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The Middle, Chesapeake, and Southern Colonies

Pennsylvania and Delaware

The Quaker effort to colonize in the Americas continued west of New Jersey in a fertile area called Pennsylvania. This land belonged to William Penn, an athletic young gentleman who was the son of the wealthy English admiral. While a student at Oxford, Penn was attracted to the Quaker faith. He supported the belief that religion should involve a personal relationship with God and that there was no need for an established church. He also rejected the ideas of rank and hierarchy, along with the trappings of those things such as fancy dress for the wealthy or tipping the hat in deference to superiors.

When his father died, Penn inherited a large estate, including a claim for £16,000 his father had loaned the King. In 1681, King Charles II settled the claim with Penn by granting him proprietary rights to a region north of Maryland and west of the Delaware River. The King named the land Pennsylvania, meaning Penn’s Woods, in honor of Penn’s father. Penn was eager to establish a refuge for fellow Quakers in Pennsylvania.

When he assumed control of the area there were already several thousand Dutch, Swedish, and English “squatters” on the land, making it easier to populate the area. However, Penn energetically marketed the new colony so he could attract a heavy flow of immigrants. He published glowing descriptions of the colony in various languages and encouraged forward-looking individuals to come with him. Penn promised substantial land holdings and by the end of 1681 he had encouraged about 1,000 immigrants to settle in Pennsylvania, and in October he arrived himself with 100 more. Pennsylvania grew rapidly because it was the best advertised of all the colonies and no restrictions were placed on immigration to the colony.

The relationship between the Quakers and the Indians was amiable because of the Quakers’ friendliness and Penn’s policy of purchasing land from the Indians. Penn tried to protect the Indians in their dealings with settlers and traders. The relationship was so peaceful that the Quakers often used the Indians as babysitters. Penn even went so far as to learn the language of the Delaware Indians, and for nearly fifty years the two groups lived in relative harmony. However, Penn’s acceptance of all people was a double-edged sword for the Indians, because as many non-Quaker settlers came to the colony they undermined Penn’s benevolent policy.

Philadelphia, meaning the City of Brotherly Love, grew up at the junction of the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. It was a carefully planned city, organized on a strict grid pattern with wide tree-shaded streets, substantial brick and stone houses, and busy docks. Soon after the settlement of Philadelphia, the first migration of Germans to North America took place, creating the city of Germantown. These were the Pennsylvania “Dutch,” from the word “Deutsch,” which means “German” in the German language.

Penn’s new colony was decidedly liberal and included a representative assembly elected by the freemen, or all of the landowners of the colony. Penn guaranteed freedom of worship to all residents and there was no tax-supported church in Pennsylvania. Penn hoped to show that a government could run in harmony with Quaker principles and still maintain peace and order and that freedom of religion could thrive without an established church. Because of the Quaker’s pacifist beliefs, Penn’s government made no provisions for military defense.

A few key factors contributed to Pennsylvania’s prosperous beginnings. Penn’s combination of good salesmanship, firmness, and tolerance helped the colony succeed. The Quakers’ business skills and the rich soil enabled the colony to export grain and other foodstuffs after just a sort time. Cottage industries such as weaving, shoemaking, and cabinetmaking also helped the colony thrive. Within just a few years the colony had over 2,500 people. By 1700, only the well established colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts were larger.

In 1682, the Duke of York granted Penn the colony of Delaware, which was the area between Maryland and the Delaware River. The colony was named after Lord De La Warr, a harsh military governor who came to Virginia in 1610. Delaware was closely associated with Pennsylvania for many years, and in 1703 it was granted its own assembly. From then until the American Revolution it had its own assembly but remained under the governor of Pennsylvania.

The English middle colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware shared several common features. The middle colonies tended to be urban and were linked by trade and commerce early on. Unlike Puritan New England or the Anglican South, there was no dominant religious group, resulting in relative tolerance among groups from Quakers to Lutherans, to Dutch Reformed and Catholics. The area became a refuge for a variety of dissenters and religious misfits. The English authorities were willing to tolerate the religious dissention in return for the development of profitable trading centers. The cities along the coast of the middle colonies were maritime centers with ships that brought supplies from Europe and returned to Europe filled with grains, furs, and lumber for shipbuilding.

Culturally, the settlers in the middle colonies thought of themselves as Europeans and tried as much as possible to replicate the lifestyles, social relations, and cultural traditions of their homeland. Like many first-generation migrants, they saw themselves as “expatriates” who happened to live outside of their mother country, rather than immigrants who were intent on making something different.

Colonists experienced many benefits living in the middle colonies. A great deal of social and economic democracy prevailed, desirable land was easily acquired, and there was a large degree of religious and ethnic tolerance in the middle colonies.