Location, Location, Location

• Many credit the ultimate dominance of New York City (formerly New Amsterdam) as a testament to the geographic superiority of the Middle Colonies. As the name indicates, it was tucked between the northern New England colonies (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island) and the Southern colonies (Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and the Carolinas). For single shipments from Europe to the American colonies, the Middle Colonies offered the best place to drop anchor and unload supplies for delivery via wagon or, later, rail to the rest of the settlements. Conversely, the Hudson allowed industrial development to occur throughout the Middle Colonies, with easy access to the world market.
  
  

Groundwork for Diversity

• As opposed to the New England colonies, which were dominated by Calvinist Puritans of England and Wales, the Middle Colonies became a bustling area where settlers of various European ethnic traditions laid down a new foundation. According to the Independence Hall Association of Philadelphia, immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Sweden mixed in with the English and Welsh here, carrying with them a broader range of religious beliefs, from Mennonite to Presbyterian, than in strictly Puritanical New England. Historians believe this secular diversity spurred the popularity of an egalitarian philosophy best articulated by early Pennsylvania resident William Penn, an early proponent of religious freedom in the colonies.
  
  

Friendly Natives

• Later in the European expansion to the Pacific Ocean, several wars were waged with the native population for the land and resources. But in the Middle Colonies, throughout the 16th century and beyond, relations with the native Iroquois and Algonkian tribes were characterized as friendly. Englishman Henry Hudson was contracted by the Dutch to explore the river that now holds his name. He reported finding docile, trusting natives willing to trade for fur all along the way.
  
  

Healthy Crops

• The Middle Colonies were prized as fertile agricultural country. Many new settlers looking to farm for sustenance and profit chose this region after comparing it to the rockier, colder conditions of New England and the intense heat and plantation system of the South. Despite a population that grew exponentially, the farms of the Middle Colonies were equipped to feed those who called it home.