Middle Colonies

Middle Colonies were a part of the original Thirteen Colonies that would later become The United States of America. The region was originally New Netherlands, which was later divided into the western half of Connecticut ,New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware. Today, these areas are described as the Mid-Atlantic States.

Background

The climate in the colonies what was relatively mild, not as cold as it is in New England allowing for a longer growing season, but not as hot as the Southern Colonies which helped stop the spread of disease.

The Middle Colonies were the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen original colonies because of the influence of their English, Dutch, French and German origins. This influence included tolerance and cosmopolitanism, and resulted in New Netherland's success as the commercial center of the eastern North American colonies. This was evidenced by the fact that they had more agriculture than the New England colonies. The Middle Colonies were also known as the "bread" colonies because of their large grain export. It was also the mid-Atlantic colonies that expanded into other areas of commerce before the others.

There were many brick buildings in the Middle Colonies due to the amount of clay along the riverbanks. The Dutch built houses that were usually two-and-a-half to three stories high with steep roofs. The Germans were the last in the colonies to use stoves rather than fireplaces to heat their homes. Many streets were paved, and many people had their shops and homes in the same building. The wealthy would have their portraits painted. Homes in the country could be made of logs and chinked with moss or mud.

Pioneer families planted crops such as maize, wheat, rye, potatoes, peas, and flax. Flax was used to make cloth; corn was one of the main foods eaten in the colonies. Meat could come from wild animals. Many poorer families ate a form of pudding called cornmeal mush every day of the year. Johnny cake, bread made with cornmeal, was also popular.

Vegetables and meat were used to make soups and stews. Pies were made from gathered raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. Since water was sometimes impure, all members of the family drank milk and whiskey, which was made out of corn, rye, wheat, and barley. The whiskey was often mixed with spices, milk, and sugar which many people thought improved the taste. Agriculture was not the only profitable way to make a living. The Middle Colonies were full of fish, oysters and lobsters. In the woods, war was the game of choice. Wild turkeys roamed everywhere and were ripe for the picking.

Originally, clothing in the Middle Colonies for the most part resembled the Dutch form of dress. Quakers wore neat and simple clothing as their religion taught them. Many clothes were homemade on the frontier. Flax produced linen and deerskin was used to make breeches, shirts, jackets, and moccasins. Forest products were used to make a dye. Yellow came from butternut tree bark; red came from the roots of the madder herb; blue was extracted from the flowers of indigo plants; brown came from the hulls of black walnuts.