During the 17th and 18th centuries, settlement expansion skyrocketed among British colonies with varied immigration pattern creating quite the contrast between the middle and southern colonies. Thousands of Europeans begin flooding the New World for religious freedom, in search of wealth, or for their own personal exploit. Many came to the Middle Colonies for liberation from persecution and for business ventures that would not be possible with primogeniture prominent in much of Europe; meanwhile, those who resettled in the Southern Colonies were there for more commercial success or to flee from the consequences of debt, like the people who lived in Georgia. Numerous cultural differences contributed from immigrants shaped the economy, government, and overall character of each colony.
In the Middle Colonies, immigrants came from many diverse European nationals and religions. The Protestant Netherlands were the first to settle New York after Henry Hudson paved the way for the Dutch West India Company to set up base. New York flourished culturally with the Dutch, Germans, French, Swedish, Portuguese and English all spreading new ideas; additionally, the colony became a home for those suffering from religious persecution including the Jews, Catholics, Quakers, and Muslims. New Jersey, after…
Deliverance from religious persecution and the lucrative lure of unsettled land attracted quite the crowd to the New World. New York was settled by the Netherlands and prospered as a safe haven for many religious groups, while the Carolinas grew economically through their expanding plantations and slave trade. From the Quakers in Pennsylvania to the debtors in Georgia, the Middle and Southern Colonies offered not only freedom of worship and successful business but a chance to start…
