Kingdom,” 1834 (American folk-art)

Typical Early Quaker Meetinghouse

Early Quaker settlements

Established Philadephia (“City of Brotherly Love”) in 1682

Most Quakers lived in and around Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley (including New Jersey)

Some Quakers also lived in Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina

Germans in early Pennsylvania

Mainly settled just west of Quakers, in a rich agricultural area

Included a variety of Protestant groups: Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, Amish

Known as “Pennsylvania Dutch” (Deutsch)

The Scots-Irish

Immigrated from Ulster (northern Ireland) in the 18th century

Mostly came for economic reasons

Moved west and south throughout the “back-

country” Appalachian area to get more land

Some came into conflict with Indians living there

The Quest for Liberty in the Middle Colonies

Most people tended to live in areas with others of same ethnic background

Sense of community was less than in New England

Liberty was a practical necessity for different groups to get along

Some whites experienced poverty & hardship as indentured servants

Enslavement of Africans was the most glaring denial of liberty in the middle colonies

A New England Puritan couple and a Quaker couple – can you tell which

one is which? Why?