Local religious groups ran the schools in the middle colonies. Contact Author. Quakers, Catholics, Jews, Lutherans and Presbyterians were among those religious groups that had significant numbers in the middle colonies. Updated on March 23, 2018. explorations. Girls were tutored at home in a variety of household and social skills. The Middle Colonies produced a large amount of wheat, corn, pork, and beef, among other trade goods. New York provided for locally established Major towns in New Jersey Colony included Trenton and Princeton. Religion in the Middle Colonies was varied as no single religion seemed to dominate the entire region. West New Jersey was Quaker and East New Jersey were mainly Calvinists. During the 17th century, the first Europeans that settled in the Middle Colonies of British North America – composed of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania – were the Dutch and Swedish Lutherans. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. In most colonies the church was the school and town hall. Religion. The religion of the Middle Colonies, as one would expect, was diverse. Major industry in the Middle Colonies included farming, forest and timber, coal, furs and iron ore. more. Major towns in Pennsylvania Colony included Philadelphia, Lancaster, and York. The first people to settle the Middle Colonies were the Dutch and the Swedish Lutherans. Religious Influences in the Colonies ... Massachusetts. Middle colonies: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware. Summary of key people, events, and concepts in the early New England and Middle colonies. The biggest difference between these two groups of colonies was religion. Maryland was Catholic under Lord Baltimore. The Pilgrims, however, are only one of the religious influences on Colonial America. Boys learned skill and trade, and possibly classical languages, history and literature, math, and natural science. Economy. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. Two great variants of the Christian religion dominated it. Quakers, Mennonites, Lutherans, Dutch Calvinists, and Presbyterians were all represented, which made it impossible for one religion to dominate and gave a greater freedom of religion than any of the New England Colonies , with exception to Rhode Island . The middle colonies were characterized by a large degree of diversity in religious thought. Delaware was the 3 lower colonies of Pennsylvania New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. In 1609 the Pilgrims left England and established a colony in Holland. Religious Tolerance in the Middle Colonies. Religious tolerance attracted immigrants from a wide-range of foreign countries who practiced many different religions. Delaware was tied to Pennsylvania until 1776. The Pilgrims. Calvanists, Jews, Moravians, German Lutherans, and Roman Catholics started to follow the Quakers because of the religious freedom that they had.