The Middle Colonies

New York

New Netherlands New Netherlands  founded in the Hudson River area ( )  Established by Dutch West India Company for quick-profit fur trade.  Manhattan [New Amsterdam]  Purchased by Company for pennies per (22,000) acre.  60 guilders – equivalent of (worth about 60 billion today)

New Netherlands Becomes a British Royal Colony Charles II granted New Netherland ’ s land to his brother James, the Duke of York, [before he controlled the area!] 1664  English soldiers arrived. § Dutch had little ammunition, poor defenses and poor leadership. § Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, forced to surrender without firing a shot. Renamed “ New York ” § England gained strategic harbor between her northern & southern colonies. § England now controlled the Atlantic coast!

Duke of York ’ s Original Charter

New Amsterdam, 1664

MANHATTAN, TODAY

New Jersey

New Jersey — 1664  aristocratic proprietors rcvd. the area from the Duke of York. Many New Englanders [because of worn out soil] moved to NJ  Combined to one colony

Pennsylvania

1681  he received a grant from king to establish a colony.  This settled a debt the king owed his father.  Named Pennsylvania  [“Penn’s Woodland”].  %2F%2Fi.historyofphilly.portalbounce.com%2Fen %2Fuser-media.html%3Fv%3D %2F%2Fi.historyofphilly.portalbounce.com%2Fen %2Fuser-media.html%3Fv%3D2858 William Penn

The Quakers Called Quakers because they “ quaked ” during intense religious practices. They offended religious & secular leaders in England. § Refused to pay taxes to support the Church of England. § They met without paid clergy § Believed all were children of God  refused to treat the upper classes with deference. Ø Keep hats on. Ø Addressed them as commoners  ” thees ” / “ thous. ” Ø Wouldn ’ t take oaths. Ø Pacifists.

The Holy Experiment 1.Different nationalities and religious beliefs living in harmony 2.Tolerance and Land compensation to Native Americans a.Quakers went among the Natives unarmed. b.Friendly and co-existed peacefully, until Non-Quakers started settling in the area

Penn ’ s Treaty with the Native Americans

Pennsylvanian Society Attracted many different people  Religious misfits from other colonies.  Many different ethnic groups. No slavery, no restrictions on immigration. Liberal land policy Representative assembly elected by landowners English gov’t forced them, however, to deny rt to vote & hold office to Catholics and Jews by English gov’t

Delaware

Delaware — PA ’ s Neighbor Began as Swedish settlement Named after Lord De La Warr [harsh military governor of VA in 1610]. Closely associated with Penn ’ s colony. 1703/4  granted its own assembly.

Ethnic Groups

Life in Middle Colonies Famous Court Case - Peter Zenger Ben Franklin “Poor Richard’s Almanac” (Complete Activity) “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." ~ B. Franklin ( )

Ben Franklin Escaped to Philadelphia where he would become a famous Printer – PA Gazette Poor Richard’s Almanack under the alias Richard Saunders First Public Library (1731) First PA Hospital (1743) – PENN First Fire company in Philadelphia Inventor (stove, bifocals, nature of electricity and lightening) Very active on the Political scene – America’s Independence – We will discuss this more in the next two chapters!

A Final Review –