22 a short history of the united states
Europe but also to the southern colonies and the West Indies. Most set-
tlers had farms of small or moderate size, except in New York, where the
Dutch had laid out enormous estates that extended across an entire
county, such as the Van Rensselaer tract that straddled both sides of the
Hudson River. The Dutch influence in New York continued after the ar-
rival of the English and had an impact on architecture, language, and
customs. Germans in Pennsylvania added a strong flavor to the colony’s
culture. Although Pennsylvania had been founded for religious and ide-
alistic reasons, the other middle colonies were settled to exploit the wealth
of the area. The population of this region tended to be quite diverse.
Because the cultivation and harvesting of tobacco, cotton, rice, and
indigo in the Southern colonies necessitated the creation of sizable
plantations and a large workforce, life in this section of the New World
was distinctly different from that in regions farther north. Initially
there was the reliance on indentured servants, individuals who signed
contracts to work for a period of four or five years for the holder of their
contract in return for passage to America. Then in 1619 a Dutch ship
arrived in Virginia with twenty Africans who may have been slaves or
indentured servants. It is not clear just what their status was. In any
case, slavery soon became institutionalized, as more and more Africans
were brought to America. By 1700 there existed in the South a master
class and a slave class, and life and death were determined by the for-
mer without regard for the rights or needs of the latter. A small middle
class that provided services not available on plantations, such as legal
assistance, arose in urban centers of the South near harbors and sea-
ports. The people of these Southern colonies tended to be more homo-
geneous than those of the Middle and New England colonies.
And the governments of these British colonies differed in some par-
ticulars, depending on whether they were royal, corporate, or proprie-
tary, but they had several common characteristics. Each colony had a
governor who represented the king, the proprietor, or the corporation
and was expected to enforce all English laws passed by Parliament or
the policies devised by the Privy Council who advised the king. In
purely local matters, the governors had wide discretion. They were
advised by resident landowners who were appointed to their position.
Elected assemblies or legislatures enacted local laws but theoretically
had limited power since their actions could be annulled by the gover-