3 Colonial Regions notes
North American colonies were divided into 3 geographical regions: New England, The Middle Colonies (Mid-Atlantic), and the Southern Colonies.
New England
1. Climate: Northern Eastern Woodlands, very short growing season, long cold winters, large forests, on the Atlantic Ocean
2. Products: Subsistence farming, timber and ship building, dried fish, rum and other manufactured goods
3. People: Puritans and Pilgrims who believed in working hard and following strict rules. Merchants, manufacturers, and lawyers.
4. Government: Self-governing, town meetings, The Mayflower Compact
The Middle Colonies
1. Climate: Woodlands, medium growing season and cold winters, many lakes and rivers for transportation
2.Products: Called the bread basket colonies, farmed wheat, oat, barley and rye, made homespun products, traded very little
3. People: People from England, the Netherlands, France, Germany and others. Puritans, Quakers, Anglicans, Catholic and Jews.
4.Government: Religious freedom and tolerance, freedom of the press, strong courts
The Southern Colonies
1. Climate: Long growing season and fertile land, warm for most of the year
2. Products: Farmed tobacco, rice, indigo and cotton. Traded "cash crops" farmed on plantations. Purchased manufactured goods.
3. People: English plantation owners, indentured servants, transported criminals, and slaves.
4. Government: The House of Burgesses, colonies run for profit.
The first legislature anywhere in the English colonies in America was in Virginia. This was the House of Burgesses, and it first met on July 30, 1619, at a church in Jamestown. Its first order of business was to set a minimum price for the sale of tobacco.