Regions

=Different types of regions exist within the US=

Summary
The Thirteen Colonies provided the colonists with three very diverse regions. These regions had their own distinct qualities that allowed the colonists of that region to explore their own special ways of living. The regions all had their own weather conditions, which called for different growing conditions and different ways of life for the colonists. The colonists had to be able to realize the differences they were allowed in each of the different regions, and in turn decide how to live their every day lives and succeed in their own region to stay alive.

The Thirteen Colonies were made up of three different regions. The first was the Southern Colonies, and the Jamestown Colonists had settled there. They had planned on receiving food from the Native Americans, but the Powhatan didn't have much they could share. In this region, one of the largest droughts in eight hundred years caused many problems because of the extreme heat. The heat destroyed their crops and it brought on malaria- bearing mosquitoes. The water that they were drinking was contaminated with salty sea water. So, soon enough, the colonists began to export tobacco, a source of income. The great abundance of land created for the perfect growing scheme for the colonists, who soon became interested in growing cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, and indigo. The southern colonies consisted of numerous plantations because of the weather conditions. The climate was very warm almost all of the time, and with the combination of this, and the rich soil, the slave-owning Englishmen could focus on agriculture like they wanted to when they first arrived.

The next region in The Thirteen Colonies consisted of the Middle Colonies. The climate in the Middle Colonies was more diverse than the Southern Colonies. There were more opportunities for growing because of its fertile soil in some parts of the colonies, but there were also problem areas. Conditions on the Delaware River Valley, for instance, were too cold and wet for grain to grow there. The late frosts and wet springs created tough times for growing crops. The Delaware River could freeze over in a short period of time, causing trouble for the colonists. The Native Americans taught the colonists how to grow crops near the Delaware River, in the rich soil. They grew corn, beans, and pumpkin during their 150-180 day growing season. The population here was very diverse as well. It included men who were English, Dutch, German, and Scot-Irish. Along with the diverse population came a diverse economy. Because of the changing climate with no set weather condition, colonists could have an array of different jobs. Many people were colonists around the Delaware river, where there was rich soil for them to grow their crops. Other colonists could be merchants because they had ports that they could trade goods through. In the Southern Colonies, there was not any rich ports for the colonists to be merchants and in the New England colonies, there was no fertile farm land for them to grow crops.

The New England Colonies were very different from the Southern Colonies. The New England colonies contained a cold climate and poor growing soil so the colonists could not grow many crops within the area. However, they were able to salvge the timber and other natural resources the colonies held. Timber was an important export for the colonists because the English had a shortage of timber. Other resources the colonists could take advantage of was the diverse array of wildlife available to them to hunt. Hunters could use all parts of the animals. The fur was a popular item to trade, and the meat was prepared and eaten by the colonists. The weather conditions were very extreme; the weather was stifling hot in the summer and there was a great amount of snow in the winter. The extreme temperatures caused many of diseases. Therefore, the colonists had to learn about medicines within the plants around them from the Native Americans. The Englishmen in the north had strict moral codes and they were highly religious. Also, many colonists in the north were fishermen. They had many ports along the coast where they could fish. Along with fishing, whaling became a more popular trade to learn by fisherman. This was because the New England colonies were so close to the ocean.