Middle and Southern English Colonies
Definition
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The establishment of the Middle and Southern English Colonies of North America was encouraged by the earlier English settlements of Jamestown Colony of Virginia in the south (founded 1607) and Plymouth Colony and, especially, Massachusetts Bay Colony in the north (founded 1620 and 1630 respectively). These early colonies not only inspired more English to cross the Atlantic to start a new life in North America but, in the Middle Colonies especially, those of other nations.
The colonies of New England grew primarily from the Massachusetts Bay Colony following Plymouth’s success. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were all developed by religious dissenters from Massachusetts Bay. The regions which would become the Middle Colonies were largely controlled by the Dutch until 1664 while the lands of the future Southern Colonies were inhabited by Native Americans who were displaced as Virginia’s tobacco crop and then Carolina’s rice crop became increasingly lucrative.