The Middle Colonies consisted of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. They had excellent soil and a temperate climate suitable for farming various crops. The colonies attracted diverse immigrant groups due to their religious tolerance and economic opportunities in farming, lumber, and trade. William Penn founded Pennsylvania based on principles of democracy, religious freedom, and equality.

4. 1609 The middle colonies were founded when the Dutch merchants sent ships across the Atlantic and up the Hudson River in search of furs from the Indians. 1614 They founded a permanent settlement at fort Nassau (later called Fort Orange). 1625 They built New Amsterdam at the tip of Manhattan Island. It served as the colony’s largest town, major seaport, and government headquarters. 1638 Traders founded New Sweden on the lower Delaware River. The settlers there built Fort Christina at the site of present day Wilmington. 1664 An English expedition forced Governor Stuyvesant to surrender his colony, and the English renamed it New York after the Duke of York. New Amsterdam became New York City and Fort Orange became Albany. The Duke of York granted the land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers as New Jersey 1608 King Charles II granted William Penn the land west of the Delaware River which became Pennsylvania. 1682 William Penn arrived with 23 ships containing 2,000 colonists. He established Philadelphia as his capital.

6. Favorable geography and climate Lumber, shipbuilding Industry Commerce trade NYC, Philly Fur trade “ bread colonies” Grains, especially wheat, were exported Pennsylvania attracted immigrants due to available fertile land and religious tolerance

7. Wheat

10. The “Frame of Government” an important constitution written by William Penn as a way of expressing his belief of political freedom and religious toleration. This constitution was written for the “ holy experiment,” Pennsylvania

15. “ Frost Chart for United States.” Chart. The Old Farmer’s Almanac. 2008. Reinvented Inc. 6 October, 2008. <http://www.almanac.com/>. “ German Settlement in Colonial Pennsylvannia.” The Historical Society of Pennsylvania . 8 October 2008. <www.hsp.org/.../gedenkfeiergermanamerican250.jpg >. Lapsansky-Werner, Emma J., Peter B. Levy, Randy Roberts, Alan Taylor. United States History. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc, 2008. &quot;Middle Colonies.&quot; Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia . 3 Oct 2008, 15:11 UTC. 3 Oct 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Middle_Colonies&oldid= 242760845 >. Penn, William. “Frame of Government of Pennsylvania.” Constitution Society. 1995/09/12. John, Roland. 2 October 2008. “ Triangle of Trade.” Wikipedia. 7 September 2008. Wikimedia Foundation. 8 October 2008.<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Triangle_trade2.png>.