Colonial Economy- New England
New England had long winters and thin,
rocky soil made large-scale farming
difficult. So farmers practiced subsistence
farming to only meet the needs of their
families with little left over to sell or trade.
New England farmers depended on their
children for labor. Everyone in the family
worked to spin yarn, milk cows, fence
fields, and sow and harvest crops.
Women made cloth, garments, candles,
and soaps for their families.
Throughout New England there were
many small businesses. Every town had a
mill for grinding grain or sawing lumber.
Some people in New England used
waterpower from streams to run grain and
lumber mills.
Large towns attracted skilled craftspeople
like blacksmiths, shoemakers, furniture
makers, and gunsmiths. Fishing and
shipbuilding were the major industries that
made the New England Colonies
prosperous.
Colonial Economy- Middle Colonies
Most people in the middle colonies were
farmers. This region had more fertile soil
and a milder climate than New England.
Fertile soil and moderate climate grew
bumper wheat and grain crops so Middle
Colonies was known as “the
Breadbasket”.
In New York and Pennsylvania farmers
grew large quantities of wheat and other
cash crops. Cash crops were sold for
money. These two states became busy
ports for shipping wheat and live stock.
The Middle Colonies also had industries.
Some industries were small and homebased like carpentry and flowermaking. Some were larger business like
lumber mills, mines, ironworks, smallscale manufacturing and so on.
The Middle Colonies attracted many
Scotch-Irish, German, Dutch, and
Swedish settlers. They were successful
farmers using methods from their
homeland. They made these colonies
diverse, a trait not found in New
England.
Colonial Economy- Southern
Colonies
The Southern Colonies had rich soil and a warm
climate. They could plant in large areas and
produce harvest crops of tobacco and rice.
Most settlers in the Southern Colonies made their
living from farming. There was little need for
commerce or industry so mostly London
merchants managed Southern trade.
Most large plantations were located in
Tidewater, a region of flat, low-lying plains along
the seacoast. Planters built their plantations on
rivers so they could ship their crops to market by
boat.
A plantation was like a small village with fields
stretching out around a cluster of chapels, schools,
cabins, barns, stables, carpenter shops, blacksmith
shops, storerooms, and kitchens. Small plantations
had 50 slaves while large ones had 200 or more.
The Backcountry ran along the Appalachian
Mountains from New England to Southern Colonies.
Settlers grew corn and tobacco on small family
farms with one or two slaves. Backcountry farmers
outnumbered plantation farmers, but plantation
farmers were more wealthy and powerful by
controlling the economic and political life of the
region.
Assignment: Colonial Economy

Create a Colonial Economy Brochure: use page 91-95. Include Climate, Farming (Subsistence
farming, planting on large areas or plantations- include types of crops), and Industries (big or
small, what they produced), for the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.

DRAW ONE PICTURE FOR EACH COLONY (3 TOTAL)
New England Colonies
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
Climate-
Climate-
Climate-
Farming-
Farming-
Farming-
Industries-
Industries-
Industries-