In the Age of New Imperialism that began in the 1870s, European states established vast empires mainly in Africa, but also in Asia and the Middle East. - https://www.tamaqua.k12.pa.us/cms/lib07/PA01000119/Centricity/Domain/119/TheAgeofImperialism.pdf
The protestant reformation divided western Christianity though it has been divided before
The middle colonies had a lot of fertile soil which allowed for wheat and corn to become major trading resources. They also had rice, tobacco, and cotton.
It allowed the US to trade with other country's and it created a war