The Middle Colonies

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The Middle Colonies comprised the middle region of the Thirteen Colonies of the British Empire in North America.
Much of the area was part of the New Netherland until the British exerted their control over the region. The English captured much of the area in its war with the Dutch around 1664, and the majority of the conquered land became the Province of New York. The Duke of York and the King of England would later grant others ownership of the land which would become the Province of New Jersey and the Province of Pennsylvania. The Delaware Colony later separated from Pennsylvania, which was founded by William Penn.
The Middle Colonies had lots of rich soil, which was allowing the area to become a major exporter of wheat and other grains. …show more content…
The Dutch soon claimed the land. Although the Swedes and the Dutch fought over the land in the 1630s through the ultimately the Dutch claimed the land, calling it New Netherland. In the 1660s, the English largely conquered this land from the Dutch, renaming the area New York after the Duke of York, James II. The colony's land was periodically granted to various proprietors and split into the Province of New York and the Province of …show more content…
Landholdings were generally farms of 40 to 160 acres, owned by the family that worked it. In New York's Hudson Valley, however, the Dutch patroons operated very large landed estates and rented land to tenant farmers.
Ethnically, the Middle Colonies were more diverse than the other British colonial regions in North America and tended to be more socially tolerant. For example, in New York, any foreigner professing Christianity was awarded citizenship, leading to a more diverse populace. As a consequence, early German settlements in the Americas concentrated in the Middle Colonies region. Indentured servitude was especially common in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York in the eighteenth century, though fewer worked in agriculture.
German immigrants favored the Middle Colonies. German immigration greatly increased around 1717, and many immigrants began coming from the Rhineland. They were erroneously labeled the Pennsylvania Dutch, and comprised one-third of the population by the time of the American Revolution. The industry and farming skills they brought with them helped solidify the Middle Colonies prosperity. They were noted for tight-knit religious communities, mostly Lutheran but also including many smaller sects such as the Moravians, Mennonites and
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