1. Geography of the Colonies
Chapter 5 Core Lesson 1
Pages
SS4G2c, SS4H3a

2. How it all began!
During the 1600s & 1700s, many English settlers moved to North America for many reasons:
-a better chance to make a living
-find freedoms they didn’t have at home LIKE RELIGION
These settlers established 13 colonies located along the Atlantic Ocean
The geography and climate of the 13 colonies separated them into three different regions

3. New England Colonies: 1. Connecticut 2. Massachusetts
3. New Hampshire Rhode Island
Middle Colonies:
5. Delaware New Jersey
7. New York Pennsylvania
Southern Colonies:
9. Georgia Maryland
11.North Carolina South Carolina Virginia
13 English Colonies
There are 13 English Colonies in North America
These 13 colonies formed THREE unique regions:
1. New England Colonies
2. Middle Colonies
3. Southern Colonies

4. Map of the Original 13 Colonies

5. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island
England
Colonies
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island

6. New England Colony : Location and Climate
Four States form the New England Colonies:
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
Geography
-very rocky
-soil was not rich with nutrients (mostly sand and rocks)
-Climate was extreme– Summers were warm but winters were long and very cold
-Grew wheat, oats, corn and peas
-Natural resources: wood, fish, whales

7. A source of conflict The different views of ownership led to conflict
New England’s colonies were founded on lands where American Indians lived
Indians and colonists disagreed about who owned the land
American Indians believed:
-the land was for everyone to use and that no one could truly own it
-that when they sold land to colonists that they were only agreeing to share it
Colonists expected the Indians to move from the land once they sold it
The different views of ownership led to conflict

8. War breaks out!
In the 1630’s a war broke out between colonists and Pequot Indians
The fight over the land became know as the Pequot War
War ended when colonists killed most of the Pequot Indians
The remaining living Indians either fled or became enslaved
After the war, more colonists moved onto American Indian lands in New England
Metacomet, a leader of a Indian tribe known to the colonists as King Philip, wanted to avoid war but believed his people had to fight to stay on their lands
Attacked Massachusetts villages
Fighting spread across New England in battles known as King Philips War

9. Indians are defeated
Colonists had better weapons and more soldiers than Metacomet’s small army
Metacomet was defeated
Colonists killed and enslaved some of the defeated Indians
Forced remaining Indians to leave
Few American Indians remained in New England after the war

10. Peoples of the New England Colonies

11. New England Colonies : People
Most New Englanders were farmers, fishermen, merchants
Many were also Puritans: people who formed communities that followed the rules of the bible in order to serve their God
Religion shaped their government
Town’s leaders made laws controlling how people worshipped
On Sundays, town gathered at the meetinghouse for church
Meetinghouse – most important building in a Puritan community
Town people came once a month for a town meeting
Town meeting – gathering where colonists held elections and voted on laws for the town

12. Men and Boys of New England
Men were considered landowners and were the only people who could vote.
Many men were also farmers who:
took care of the family’s animals
spent most of their time working in the fields
-Planted crops such as wheat and corn in the spring and harvested them in the fall
-Only grew enough crops to feed their families
Because farming was difficult, men also had to:
Build and repair buildings and tools
Fish, whale, and build ships
Trade products of New England to Europe, Africa and the West Indies

13. Women and Girls of New England:
Women were just as busy as the men and boys!
Time was spent preparing and preserving the food for the family
Made household items (clothing, soap and candles)
During planting and harvest seasons, they also helped in the fields

14. How did the geography of the New England help the colonists?
New England’s many natural resources helped colonists make a living from the land and sea
Many forests, rugged mountains and coastal water were accessible local natural resources
New Englanders used the local resources to help create a successful shipbuilding industry
Industry – all the businesses that make one of a kind products or provide one of a kind services
Workers used oak trees to build bodies of ships, pine trees for the ships’ masts (tall poles where sales are attached)
Forest’s provided easy hunting
Coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean provided great fishing waters

15. How did the geography of New England help the colonists?
The most common fish was Cod
Whales also provided food as well as oil
The oils from whales provided money for whalers from selling it as well as oil for lamps that the townspeople used
Trade
Products of New England were often traded to other places like Africa, West Indies and Europe by ships
Colonists traded goods for imports to bring back to the colony
Import – product brought into one country from another
Ex: ships coming from Europe to New England carried imports like teas and spices to sell in the colonies
Shipping routes between N. America, Europe and Africa became known as the triangular trade (formed an imaginary triangle across the Atlantic Ocean)

16. Slavery
Some traders in the triangular trade made money by selling human beings
In Africa, traders bought enslaved men, women and children
These people were captured from their homes
The traders chained the Africans together and loaded them onto crowed dirty ships for the Middle Passage
Middle Passage – voyage from Africa to the West Indies
Many Africans died of disease or hunger along the way
In North America, the Africans who survived the trip were sold to colonists who forced them to work
1600s-1700s thousands of Africans were brought to the colonies during the slave trade
Slave trade – was the business of buying and selling human beings

17. Map of the Original New England Colony