Discovery and Settlement of the New World 21Puritan, their lives centered on the local church they built and the min-
ister who preached to them and guarded their moral behavior. The New
England colonies were founded primarily for religious purposes.
In the Middle colonies, farming and commerce developed in which
wheat, corn, and vegetables were grown; while beavers, raccoons, and
other animals provided fur for export. Ships from New York City and
Philadelphia regularly put to sea carrying these commodities not only to