1. Jonathan Covarrubias<br />History 140<br />Final Essay pt. 1: The New England Colonies<br />It is difficult to make a decision that can change your life, and often we find ourselves having to do these things. As difficult as they may be, they can sometimes be life changing and beneficial. It is always wise to know the pros and cons of your decisions, because this makes determining your choice a lot easier.<br />As a young man that has been orphaned and stranded in England in the year 1720, it is difficult to survive on your own. Being poor and having no home, job, or even any family I find it very had to succeed. The demanded labor with little pay has taken its toll on my fellow people and me. As a result I’m forced to migrate, but the decision as to where I want to go is hard, but after many days, months and hours of thought I have decided that what is best for me lies in the middle colonies. I have made this decision based on my knowledge of politics, social characteristic, as well as economic, and stories I’ve heard from other men and women who had plans to move out of the mother country for a better life in the middle colonies. Settlers from all parts of Europe came to the middle colonies making it one of the most diverse British colonies of North America. Of course with diversity came different religions, which was not a problem in the middle colonies because of the act of freedom of religion. I myself being a man of not much religion had no effect by this, but my mentality has always been to let people live they way they want, and this aspect of the middle colonies was a plus for me because I very much so enjoy diversity and the right to speak my own mind. <br />When first arriving to the middle colonies, I knew that no one starts off at the top; I would begin first by taking the easiest job to get which for me was an indentured servant. Although it was very hard work, I was aware that there was a short supply of work here and that it was not going to be easy to make it. I had plans to save up and make my way to becoming a ship builder, and eventually a trader of goods. I would then start a family and later purchase a farm where I could later leave something for my children to make a living as well. I know that in the middle colonies I would never starve, we produced more food than the southern colonies and were named the “bread basket” because of the mass amounts of grain produced. Compared to other colonies the soil was very fertile, and because of climate being so hot, it allowed for longer and more expansive growing seasons. These advantages led to the cash crop which was the main reason that the middle colonies were able to support themselves without the help of any other countries. This also was good because it allowed more people to come live, and those who already lived there to stay put.<br />As far as politics go, in New York, the leader would not let the people have involvement in the government; this was the only state where the settlers were not allowed to have any other beliefs outside the Dutch reformed church. In Delaware, which was founded by William Penn, was a bit less uptight allowing what he believed as far as religion and freedom of politics. Pennsylvania had a system where the males of the colony who were settlers made the laws. And the reprehensive government was a mix of Governor, general assembly and provincial council. New Jersey, who were mostly interested in making money had one high end government official, and to attract more settlers, allowed political as well as religious freedom.<br />As you can see, the system of governments, the free speech and religion as well as the importance of import and export of goods were all contributors to my decision to settle the middle colonies. As a free spirited man with willingness to work hard and succeed in life, you can see that the decision I made as far as I’m concerned was a wise one, and although no colony is perfect, we can always improve. The weather allowed for long growing seasons, leading to cash crop that has made the middle colonies a great place to live, and this along with the other aspects of these colonies are the reason I chose it.<br />