Extreme conditions made it hard to establish routes connecting various region.
New York was. Initially, it was called New Netherlands, because the Dutch had control of it first. But, as the latter half of the 17th Century wore on, it gradually came under the control of the British, a force so powerful that the Dutch dared not try to fight back.
To improve the economy I believe (but not for certain)
The Britain's did not know the land that well so the Americans had and advantage