Middle Colonies History Notes

New Netherlands

• Settled along the Hudson, Delaware, and Connecticut Rivers.

• Executed land deals with Native Americans.

• Controlled regions centered around a highly valuable fur trade.

• New Amsterdam served as the chief city and trading port of the larger colony of New Netherland.

New Sweden

• Founded along the Delaware River.

• Shipped tobacco as a primary export.

• Conquered shortly after its founding.

Anglo-Dutch Wars

• In 1664, an English fleet forced the Dutch to surrender the territory without a fight.

• New Amsterdam was renamed New York City (NYC), while the full colony became New York (showing that New York is a full state/colony, not just a city).

• Enabled England to gain complete control of the East Coast.

• Led to New Jersey (NJ) splitting off from New York (NY).

Pennsylvania

• Founded by William Penn as a proprietary Quaker colony.

• Developed large populations of German and Scots-Irish immigrants.

• Saw Philadelphia grow to become the largest city in the region.