Question

In what ways did the British North American colonies differ from one another? In what ways were they similar?

Answer 1

Answer:

The British North American colonies differed in ethnic composition and economic structure.

For example, the New England colonies were mostly White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant (Wasp), the Middle Colonies had important German and Dutch populations, and the South had many African slaves, and Scotch-Irish in the Appalachian Mountains.

The New England colonies were more egalitarian, and their economy was based on small farms, and a few ports with small fishing and shipping industries. The Middle Colonies were more dynamic, and had bigger ports, and the South was a plantation economy in the lowlands, and a subsistance-farming economy in Appalachia.

The Colonies were similar in that they offered more economic and religious freedom than the average European country of the time. They also had a great degree of political independence from the British Crown, and were developing a democratic culture that would later influence the American Revolution.