Both the Southern and Middle Colonies had fertile farmlands, but only the Middle Colonies was able to provide trading opportunities, thanks to their coastal lowland and bay-provided harbors. Southern Colonies highly contributed to the rise of cash crops such as rice, tobacco, and indigo. Slaves cultivate huge tracts of land and plantations owned by wealthy aristocrats and large landowners. On the other hand, Middle Colonies were more suitable for growing grain and livestock, with its environment ideal for small to large farms. More diverse workforce also exists in the Middle Colonies, consisting of farmers, fisherman, and merchants. Another notable contrast between the two colonies is that, for the people of the South, life developed as rough and rural while people of the Middle countries are deeply connected to the Church and village community.
During the restoration era, the differences between the middle colonies and the southern colonies were mainly religious and economic. The main factors of these differences were the geography and sociology of the inhabitants of these regions.
The era of restoration in England begins in 1660 and ends in 1682. It was the period when the monarchy is restored, between the two revolutions. During these years, in the United States, the English were masters of 13 colonies which corresponded approximatively to the following states:
The biggest difference between these two groups of colonies was religion. Two great variants of the Christian religion dominated it. Quakers were the majority in the middle colonies and the English church in the southern colonies. There was great freedom of belief in the South, so other groups were also present.
The second difference is the economy, precisely the kind of trade that practiced. In the southern colonies, there were large tobacco and cotton plantations where slaves worked and which allowed the owners to export to England. The middle colonies exported less and more focused on domestic trade.
Grade: 9-12
Subject: History
Chapter: Empire and Identity in the American Colonies
Keywords: restoration era, the 13 colonies, religion in the 13 colonies, the economy of the 13 colonies
