Since its inception, Pennsylvania also became a safe haven for immigrants suffering from religious persecution in England, one of whom was the colony’s founder, William Penn.

The colony exported and manufactured goods, too, including iron ore and textiles. It wasn’t only agriculture that was prominent in Pennsylvania, however. Wheat and corn were the most profitable crops, though other crops included rye, hemp, and flax ( source). With a fertile landscape suited for farming, from its inception, Pennsylvania became a leader in agriculture among the breadbasket colonies. With a growing manufacturing industry, Pennsylvania also became a hub of homespun textile production, paper making, and shipbuilding. Pennsylvania became a center of agricultural production and a leading food producer, including harvesting wheat and corn and raising cattle for meat and dairy. These grains became cash crops for the central states. Additionally, farmers often ground other abundant grains, including rye and corn. They stored wheat, the main crop of these colonies, in flour mills where farmers ground it into flour to make bread. The Middle Colonies grew more food than anywhere else in the newly growing region, becoming a source of food and grain for nearby colonies and exportation to England.įarmers, like today, produced more than they could consume and sold crops and other goods in nearby cities and other colonies, including New York and Philadelphia, both of which became central to trade. For this reason, we often refer to these four as the “breadbasket colonies.”

With milder winters and summers filled with abundant sunshine and rain, the growing season was longer and allowed for incredibly fertile farming in the Middle Colonies. Image by Jude Infantini via Unsplash Breadbasket Colonies They were also the most fertile agricultural lands, in contrast to the rockier Northern Colonies and the plantation-dominated Southern Colonies.Įconomic activity is the act of producing, buying, or selling products and services ( source). The Middle Colonies of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware served as the center of distribution and trade in Colonial America. Main Economic Activities of the Middle Colonies Other activities included raising livestock, shipbuilding and logging, iron ore mining, textile production, fur trading, and papermaking.Ĭontinue reading to learn more about the early history and economic activities of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware - the four Middle Colonies. The main economic activities of the Middle Colonies included agriculture and farming due to longer growing seasons and rich, fertile land. But what were the main economic activities of the Middle Colonies in early history? The process allows citizens to engage in, distribute, and consume goods and services. Economic activity is the backbone of growing a sustainable region.

Middle colonies activities