The+Middle+Colonies

__THE MIDDLE COLONIES BY MADDIE S., BRITTANY N., HAYLEY H. AND KAI G.__ The area that is now the states of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was once under the control of England. In 1664, the English took the land from the Dutch and the king of England and the Duke of York used most of the land to make the Colony of New York, which was named after the duke. Later, the king gave some of the land to other people who created the other 3 middle colonies. The colonies were settled not only by the English but by people from all over Europe. They settlers brought different languages, cultures and relgions. The land in these colonies was rich with timber and had very rich soil. The New England colonies had rockier soil, so the farmers in the Middle Colonies were important providers of certain crops for the other colonies. Farming became important and wheat and other grains became major exports. Also, because of the abundance of good timber, the lumber industry was very successful in the middle colonies. There are also 3 major rivers in this area: the Hudson River, named after Henry Hudson who discovered and explored the area; the Susquehanna River; and the Delaware River. The rivers do not have major waterfalls in the area of the Middle Colonies, so water mills and water wheel power became important in the area. Also, because of the rivers and the heavily wooded areas, fur trappers found success in the area adn would travel up and down the river.