The major regions of eighteenth-century North America included the New England, Middle and Southern Regions. Firstly, the New England comprised of Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, Indians and Puritans (Faragher et al., 2019). Geographically, the land could not support farming due to large acres of forests, hills, rocks as well as long cold climate and winters. The region supported small farming which was practiced largely by the Yeoman farmers. The colonists, in the eighteenth century, relied more on fishing and whaling. They later shifted to crafting while others became merchants – they were known for building and selling boats. The settlers of New England were hardworking and lived in close families.
Secondly, the middle colonies comprised of regions such as Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. Unlike the New England, the geography of the middle region was warmer – the land was fertile and flat (Carlson et al., 2018). In addition to this, the land had swift rivers and wide valleys, thus making it viable for farming and cash crop growing. The rich landowners as described Faragher et al. (2019) opted to rent as opposed to selling. In addition to this, mining and trading played a critical role in the economic growth – the urban merchants were able to sell their goods to other colonies. Overall, the settlers of middle region were religious and tolerated the beliefs of other ethnicities.
Lastly, the Southern colonies consisted mainly of several provinces, among them, Maryland, Carolina and Georgia. Later in 1712, the Province of Carolina split into the North and South Carolina (Carlson et al., 2018). The Great Britain further added East and West Florida to the Southern colonies in 1763. Just like the middle colonies, the geography of the southern colonies had rich fertile soil. The region was also made up of wide coastal plains that facilitated the growth of tobacco, rice and indigo. Most of the rice and tobacco plantations were owned by wealthy planters. For instance, in the Chesapeake tobacco was grown mainly on smaller plots (Faragher et al. (2019). Besides farming, the farmers raised stocks in order to meet the needs of their families and, at the same time sell or trade the remaining portion of the produce.
How the Regions Facilitated the Expansion within America
The three regions played a critical of facilitating the expansion within America. The New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies’ initial efforts focused on expansion by acquiring different territories – this continued until the 1770s. During this period, the elite and other influential individuals started advocating for breakaway from the English rule. According to Carlson et al. (2018), they were “insisting on their own right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness after depriving thousands of other non-English and non-white peoples of their own” (p. 22). New England was regarded as the source of the revolutionary struggle for independence from the Great Britain. Its patriots were at the center stage and their effort led to the establishment of expansion with America.
However, the establishment and expansion with America were facilitated by the Albany Congress of 1754. Benjamin Franklin introduced the idea of having all the three colonies unite under a Grand Council whose role was to oversee a common policy of expansion and make money (Faragher et al., 2019). Although the plan was frustrated by colonial legislatures, it was a clear indication that the regions were moving towards unification. The French and Indian War informed the need for directing the military resources to the North America in an effort to win the war against France (Shriver, 2018). The war also saw more patriots, who later championed for independence, travel across the continent to fight alongside their brothers. As the war progressed, the British officers trained Americans for battle – this training later helped them during the American Revolution of 1776-1786 (Faragher et al., 2019).The war also saw the colonial legislatures and other officials come together for the first time in what was later known as a continent-wide military effort.
Overall, the collaborative efforts of the three colonies facilitate the expansion of America through the acquisition of all French territory, specifically to the east of Mississippi River. They included Quebec, the Great Lakes, and the Ohio River valley (Shriver, 2018). The collaborative efforts also helped Britain gain Spanish Florida – the two later formed the colonies of East and West Florida. By successfully removing the foreign threat to the colonies, the war also introduced the idea of independence from the colonists.
References
Carlson, S. A., Whitfield, G. P., Peterson, E. L., Ussery, E. N., Watson, K. B., Berrigan, D., & Fulton, J. E. (2018). Geographic and urban–Rural differences in walking for leisure and transportation. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 55(6), 887-895. Web.
Faragher, J. M., Buhle, M. J., Czitrom, D., & Armitage, S. H. (2019). Out of many: A history of the American people, combined volume (9th ed.). Pearson.
Shriver, C. (2018). The French and Indian War and the conquest of New France by William R. Nester. Middle West Review, 4(2), 63-65. Web.