Geography: Mountains in the northeast, lowlands from Lake Ontario along the Canadian border. Atlantic coastal plain. The general geography of the Middle Colonies had a mix of the New England and Southern features but had fertile soil and land that was suited to farming

Climate: The Middle Colonies had a mild climate with warm summers and mild winters that were suited to farming and agriculture

Religion: Not dominated by a specific religion which gave way to religious freedom for Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Jews and others. Refer to Religion in the Colonies

Natural Resources: Good farmland, timber, furs and coal. Iron ore was a particularly important natural resource

Economics and Trade: Exported agricultural products and natural resources but were also able to manufacture iron ore products such as plows, tools, kettles, locks, nails and large blocks of iron which they exported to England

Government: By 1775 New York was governed as a Royal Colony.

Original Name: The original name of the colony was the Province of New York, later New York and Vermont

Reason for Founding: Trade and profits
New York was often referred to as a breadbasket colony because it grew so many crops, especially wheat. The wheat was ground into flour in flour mills then shipped to England.

A typical farm was 50 to 150 acres consisting of a house, barn, yard and fields

In 1638 the Swedish settlement led by Peter Minuit starting the the New Sweden Colony

In 1646 Peter Stuyvesant (1602-1672) became Dutch Governor of the New Netherlands

In 1655 the Dutch defeat the Swedes on the Delaware and Stuyvesant took possession of the New Sweden Colony

In 1664 the Dutch lose New Amsterdam to the British which is re-named as New York, after the Duke of York

The Middle Colonies were the big food producing region that included corn and wheat and livestock including beef and pork. Other industries included the production of iron ore, lumber, textiles, furs and shipbuilding

Flax and hemp farms were established in the Middle Colonies furthering the textiles industry

The Colony became a state on July 26, 1788.