Differences in natural resources and backgrounds of the settlers helped to shape the development of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Because New England lacked fertile soil, large-scale farming was not possible. Fishing, shipping, and trade became the basis for wealth in New England. In the Middle and Southern colonies, agriculture thrived in an environment of fertile soil and long growing seasons. Business and trade also developed in the cities of the Middle Colonies.
Education and the role of women varied among colonial regions. Education made the strongest gains in New England under the influence of Puritans. The first college in the colonies, Harvard, opened in 1636; the first public school opened in 1647. Women in New England often operated shops. In agricultural colonies women often worked with their husbands on farms.
The African population increased during the 1700s. Although there were free Africans in all the colonies, most were brought from West Africa or the West Indies as enslaved workers. The largest number of enslaved Africans lived in the Southern Colonies.
Throughout the 1600s, England left the colonies mostly free to go their own way. The king chose royal governors, but the colonists elected their own representatives to the legislatures.
